HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 10/10/2017 - BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT ACTION PLANDATE:
STAFF:
October 10, 2017
SeonAh Kendall, Economic Health Manager
Josh Birks, Economic Health Director
Jackie Kozak-Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer
WORK SESSION ITEM
City Council
SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION
Business Engagement Action Plan.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this item is to provide Council an update in the development and implementation of the Citywide
Business Engagement Action Plan.
GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
1. Are we addressing the concerns that Council is hearing from the business community?
2. Does the Business Engagement Action Plan support and complement Council priorities?
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
The Economic Health Office (EHO) was formed in 2009 and joined the newly created Sustainability Service Area
(SSA) in 2012 to reflect the triple bottom line approach. The City’s economic health vision is “a healthy,
sustainable economy reflecting community values.” The City is intentional in using the term “economic health” vs
“economic development” in keeping with the community’s value of a sustainable economy that looks to long-term
vitality versus the short-term or individualized gain. Most of the local economy’s stabilization and growth come
from the retention of existing businesses.
Business Case for Action
Why does the City need a Citywide business engagement action plan? The City has two primary customer
groups: residents and businesses. The City has always had a healthy relationship with the business community;
however, as part of the continuous improvement process staff has heard from external and internal groups and
identified several opportunities for improvement (OFI). OFIs identified include a need for a systematic approach to
listen, assess and engage with business customers and evaluating and responding to information collected to
October 10, 2017 Page 2
improve services. NOTE: Systematic in this context means consistency of approach as well as organizational
continuity.
Objectives of the Business Engagement Action Plan
1. Improved customer satisfaction with business customers
2. Enhanced relationship between the City and the Business community
3. Increased efficiency and utilization of City resources and staff through a coordinated Citywide business
engagement strategy.
Business Engagement Action Plan
The Citywide Business Engagement Action Plan is a four-stage process. (Attachment 1) Every service area
within the City organization connects with the business customer.
Phase One - Analysis (May 2017-present)
Before developing an engagement strategy, internal analysis must be completed to create a baseline
understanding of business engagement within the organization. Phase 1 involves a current state assessment of
the organization’s historic and present engagement with businesses. (Attachment 2) The current state
assessment aids in identifying issues and gaps before the development of strategy.
The Business Engagement Action Plan is not an end in itself, but a means to continuous process improvement
and continuous dialogue with our business customer. The journey to economic health is best done in the
company of diverse stakeholders with various backgrounds and experiences. The Plan team has convened an
industry stakeholder group with a goal of sharing and exchanging information (i.e., be a liaison to the business
community and the City). Deliverables include assisting staff in identifying key metrics and to assist in the
development of a business engagement spectrum (similar to the citizen engagement spectrum).The two-way
communication with the industry stakeholder group will inform and assist in the development of the business
engagement spectrum. (Attachment 5) Industry stakeholder group will carry on throughout all four phases of the
business engagement action plan. Additionally, the Economic Advisory Commission will be engaged throughout
all phases of the plan.
NEXT STEPS
Remaining Phases and Timeline:
Phase Two - Design (October 2017-February 2018)
Develop business engagement strategy
Define metrics
o Short-term: utilization of industry stakeholder group for real-time feedback; launch of the National
Business Survey to gauge satisfaction and create a baseline for data collection; Business
Appreciation Breakfast Feedback Form (Attachment 3)
o Long-term: National Business Survey will create a baseline that allows benchmarking with other
communities and year-to-year comparison; Small Business Survey to determine the needs
specific to small businesses; Performance measurements is a combination of collecting the right
data, and understanding how the variables interact to provide insight.
Rollout Citywide strategy for engaging business customer
Phase Three - Implementation (March 2018-August 2018)
Implement strategies that can be offered within existing resources
Submit 2019-2020 Budget for Outcomes offers for strategies that require additional financial resources
Develop period status reporting
October 10, 2017 Page 3
Phase Four - Review and Modify
Regular review of approach
Modify and improve, as identified
The four-phase approach allows the City to connect with businesses to understand the “voice of the customer”,
measure customer satisfaction to recognize current and anticipated business issues/challenges to enhance and
adjust service delivery.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Business Engagement Public Engagement Plan (PDF)
2. Current State Assessment-Phase 1 (PDF)
3. Business Appreciation Breakfast Questionnaire Recap 2017 (PDF)
4. Biz Engagment Charter (PDF)
5. Project Plan Industry Action Group (PDF)
6. Powerpoint presentation (PDF)
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY
PROJECT TITLE: Business Engagement Action Plan
OVERALL PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT LEVEL: Engage
BOTTOM LINE QUESTION:
How can the City improve its communications strategy to more effectively and consistently engage with
business customers so they are satisfied with the City and our services?
