We also operate from 400 other locations across Tayside including schools, office and community centres etc.
Perth & Kinross
Ruthvenfield Depot
Blairgowrie Depot
Aberfeldy Depot
Collace Quarry
Contracts House
Fairmuir
Tay Cuisine Dundee
Cairnie Depot
Forfar Depot
Peasiehill Depot
Foreword by Keith McNamara, Managing Director
Thank you for reading our Communications Strategy. This strategy is vital for Tayside Contracts as it helps to lead our organisation in a clear and consistent way; it provides focus on our most important communications messages, stakeholders and communications channels; it ensure the most effective messaging; and helps us to identify gaps in our communications. The strategy should present a positive image of our organisation to our people, our stakeholders and our customers.
In this strategy we aim to:
Help us achieve our overall organisational objectives
Engage effectively with stakeholders
Demonstrate the success of the work we do
Ensure people understand what we do
Influence our own behaviours and perceptions, to align with the objectives and values of the organisation.
Our Communications Strategy seeks to address the fast moving external environment relating to communications, with factors including:-
Significant financial pressures and high public expectations of public services - therefore it is even more important to demonstrate to stakeholders the high-quality, cost-effective services offered by Tayside Contracts.
Active national and local media looking to highlight articles which portray our services in a certain way, which could impact on the organisation’s reputation.
The societal shift to ‘constant access’ to information, through small bursts of data, and through multiple channels, enabled by new and emerging technology such as social media platforms.
People increasingly access information through mobile devices, with a distinct generational gap, where older generations still tend to use local print media and paper based communications. Significant ongoing advancements in technology, and emerging communications channels.
In relation to our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, our self evaluation has identified:-
We have a good track record with communicating with the sizeable number of our employees who do not have English as their first language. There is a positive increasing use of social media by the organisation.
We recognise that, although we are changing, some of our historical communications narrative and style appear dated, and more internally focussed, rather than focussing on current needs, and what our stakeholders and customers want to know/should know.
We know we need to move more to instant access information for our stakeholders using social media/webbased platforms, and also via M365 and other emerging applications.
If we do not change, we will risk not keeping up with the new ways of communicating, and potentially alienate our stakeholders.
We should engage more with local media, to portray Tayside Contracts in a positive light to our wider communities.
We need to do more communicating face to face with our employees, therefore, we're looking to implement the quarterly briefings and cascading them throughout the organisation where practicable.
Explore greater use of AI in a controlled and safe manner especially in crafting communications messages such as media release.
Introduction
Effective communications are at the heart of everything Tayside Contracts does and aspires to achieve.
Our Communication Strategy (CS) provides the framework within which all of our communications take place.
Communications related values
At the heart of our Communication Strategy are our values - the 4 'P's. Below are the communications elements of our 4 'P's in our Business Plan 2024-27.
People
Ensuring the health and safety of everyone delivering and receiving our services.
Treating everyone fairly, and with dignity and respect. Everyone feeling free and enabled to express themselves.
Performance
Dialogue with employees - what is expected of them, and what do they expect of us.
Sharing information about our performance.
Encouraging and enabling feedback to help us improve.
Partnership
Open and honest communications builds trust. Trust is the basis for any successful partnership. Transforming together through connecting and sharing ideas.
Perception
Communicating openly, imaginatively - and with no jargon!
'Getting our message out there' to shape the way others see us. Reaching out to connect with and support our communities.
Communications and our corporate priorities
Our Communication Strategy will assist and enable us to achieve our Business Plan 2025-27 priorities - the 5Cs. Build confidence in our services Supporting our Councils achieve their objectives Enhancing our own learning through selfawareness
Identify and deliver on priority commercial opportunities Develop new market opportunities Developing our commercial creativity, skills and culture
Extend our shared services in priority areas Look for new collaborative opportunities Develop our capacity and skills in collaboration
Making the best use of our assets Validating our internal innovation Prioritisation of our improvements – based on evidence
Supporting Equality and Community Empowerment Supporting Local Economy and Education Climate Change and Sustainability
Our Communication Strategy delivers: The right information To the right people In the right way At the right time Two-way communications
Aims and Aspirations
Our Communication Strategy aims to:
In order to identify our aims we conducted a PESTLE analysis to provide a framework for the areas we will focus on and initiatives and tasks we will prioritise in our Communication Strategy:
Political - strengthen engagement with our Joint Committee through more regular electronic communications - this will ensure Joint Committee Members will know what they need to know, when they need to know it.
Economic - in keeping with our 'expand and diversify' Business Plan objective, we will use communications media more extensively and more imaginatively to reach out to potential customers and market the services Tayside Contracts can provide.
Social - embark on a programme of surveys and wider consultation with all stakeholders to help them feel more engaged in what we do, how and why we do it and the role all stakeholders can play in influencing our approach.
Technological - continue to modernise and optimise technological communications options to allow us to communicate more effectively and with greater immediacy. Explore greater use of AI in a controlled and safe manner especially in crafting communications messages such as media release.
Legal - use more visually engaging and high impact communication media to better inform our managers and employees of our statutory duties in all aspects of our activities.
Environmental - increase our use of electronic meeting systems to reduce our transport and energy carbon footprint and continue our progress towards a paper-free office by increasing our use of electronic communications in line with our strategic objective of 'Digital By Default'.
Aims and Aspirations
Our Communication Strategy aims to:
fully engage with our stakeholders
support the strategic aims of Tayside Contracts
positively influence perception of our brand through smarter use of internal and external media
have a well-informed and engaged workforce.
