On the first day of Symposium in the Sun 2023, Jenny Bragiel, Volunteer Program Manager with the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System and Founder of Bragiel Global Consulting, spoke about creating positive perceptions of your organization by telling your organizational story. During her presentation, she challenged the audience’s understanding of perception and pushed attendees to think about their organizational messaging in a new way. We sat down with Ms. Bragiel after her presentation for a short interview.
What inspired you to present on this topic?
So often we talk about mistakes made in communication. We focus on the negative aspects and how to avoid them. I wanted to focus on the positives and how to build relationships and trust that will help you when something negative occurs. Bad things happen and mistakes happen, no matter how many policies you create or how much you train. Building a positive perception internally and externally can help give your organization the benefit of the doubt. It can help make it easier to get back to a positive place with your community, your local government officials, and your internal members.
What are the three big things you hope attendees take away?
The first thing I hope people take away from my presentation is that it takes time and effort to build a positive organizational brand. This is something that you have to be consistently and constantly working toward. In my presentation, I compare it to cleaning your house. It is easy to have a dirty home, simply don’t do anything. Having a clean house on the other hand, requires you to clean regularly and takes effort. Building a positive brand is the same way.
The second thing is that an individual’s perception of an organization is not always based on facts. They may have many biases that impact their perception of your organization. It is up to the organization to challenge these biases and change that individual’s perception to build a positive brand. One example that I provide in my presentation is an individual’s bias about who a firefighter is. You may have a diverse and inclusive organization, but an individual’s bias may prevent them from seeing your organization as such. Instead of using an image in your recruitment efforts that leaves the race, gender, or religion of the firefighter open to bias, challenge the bias by using images that show your organization’s diversity.
The third takeaway is to prepare your members to tell your organization’s story. Many members are not prepared to share the story of your organization and what makes it unique and a great place to volunteer or work. Take a moment with your members and practice telling a short 30 second story about your organization that makes it stand out.
What piece of advice do you have for an emergency services organization seeking to build positive relationships with community organizations?
Start small. Pick one organization and invite them to an event. Invite them to discuss ways you can collaborate. Go to their events, small and big, that they invite you to attend. My biggest piece of advice though is don’t spread yourself too thin, pick an organization and focus on it. If you find you have bandwidth, then expand your efforts and begin working with another organization. By focusing on creating a positive relationship with one organization at a time this will help you find success and create a strong foundation. Once the foundation is created, it will be a natural relationship and you should find that you have more time that you can focus on building and developing new relationships.
During your presentation you discussed telling your story to your Board of Supervisors, Government Officials or Board Members in a new way. What is the value of doing this?
These are the individuals that control your budget and can make a significant impact on your organization. They can decide if you hire more career members, or if you get extra funding for a program. Many organizations give regular reports at their meetings, but often I see that their reports are the exact same each time with updated numbers. They don’t take this time to make a meaningful connection. Yes, still tell them the breakdown of calls and your usual numbers, but if you can add an important story or message. During my presentation, I shared a story about a little boy who saved his neighbor’s home because he attended our Fired up for Fire Safety First Grade Program. We told his story to our Board of Supervisors; we brought him in and recognized him. This showed the value of this program and put a face to its success and will make it easier for us to gain funding for it moving forward. This is an example of how you can make a meaningful connection to your organization and increase the perception of the value and need for a program or position within your organization.
Thank you for sitting with us. Do you have any final thoughts for people reading this interview?
Little things matter. When it comes to building a positive brand, every engagement and interaction is an opportunity. Often organizations think about marketing campaigns and pushing their message out to the masses, whether that be through ads, press conferences or press releases. This is important but don’t forget the small things. Such as when a teacher reaches out to you about your coat drive to see if you have some children size coats that she could get for her students, who are in need of coats. Does your organization have the culture to pull the coats and give them to the teacher? While you are out conducting a smoke alarm canvas, if a parent approaches with their child and asks for a tour of your engine, do you have the culture for a member to say yes and make that parent and child’s day. These small acts of kindness can have a big impact on the perception of your organization and its brand.
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