Key Messages:
Our business customers deserve the same level of engagement opportunities we give our
residents.
We want to partner with stakeholders to develop alternatives and identify solutions.
We want lines of communication with businesses to be open and transparent.
We must be consistent in our relationship with businesses and how we approach them.
We must finesse our relationships with the business customer because of the varying needs of
businesses.
Our mission includes a commitment to continuous improvement, which includes our relationships with
stakeholders.
KEY STAKEHOLDERS:
External
Employers
Chamber of Commerce
Board of Realtors
Downtown Business Association
SFCBA
NFCBA
Larimer SBDC
Innosphere
Visit Fort Collins
CSU
Economic Advisory Council
Internal
City Council
Utilities, PDT, Finance
Police Services, Poudre Fire
DDA
TIMELINE:
Phase 1: Analysis
Timeframe: May 2017 - present
Conduct assessment of current practices
ATTACHMENT 1
Identify issues and gaps
Tools and Techniques:
Internal municipal department listening sessions
City employee questionnaire
Create shared glossary (small business vs. primary employer, etc.)
Enabled businesses reporting on Access Fort Collins self-select vs. residents
PHASE 2: Design strategy
Timeframe: October 2017 – February 2018
Tools and Techniques:
Create external stakeholder team
Develop internal citywide strategy for engaging the business customer
Create annual survey for businesses similar to citizen survey
Define metrics
PHASE 3: Implementation
Timeframe: March 2018 – August 2018
Potential Tools and Techniques:
Kitchen cabinets
Host Meetups
Industry roundtables
Small business listening sessions with EHO, Utilities, Sales tax, etc.
Business tours for entrepreneurs
Sponsorships
CCTW NOCO events
Women and minority owned listening sessions
BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT ACTION PLAN (BEAP)
CURRENT STATE ASSESSMENT | Phase 1
Introduction
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to present the
findings of the listening sessions, surveys, and
research conducted to make recommendations
that will help in the creation of a
comprehensive Business Engagement Action
Plan (BEAP) for the City of Fort Collins. Many
departments work with our local business
community and may see some overlap in
contacts, outreach, and communication which
needs a more streamlined approach within our
organization. Ultimately, this report will help to:
Lay out a comprehensive Business
Engagement Plan
Define a universal segmentation
analysis for our business stakeholders
Determine the appropriate level of
business engagement (generally) for
each segmentation
Identify engagement methods with
businesses
Declare roles and responsibilities of
each department
BACKGROUND
The City of Fort Collins and Council have
determined that there is a need for a more
consistent and measurable system to track its
interaction and satisfaction within the business
community. The Baldrige process has identified
a significant discrepancy between the
understanding of customer needs and level of
service provided to the City’s business
customers compared to its other major
customer – residents or citizens. The City needs
an effective way of gathering information from
its business customers and evaluating and
responding to that information. The proposed
business engagement action plan will address
two major outcomes: 1) Business satisfaction
and 2) Improved economic health in the
community.
METHODS
Listening Sessions
The departmental listening sessions were
chosen based on a vote from the Business
Engagement Action Plan Team (BEAP). The
BEAP prioritized seven departments as having
high business engagement.
Departments Involved
1. City Manager’s Office (CMO)
2. Community Development and
Neighborhood Services (CDNS)
3. Police Services
4. Poudre Fire Authority (PFA)
5. Sales Tax
6. Utilities – Customer Accounts
7. Utilities - Community Engagement
Current Engagement Methods
How are you currently engaging with
your customers?
How does your team track customer
communication?
How do you share this information with
your team?
Roles and Responsibilities
Who does what?
When does interaction need to be
moved up to the executive/director
level?
Metrics
What are you measuring and tracking?
How do you determine customer
satisfaction?
Follow-up
How does your team follow-up when
needed and how do you track follow-
up?
Is there a time limit requirement on
when follow-up must happen?
Employee Questionnaire
Departments Represented
1. Planning
2. Patrol/Fire
3. Utilities Customer Service
4. City Clerk’s Office
5. Finance, Purchasing, Sales Tax
6. CDNS
7. Sustainability
8. CPIO
9. Cultural Services
Questions
How often do you engage with
businesses?