Aims and Aspirations
Our Communication Strategy aims and aspirations
We will continue to enhance our skills to optimise our IT options, especially M365.
We will ensure that our internal and external communications are uniform and modern.
Our Communication Strategy Action Plan 2025 – 2027 details how and when the improvement measures we have identified will be implemented.
Progressing our digitisation agenda - 'Digital by Default'
We will have measures in place to ensure our employees can communicate and feedback to the organisation.
We are clear on rules and responsibilities in preparing and authorising communications, especially in an emergency situation.
These are our main stakeholders: local communities and service users as potential future customers
our Trade Unions
Tayside Contracts Joint Committee our employees our partners in the Tayside Councils our customers Our suppliers
Who do we communicate with? supplies
Our activities and achievements via Target and a range of various social media platforms
e.g. policies, procedures and working instructions etc.
As many different methods as possible are used during times of crisis such as a pandemic/strike action.
Ways we communicate
For a detailed list of all our communications channels, please contact the Communications Team.
Face-to-face: In-person
Digitally: Email social media website TayNet
Surveys: Viewfinders
Ways we communicate
Interpretation/Translation
Polish/English
Other languages BSL
Ways we communicate
Interpretation/Translation
We have a legal obligation to ensure that all our employees have a clear and full understanding of both written and verbal communications.
Therefore, the communications team provides a comprehensive in-house Polish interpretation/translation service, as Polish is proportionately the language we have to translate most frequently. This will be carried out face-to-face, over the telephone or virtual, audio files and via translated written documents.
The communications team will also provide interpretation/translation services for users of other languages (including British sign language) to enable us to further progress equality, diversity and inclusion within Tayside Contracts and the services we provide.
Ways we communicate
our own Polish/English interpreter/translator interpreter/translators for other languages BSL interpreter/translator audio formats any other formats on request
Ways we communicate
Social Media
The increase in the use of social media channels has changed the way many people communicate not only with friends and family, but with many businesses including Tayside Contracts, and is a dominant method of communications.
As of 2024, approximately 94% of UK residents aged 16 and over own a smartphone, equating to around 51.9 million people.
(source: Finder.com)
Mobile phone users aged between 55-64 has increased from 86% in 2023 to 95% in 2024
(source USwitch)
Around 90.9% of the UK population are active users of various social media platforms (source: Global Digital Insights)
Social media is a very cost effective method of communicating to large numbers very quickly. Therefore, Tayside Contracts understands and embraces the benefits of social media.
Social media also supports our Climate Change Plan through greatly reducing the use of paper.
Tayside Contracts & Tayside Contracts Jobs
Contract
Contracts (Official)
Who is responsible for Communications?
Ultimate responsibility for communications and the effective implementation of the Communications Strategy sits with the Managing Director, who will be supported by our Communications Team in taking the strategy forward.
Meet our Communications Team!
AngieDodds
MonikaMajkutowska
IsabelReis
BeataMajkutowska
AshleighLeaver
Who
else is responsible for Communications?
In a word...
EVERYONE! EVERYONE! EVERYONE!
Whilst the Communications Team is responsible for facilitating and enabling effective communications, every manager and employee has an individual responsibility and a vital role to play in ensuring that our communications are a two-way process and not merely a flow of information in one direction. Having the right conversations!
Our communications will only be truly successful if we reach out, connect and engage with everyone we want to have a conversation with.
How we communicate shapes our culture, and our culture shapes how we communicate!
It is a never-ending circular process and to work in a healthy culture we must all communicate in ways that make us all feel safe, respected and valued. Healthy conversations = healthy culture
What How By
Plan
Priorities
Corporate identity and branding A Communications Statement on branding and corporate identity. December 2025
Social Media:
Further utilisation and exploitation of all suitable social media platforms to enable us to better engage with elected members, parents, children, customers, clients and our own employees.
(to better connect with school pupils)
Dealing with external media Design external media protocol December 2025
Support business crisis communications Liaise with Business Improvement Manager As and when required by the business areas
What How When
Regular electronic ‘Spotlight’ bulletins to Joint Committee members, our senior managers and selected external contacts to raise awareness of key TC events and news
Design and deliver templates as the basis for 'short-burst information bulletins' via MS Sway
Ongoing
Advancing TC's 'Digital by Default' engagement with digitisation and embedding electronic communications and data storage across the organisation e.g.: front line employees engagement
Supporting home/hybrid working
Reduce valuable office space
Training on all aspects of M365
On-the-job training sessions during the migration project for all users.
2024 and ongoing
Review and evaluation of the implementation of the Communication Strategy Reports to the Corporate Leadership Team on progress Quarterly
What How When
Campaign to raise awareness and employees investment in the values and five Cs of the Business Plan
Specific detailed communications plan
Review employee feedback mechanisms
Campaign to promote to key stakeholders the positive contribution Tayside Contracts makes to communities and the area
Engagement with employees on their preferred methods for feedback
August 2025 - August 2026
Quarterly team briefings
Development of engagement plan
September 2025
Provide the information in an easy format to create and share
Quarterly
What How When
Community Fund
Annual Performance Report
Utilise social media to promote the CF phases. Attend council Meet the Funder events to showcase what we can provide Ongoing
School meals menus
Collation, preparation and creation of the Annual Performance Report April - Nov 2025 & 2026
Provide the Councils Comms teams with weekly social media content for sharing weekly during school terms
