Module 11: Communicating the Value of TSMO As we begin learning about some key aspects of TSMO, it’s fitting to start off by talking about the need to – TALK about TSMO Regional Operations Forum Franklin, TN May 21-23, 2019 

Session Purpose Introduce Communicating the Value of TSMO Provide understanding of: What is Communicating the Value of TSMO about? Why is it important? What are the benefits? Leadership actions for communicating

What is Communicating the Value of TSMO? Conveying key messages to various audiences to help them understand why TSMO is valuable Benefit:Cost Articulating the business case for TSMO Story (e.g. Starbucks) In order for stakeholders – and there are a wide variety of them internally and externally – to understand and support TSMO, they need to know what it is Having key messages that relate to all stakeholder audiences and some messages that really speak to select audiences is the key to helping them understand why TSMO is so valuable to transportation These messages need to succinctly articulate the business case for TSMO in a way that’s meaningful for your agency, region, state, etc.

Words Can Make the Difference Transportation Systems Management and Operations TSMO Management and Operation Operations Managing the system How does your agency talk about it? Refer back to responses during introduction Think of other systems in our lives – theme parks, factories, volunteer activities at school – if they were just built without any instructions, thought to people using them, they wouldn’t function to the best of their ability – worse, they’d likely become obsolete really fast If we build a transportation system of roads and bridges but don’t do anything to operate them at their best capacity, we’re not getting the most out of what we’ve built

Why is it Important? Creates understanding of the need to manage transportation system Advances knowledge and acceptance of TSMO as tool for managing transportation Drives investments toward TSMO strategies Builds and sustains a TSMO culture Having an approach for communicating the value of TSMO creates understanding, spreads knowledge, can encourage investment, and creates a culture Think about the power of social media as a communication tool – whether you think it’s good or bad, it’s a powerful communication tool that illustrates the power and value of communicating People need to understand what you’re talking about before they can get behind it and support it Knowing how to talk about TSMO – which is much of what you’ll learn will help you all develop your own approach to telling others about TSMO Photo from MnDOT

What are the Benefits? Generates support from key stakeholders Demonstrates efficiency and effectiveness of TSMO strategies Impacts need to be demonstrated and explained to gain support and acceptance Presents agency as a good steward of public resources Choosing solutions that best address problems within constraints When done well, communicating the value of TSMO generates support – financial or otherwise It demonstrates the effectiveness of strategies for managing transportation – ultimately for a better traveler experience One huge benefit – it can present your agency as a good steward of public dollars by using tools that best address your transportation challenges

Leadership Actions for Communicating Define and know your audience Build the case Identify opportunities to engage Leadership actions for this module are bit less examples and more a high-level “how to” on communicating the value of TSMO using these three basic steps Define and know your audience: Who is the audience you need to engage? Build the case: What matters to that audience? Identify opportunities to engage: What opportunities do you have to engage the audience?

Define and Know Your Audience Who is your audience? Elected officials and regional leadership Agency leadership Field personnel Other functional areas Partner agencies Private sector Media And the public too! Recommended Product SHRP2 L17 Business Case Primer: Communicating the Value of TSMO Identifying your audience is critical in that you need to: Determine WHO you have the ability to influence, and who do THEY influence Then know which of your audience are decision makers (like elected officials and agency leadership – who make decisions about policy or money), implementers (like other functional areas within your agency or partner agencies – who are needed to make a strategy happen), and influencers (like the public) The private sector – such as large industries or developers – can be both all of the above in some regions and they can also have a big influence on other decision makers. Think about a major distribution center like Amazon or the Destination Medical Center in Rochester, for example. Each audience is going to have a different trigger and require a bit different message and communication strategy.

Define and Know Your Audience Understand their interests and concerns What operational issues (e.g. congestion, safety, access) have they talked about most? Are their responsibilities long or short-term? What areas of responsibility are most important to them? Segmenting your audience will help you to identify your audience’s responsibilities and hot-button issues, and also match TSMO solutions and outcomes to your audiences’ issues. Then you need to understand which of these audiences MUST support TSMO for its success so you can prioritize. As we talk more about agency capabilities today and various TSMO strategies tomorrow, you can consider who some of the key audiences would be in your region. PROBLEM: Reliability is increasingly important to key customers, such as freight providers and business travelers. Traditional infrastructure investments have a modest impact on reliability. SOLUTION: TSMO targets reliability and delay, which represent a large percentage of the causes of congestion.

Know Your Audience Will Anything Change For Me? Maintenance Operations – Pavement markings/striping for CAV Will Anything Change For Me? This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Know Your Audience – Public Stakeholders Identify and Prioritize Critical Partnerships for TSMO Program Understand the Stakeholders’ Perspective Understand and explain the Win-Win opportunities Build Trust – Do your part

Communicating with Partners & Stakeholders Demonstrate your commitment – Fund Projects & Programs of mutual interest Leverage existing relations – people and institutional Joint training, workshops, after-action reviews, Formalize Partnerships – MOUs, Agreements

What is our message and why would it matter to them? Overall Message - Connecting the DOTS thru’ TSMO Understanding the business functions and priorities of our audience Show the synergies and the win-win with TSMO Identify the Champions, Leaders and Difference Makers and Engage them Demonstrate your commitment for projects/ programs of mutual interest Formalize Business Processes & Partnerships If enough time at the end of the module, facilitator could go through the questions and call on volunteers to share their thoughts. If not enough time, could just be a closing slide to prompt thinking around how participants might change their communication approaches based on what they learned.

Know Your Audience – Travelling Public Customer Education & Engagement is Very Important See it thru’ the Customer’s Eyes and Tell Your Story Roadshows, Tours, Community Events, Project Workshops Websites, Social Media, Newsletters Brochures CC BY

Define and Know Your Audience: Elected Officials What do we know about them? Limited time to address any issue Their own interest areas Very dependent on staff for details Interpersonal relationships key to getting things done Like to be given credit and recognition Sensitivity to fiscal constraints Jargon—elected officials prefer “plain speak” And remember – elected officials like to get re-elected! As a special note, there are a lot of additional considerations for communicating with elected officials and decision makers. There are two aspects of “time” for elected officials – the time they are in office and the time they have to spend on issues. Transportation programs are often packaged in 5-, 10- or even 30-year timeframes. Longer-term transportation needs might not be on their immediate horizon. There are also constraints on their time very different from your agency executives. Transportation is not their only issue or priority, and in fact, may be very far down the list. There also are some unique processes to consider – you might not be able to get direct access to your official, but rather it’s the relationship with key staff that might be key to getting their attention or helping to elevate specific issues. There’s also a reason they like big road and bridge projects – it’s something that you can point to and take credit for if they have been able to influence funding or legislation to enable it. With TSMO, it’s a bit different. This is something those of you in the operations leadership roles know all too well – TSMO ribbon cuttings are few and far between. Elected officials also want to have a good idea of what they are dealing with. We live in a world of TSMO acronyms…ATMS, TIM, ITS, MAP-21, etc. that don’t mean much if anything to them. You’ll have a better chance of being able to communicate your key points if you limit the jargon and use “plain speak.” Frankly, in today’s busy world – a lot of these same points apply to most of your audiences – being time-constrained, concerned about many issues, and needing “plain speak.”