How satisfied are you with your overall
level of engagement with businesses?
In your opinion, what would help you or
your department be more effective
when engaging with businesses?
What is your biggest obstacle when it
comes to business engagement?
What is your biggest win when it comes
to business engagement?
How do you define successful business
engagement?
How do you resolve an issue with a
business?
How do you provide feedback or
intelligence from a business interaction
to your colleagues?
What is one thing you think the
business community wishes your
department did/provide?
Case Studies
Projects Reviewed
Anheuser Busch Expansion
Downtown Plan
Capital Expansion Fees
DEPARTMENT & STAFF
RESPONSES
Employee Questionnaire
Employee questionnaire responses:
41 Responses
How satisfied are you with your overall l level of
engagement with businesses?
Satisfaction level with engagement
(Scale of 1-5, 5 being the most satisfied)
5 – 5%
4 – 45%
3 – 42.5%
2 – 7.5%
1 – 0%
How often do you engage with businesses?
Frequency of business engagement
Hourly - 19.5%
Daily - 39%
Weekly - 22%
Monthly - 19.5%
Long questionnaire responses
Large demand for a city-wide Customer
Relationship Management (CRM)
system
Requests for more coordination in
communication between departments
to negate duplicated business outreach
A desire to increase consistency,
improved messaging in how to start a
business, transparency in development
review, more communication between
City staff and business community
Case Studies
WHAT WORKED
Projects are most successful when
public/community engagement is
launched well in advance
Strong partner relationships outside of
the organization provide key
stakeholders to future projects
High levels of public engagement on the
front-end can allow for buy-in from
Council
Meeting the businesses where they are.
Engagement and conversations most
often happened at their business.
Phase summaries helped formalize the
message, show progress to the
community and provided elegance to
each document. These also helped keep
the momentum moving.
WHAT DIDN’T
Hired consultants may not perform
their scope to the level of expectations
the City demands or have the full skill-
set
LESSONS LEARNED
Conduct project debriefs with team
upon completion
Roles and expectations should be
established on the front end of all
projects with all levels of the team,
both internal and external
OUR OBSERVATIONS
1. The introduction of “Baldrige” sets a
negative tone and connotation among
some of the departments
2. Lack a centralized location for
engagement notes and data
3. No common language or consistent
segmentation guidelines
4. Departments don’t realize how often
they currently engage with businesses.
Business interaction or segmentation is
not top of mind.
5. Customer service and relationships are
built and maintained differently across
departments
6. Need a common tool to manage
business “touches”
7. Large demand for a city-wide Customer
Relationship Management (CRM)
system
8. Requests for more coordination in
communication
9. A desire to increase consistency,
improved communication, prevent
duplication
10. We do not have raw data to support
our current or past engagement efforts
PRELIMINARY
RECOMMENDATIONS
“Segmentation” may be jargon within
department conversations. Keep the
language simple and refer to
segmentation as “groups”.
Customer service training and CRM
should be prioritized into the Lean
training to avoid duplication and create
efficiencies across the organization.
Messaging can be tweaked when
introducing business engagement to
the departments to not put such a focus
on Baldrige.
Develop a Code of Conduct or Rules of
Engagement with the purpose of
presenting to groups and associations
to improve dialogue and reduce
personal attacks.
Produce a Business Engagement
Spectrum to compliment the Public
organizations and employers to offer
this benefit.
Institute an educational component
between Sales Tax and the SBDC to
support businesses when they are
having trouble paying their sales and
use tax
Convene an ongoing Business
Engagement team (outside of the
BEAP/stem of the BEAP) from various
departments to share information,
ideas, provide more recommendations.
For example, use this as a way to
highlight small business visibility, share
site visit stories, share strategies, etc.
Add an option in ACCESS Fort Collins for
users to identify as a citizen or business,
giving us more data to explore what
people are asking/inquiring about.
Utilize the Speakers Bureau form on the
fcgov.com website to interact with
business requests when it goes live
Explore the possibility of adding an
Engagement liaison much like the CSU
liaison or Special Events position
Explore the possibility of adding an EHO
position that would be housed in
Planning.
APPENDIX
Listening Session Responses
Stakeholder Map
Business Engagement Glossary of Terms
Business Engagement SWOT Analysis
Business Community Participants
(?Name?)
