Inspectors, communication officers and professionals from various departments of the Mongolian Customs General Administration (MCGA) participated in a two-day Public Relations / Public Communications workshop on 26-27 November. The Press Institute (TPI) facilitated the event in collaboration with EPRC.
The workshop provided participants with:
MCGA staff indicated that the workshop provided them with information about several new communications practices that they will seek to implement on their jobs. One participant shared that based on interviewing skills learned at the workshop he was able to avoid a difficult situation when a journalist asked an unexpected question during an interview.
The workshop designed to increase MCGA staff capacity to work effectively with media and communicate effectively with the public is one component of TPI’s approach to improve public communications skills and practices within organizations. Prior to the workshop, TPI conducted an assessment of existing Customs communications processes to identify strengths and weaknesses and make recommendations for improvement.
The assessment noted that MCGA’s call center—the Customs Hotline 12-81—launched in 2008 has been a success. The call center has clear operating procedures, including standardized greetings when answering the phones, and maintains a database for timely delivery of information to the public; it has effectively supported MCGA’s efforts to improve transparency and its public image. The assessment also noted that while MCGA has a fully staffed communications department, the workflow process, roles and responsibilities for communicating externally are unclear. This creates confusion for the general public and media trying to get information from the appropriate sources. The TPI assessment recommended improvements to the Customs website to make it more user-friendly, documented operational procedures for maintaining it, and clearly defined the roles and responsibilities for the Information Technology (IT) and Communications departments.
The project and TPI will summarize the findings of the assessment for Customs management consideration and will assist as required with the implementation of the recommendations and conduct a follow up assessment of changes in communications practices and their impact after six months.
The workshop provided participants with:
- An understanding of journalism
- Hands-on experience on writing press releases and organizing press conferences
- An understanding of the differences between communications and marketing
- Tips, skills, and practice in handling press interviews, with the participation of a professional journalist from the daily newspaper “Unen” who conducted interviews of customs inspectors, allowing participants to evaluate and provide feedback on how to handle them.
MCGA staff indicated that the workshop provided them with information about several new communications practices that they will seek to implement on their jobs. One participant shared that based on interviewing skills learned at the workshop he was able to avoid a difficult situation when a journalist asked an unexpected question during an interview. The workshop designed to increase MCGA staff capacity to work effectively with media and communicate effectively with the public is one component of TPI’s approach to improve public communications skills and practices within organizations. Prior to the workshop, TPI conducted an assessment of existing Customs communications processes to identify strengths and weaknesses and make recommendations for improvement.
The assessment noted that MCGA’s call center—the Customs Hotline 12-81—launched in 2008 has been a success. The call center has clear operating procedures, including standardized greetings when answering the phones, and maintains a database for timely delivery of information to the public; it has effectively supported MCGA’s efforts to improve transparency and its public image. The assessment also noted that while MCGA has a fully staffed communications department, the workflow process, roles and responsibilities for communicating externally are unclear. This creates confusion for the general public and media trying to get information from the appropriate sources. The TPI assessment recommended improvements to the Customs website to make it more user-friendly, documented operational procedures for maintaining it, and clearly defined the roles and responsibilities for the Information Technology (IT) and Communications departments.
The project and TPI will summarize the findings of the assessment for Customs management consideration and will assist as required with the implementation of the recommendations and conduct a follow up assessment of changes in communications practices and their impact after six months.