Baldrige community winners snapshots
– Irving, Texas and Coral Springs, Florida
Business Appreciation Breakfast 2017 Survey Results
How satisfied were you with the following aspects of the event?
Highly
Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissastisfied
Highly
Dissatisfied Responses
Location
34 10 3 0 0 47
72.30% 21.30% 6.40% 0.00% 0.00%
Breakfast
22 17 8 2 1 50
44.00% 34.00% 16.00% 4.00% 2.00%
Business Panel
36 10 3 1 0 50
72.00% 20.00% 6.00% 2.00% 0.00%
Event Flow
30 13 4 3 0 50
60.00% 26.00% 8.00% 6.00% 0.00%
Keynote
43 5 2 0 0 50
86.00% 10.00% 4.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Total Responses 50
Overall, the event
Percent Responses
Exceed my expectations 73.5 36
Met my expectations 2635 13
Total Responses 49
ATTACHMENT 3
Would you recommend this event to colleagues?
Percent Responses
Yes 96.00% 48
No 2.00% 1
Other write ‐in 2.00% 1
Total Responses 50
What are you grateful for in terms of business?
A city that maintains contact and positively reinforces the value of business to the success of a community
A vibrant, vital and involved community
A collaborative community.
City of FOCO, Larimer County Workforce, United Way, the great citizens of NOCO!
Community of support and caring leaders!
That business in Fort Collins considers gratitude an important theme.
The support the City offices provide businesses in areas such as ClimateWise
What other comments do you have?
Hickenlooper is a fantastic speaker.
I have been to all 5 Business Breakfasts ‐ and this was the very best one!
Really glad to see a local panel with a diverse business background.
T he event was flawless. Congrats to the team that planned and executed it!
While it's a great event ‐ there isn't really time/space to connect with other business people at the event
I'm grateful for an innovative and supportive community that values investing in the community in tangible ways.
The number of small and Independent (as opposed to large franchises or national chain) businesses in Fort Collins, the
spirit of enterprise and entrepreneurship here, and the commitment to collaboration among businesses, the City, and
the University.
Great event! Continue to focus on a healthy economy and publicly celebrate the importance of our local business
community.
I was inspired by the panel and the vision for growth from Hickenlooper. Thank you for putting on such a meaningful
event.
Business Retention & Expansion 2017 Survey Results
from BAB Survey
Is your company growth (head count or sales):
Percent Responses
Up 81.5% 22
Netural 18.5% 5
Down 0.0% 0
Total Responses 27
Are your feelings about the Northern Colorado economy:
Percent Responses
Up 85.2% 23
Netural 15.8% 4
Down 0.0% 0
Total Responses 27
Would you consider relocating outside of Northern Colorado:
Percent Responses
Yes 11.1% 3
No 70.4% 19
Maybe 18.5% 5
Total Responses 27
What is the greatest opportunity facing your business?
A vibrant downtown for my development business.
Growth and changing workforce
Responsible, local growth and development
T he educated engaged workforce in NOCO is a definite plus.
What is the greatest threat facing your business?
Construction costs and land costs are going up more than rents.
Is your company any of the following?
Percent Responses
Women‐owned 29.6% 8
T he National builders coming here hurt the smaller custom builders. T hey are buying up all
the ground and there does not appear to be any developers able to develop ground for the
local custom builders
A growing educated population which is constantly pushing to make this a more
progressive and inclusive community.
A significant economic downturn. Fort Collins cost of living Shifting public perceptions
Complacency (particularly if elected officials take business/economy for granted), cost of
housing
Irresponsible growth and development. Uninformed opposition, restriction and
unnecessary and/or unfair fees/costs.
Not enough skilled employees who can afford to live in the area and get around via
alternative transportation.
Overwhelmed with the amount of high‐quality people and difficult to know which ones to
say, "No" to.
Minority‐owned 3.7% 1
Employee‐owned 14.8% 4
None 63.0% 17
Total Responses 30
Economic Health Office
Project Plan Page 1 10/3/2017
Project Team Charter
Enterprise-wide Business Engagement Action Plan
Project Team Name:
Enterprise-wide Business Engagement
Action Plan
Strategic Goal:
Economic Health &
High Performing Government
Project Lead: Josh Birks
Date: March 24, 2017
Project Statement:
The City of Fort Collins has defined two primary customer groups through its Baldridge application
process, citizens and businesses. Through the same process, the 2016 Baldridge Feedback Report
described a number of Opportunities for Improvement (OFI) specifically related to the City’s
interaction and understanding of the business customer. These OFIs include:
1. City does not have a systematic approach to listen to businesses or obtain actionable
feedback from them (Category 3.1 – Voice of Customer);
2. City does not have a systematic process for assessing the satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and
engagement of its business customers (Category 3.1 – Voice of Customer);
3. City does not have a systematic approach to determine its business customer segments to
emphasize and pursue for business growth (Category 3.2 – Customer Engagement); and
4. The City provides no similar or alternative satisfaction results data for business customers’ to
the Citizen Survey (Category 7.2 – Customer-Focused Results).
NOTE: Systematic in this context means consistency of approach as well as organizational continuity.
Business Case:
The Baldridge process has identified a discrepancy between the understanding of customer need and
level of service provided to the City’s business customers compared to its other major customer –
residents or citizens. The City needs an effective way of gathering information from its business
customers and evaluating and responding to that information. The proposed business engagement
action plan will address two major outcomes:
1. Business Satisfaction – with specific services, the City in general, and the community – the
same measure used to determine the ultimate success of the City’s services at addressing the
resident/citizen customer; and
2. City Product Offering Refinement – with a focus on business customer need and a goal of
improving individual and collective business success in our community – by increasing the
efficiency and effectiveness of existing or new City Programs (services and incentives) with the
long-term goal of improving economic health in the community.
The action plan is further linked to the City’s strategic plan through a number of Strategic Objectives
(SO), including but not limited to SO 3.2, 3.4, 3.6, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 7.1, 7.5, & 7.6.
ATTACHMENT 4
Economic Health Office
Project Plan Page 2 10/3/2017
Measureable Objectives
1. Improved customer satisfaction with business customers
2. Increased efficiency and utilization of business oriented City services
3. Increased return on City efforts to support business retention, expansion, incubation and
attraction
Other objectives
1. Understand the voice of the business customer:
a. Measure business customer satisfaction (in general and for specific City services);
b. Understanding of current/anticipated business issues (market conditions,
opportunities, regulatory barriers, etc.) that effect the community’s economic health;
2. Identify the types of services to provide and how to provide them effectively to meet business
customer needs with the long-term goal of improving economic health in the community; and
3. Understand business customer segments and clarify methods of engagement.
Scope - Major Deliverables
Engagement System
1. Revised Baldridge Application – likely for 2018 application and 2017 follow-up
2. Current state assessment to include business segmentation, business customer engagement
methods, and product offerings
3. Improved coordination across departments in terms of engaging with business customers,
including:
a. Developing a system for tracking and response/follow-up of business issues; and
b. Training for key staff engaging with businesses based on norms established during this
plan, or as part of the functional area’s operational processes
Business Feedback & Intelligence
1. Centralization of business feedback and intelligence
a. Through implementation of a Customer Relationship Management system (linked to
the Utilities on-going efforts to identify and pilot such a tool); and
b. Development of a “Citizen Survey” style Survey of Business Climate & Satisfaction
c. Clear definition of “trigger points” within feedback mechanism to alert a specific
department or division to a potential opportunity to engage or intervene to help a
business (e.g., falling behind on sales tax may trigger non-payment of utility bills and
present an opportunity for EHO to meet with the business and share available
resources)
2. Optimized Program Offerings and Processes to Businesses
a. Evaluation of which services to provide and how to deliver them well
Economic Health Office
Project Plan Page 3 10/3/2017
Members and Key Stakeholders (by department):
EXECUTIVE SPONSOR
Jackie Kozak-Thiel
PROJECT TEAM (Internal Working Group)
Josh Birks (EHO - Project Director) Blaine (Finance – Sales Tax)
SeonAh Kendal (EHO - Project Manager) Emily Wilmsen/David Young (CPIO)
Shannon Hein (EHO - Key Business Analyst) Tyler Marr (CMO)
Tom Leeson (PDT) Lucas Mouttet (Utilities)
TBD (Police Department) TBD (Poudre Fire Authority)
ADVISORY TEAM (External Working Group) - TBD
KEY INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS (Regular Progress Updates) *
Utilities PDT
Kevin Gertig Laurie Kadrich
Lisa Rosintoski IES
John Phelan Kelly DiMartino
Travis Paige Terri Runyan
Dan Coldiron
Finance Sustainability Services
Mike Beckstead Lucinda Smith
Beth Sowder
CMO Police Services
Jeff Mihelich Kevin Cronin
*NOTE: The work plan will indicate when and how the Advisory Team will engage in the project, as
well as general milestones and check-in points for reporting out to Key Stakeholders. It is anticipated
that the Advisory Team will function very similarly to the broadband citizen group.
Time Frames/Major Milestones
Identified timeline is April 2017 through 4th quarter 2017. Major Milestones are:
Kick-off Meeting (Scheduled for early May)
Develop Work Plan (In Progress)
Current State Assessment Summary (In Progress)
Best Practices and Peer City Learning
Baldridge Application Updates
Identification of Process Improvements & New Systems, to include but not limited to:
o CRM; and
o Customer Service Training
Implementation
NOTE: After each milestone there will be a review with core team and Executive Sponsor for continuation to next milestone.
High Level Risks:
Limited availability of Project Team
No funding currently identified for specific implementation steps
Buy-in organization-wide on the importance of addressing this customer base
Sense of urgency
Economic Health Office
Project Plan Page 4 10/3/2017
Constraints:
Need to continue to provide high level of service while processes are changed and improved
Need to work within existing timelines of BFO, Baldridge application, Strategic Planning, etc.
Wide array of services provided to business customer with potentially varying approaches to
engagement
Multiple competing organization wide objectives all demanding time and attention from staff
Assets/Opportunities:
Existing EHO full-time vacant position re-tooled to focus on business engagement
Significant external partner interest and willingness to contribute
Senior leadership alignment around the need to act
Project Manager Assigned and Authority Level
SeonAh Kendall shall be the project manager and has the authority to request team members and will
work with Management to secure any necessary resources to complete the project.
Cost/Budget/Financial Assumptions:
Key cost identification at this time is labor of project team participation and input from key
stakeholders.
Project Sponsor Authorization:
_________________________________________
Josh Birks, Economic Health &
Redevelopment Director
________________________________________
Jackie Kozak-Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer
Project Plan
Draft 2 8/21/17
Project title: Industry Action Group
Project Leader: SeonAh Kendall
Team Members: Lucas Mouttet, Shannon Hein
Description: Similar to the Broadband Citizen Group, the Industry Action Group is brought
together to share and exchange insight. Additionally, this group will be able to provide
honest feedback on the City’s Business Engagement Action Plan and share this information
and insight with their colleagues, networks and associations that they participate in.
Objective: Share and exchange information in regard to the City’s Business Engagement
Action Plan.
Be a liaison to the business community regarding the current process, engagement
opportunities and share questions/insight back to the BEAP core team
Assist staff design communications for the broader business community
Deliverables:
Identify a suite of communication tools to reach businesses of all sizes and industries
Develop marketing/communication plan to assist City employees in identifying the
right communication tool for their engagement needs
Key Actions / milestones Deadline
Hold a kick-off meeting inviting businesses to participate in the Industry
Action Group
o Agenda:
Group expectations – what it is and what it is note
Hear from the group on who is missing and where we should
do additional outreach
Brainstorm groups we should be talking to/involving
Start crafting messaging and anticipating community questions
Outline future meeting time and schedule (every 6 – 8 weeks)
8/31/17
ATTACHMENT 5
Resources:
Budget: $1,500 (food, materials)
Estimated hours: 2 hours prep per meeting X 2 hour mtg. Meet more often at the
beginning, estimate 20 hours in 2017
Location of files / resources:
Staffing this project:
10-10-2017
Business Engagement Action Plan
Jackie Kozak-Thiel, Josh Birks, SeonAh Kendall
ATTACHMENT 6
Question
Business Engagement
1. Are we addressing what
Council is hearing from the
business community?
2. Does the Business
Engagement Action Plan
support and complement
Council priorities?
2
Council Priorities
3
Strategic
Outcome Area
Policy – Project EHO
Lead/Support
Economic
Health
• Small Business Visibility Ø Lead
• Economic Health Focus
Ø Business Retention and Expansion
Ø Workforce Development Efficiencies
Ø Strategic Alignment on Fees
Ø Continued Focus on 1-25 Ultimate Design
Ø Lead
Ø Support
Ø Support
Ø Support
• Connected Smart City
Ø Innovation/City as a Platform
Ø Broadband
Ø Smart City Technology and Infrastructure
Ø Lead
Ø Support
Ø Support
Economic Health - Our Vision
4
A healthy, sustainable economy
reflecting community values.
EHO History
5
2004
Economic Vitality
& Sustainability
Assessment
Group
2005
Economic
Action Plan
2006
Industry Cluster
Analysis
2009
Economic
Health Office
(EHO)
2010
Urban Renewal
Authority added
2012
EHO Joins Sustainability
Service Area
2015
Updated
Economic Health
Strategic Plan
2016
Added Climate
Economy
2017
Launched
Business
Engagement
Action Plan
Role of Economic Health
6
EHO Focus
7
Business Support
• SeonAh Kendall (Lead)
• Shannon Hein (SME)
• Vacant (Policy/Metrics)
Redevelopment
• Patrick Rowe (Lead)
Innovation &
Climate Economy
• Sean Carpenter (Lead)
• Jackson Brockway (Innovation)
Jackie Kozak Thiel (Chief Sustainability Officer); Josh Birks (Director);
Rebecca Hicklin (Support); Emily Wilmsen (Communication)
Baldrige Feedback
8
Opportunities for Improvement:
Ø Systematic approach to:
ü Identify business customer segments
ü Listen to businesses
ü Assess satisfaction and engagement
ü Collect and evaluate information to improve services
Business Engagement Vision
9
External
Ø Improved business customer satisfaction
Ø Enhanced relationship between the City and business
community
Internal
Ø Coordinated City-wide business engagement strategy
Business Engagement
Action Plan Timeline
10
• Current State
Assessment
• Stakeholder
Convening
• Identify Issues
& Gaps
• Develop Strategy
• Define Metrics
• Council Engagement
• City-wide Strategy
for Engaging
Business Customer
• Implement non BFO items
• Budget for Outcomes
• Periodic Status Reports
(2x/Year)
• Regular Review
of Approach
• Improvements
as identified
Phase 1:
Analysis
Phase 2:
Design
Phase 3:
Implementation
Phase 4:
Review &
Modify
Business Engagement Assessment
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Ø A desire to increase consistency, improved communication,
prevent duplication
ü Demand for a city-wide Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
System
Ø No common language or consistent segmentation guidelines
Ø Customer service and relationships are built and maintained
differently
City-wide Observations –
Listening Sessions & Employee Survey
Quick Wins
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• ACCESS Fort Collins business identification
Survey/Data
• Pilot CRM
• National Business Survey
• Small Business Survey
Mid-Cycle Offers
Business listening session with Mayor and City Manager
Business Appreciation Breakfast
Business Engagement
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Council Engagement
How Can Council Engage with
Businesses?
Meet the businesses where
they are at.
• Coffee talks
• Site visits
• Listening sessions
• Tours
• Events
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Next Steps
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• Stakeholder Convening
o October 2017
• Business Survey
o October 2017
• Strategy Development
o October 2017 – February 2018
Questions
Business Engagement
1. Are we addressing what
Council is hearing from the
business community?
2. Does the Business
Engagement Action Plan
support and complement
Council priorities?
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Objectives/Agenda
• EHO History
• Where we came from
• Current State Assessment
• Council Priorities
• Where we are
• Business Engagement is a team sport
• Where we are headed
• How we measure success
• How Council can be involved
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Opportunities for Improvements
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• Visibility of economic health
• Consistent business engagement
• Housing attainability
• In-town mobility
• The right balance between the triple
bottom line approach
What’s Working
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• Business assistance packages
• Redevelopment
• Innosphere partnership
• Talent – Labor Force Study;
Talent 2.0
• Sector partnerships
• Business Appreciation Breakfast
• Business site visits
It’s a Team Sport
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Engagement Spectrum.
Create a “How to start a business”
roadmap to be shared throughout the
City and supporting organizations, so
everyone communicates the same path.
Website changes to reflect the
observations and recommendations
from the BEAP current state assessment
Develop a communication plan in
conjunction with Transportation and
Utilities for construction projects that
can interrupt service or impact
business. Provide options and support
before project begins, up to one year in
advance if possible.
Convene Transfort, DBA and Chamber
to improve the Passfort process, making
it easier for the pass-through
Downtown Business Association
Interaction
Discussion Items
Background of the project
Departments Involved
Partnerships and Industries Involved
What Worked?
What Didn’t?
Lessons Learned
Questions
Segmentation Analysis
How do you define/segment your
customers?
What relationship do you want with
your customers/what level?
ATTACHMENT 2