Hosting a Site Visit

While sitting weeks in Canberra and state capitals are a great way to get in front as many MPs in a short time as possible, an often forgotten and under-utilised advocacy tool is the local site visit or tour. If your organisation has a physical footprint, whether it's a factory or soup kitchen, hosting relevant politicians, ministerial staff and public servants on home turf is a powerful opportunity to bring your organisation's contributions and policy issues to life.

The best visits are organised well in advance with a specific advocacy goal in mind, so taking the time to plan them is paramount.

1. Set a clear goal

It's likely you have multiple issues on the go at any time, but the best site visits are those that are framed around one. It's good thing to do is ask yourself - if my guest left today with one message, what would that be? Knowing they answer to this question will help structure your visit around the things that reinforce will that message.

2. Prepare a run sheet, and stick to it

Time is precious to most MP, staff and certainly Ministers. Preparing a detailed run sheet with timings and attendees, and sharing that with the office in advance will not only encourage attendance, but help things run smoothly. Keep the visit to 30-60 minutes for politicians and senior bureaucrats, and front load it with the main attraction and message in case guests need to leave early.

3. Brief executives and site staff

A site visit will likely mean interaction between your guests and people from your organisation. Executives who have an active role in the visit should be properly briefed in the same way they would be for any other government meeting. Operations or other site staff who may not have a speaking role, should still be briefed on who's attending and their role (in case they are approached), and briefed on what is expected of them and what to say if a VIP guest strikes up a conversation.

4. Provide light refreshments

This visit will likely be one of many engagements your VIP guests will have that day. Unless your site is a stone's throw from Parliament, it will likely be on a non-sitting day which means your guests will be on the road or meeting constituents most of the day. Offering some 'grab and go' refreshments like bottled water and sandwiches will almost always be appreciated, especially between meal times.

5. Know what success looks like

Think about setting some metrics for the visit. How will you know if it is successful? Will the MP post a photo on social media? Will they do a joint media release on the day? Or is it simply to put a face to the organisation by meeting with your key people? Agree on what success looks like up front, and make sure to let key business leaders know if it's been achieved.

If you'd like to see how Advoc8's in-depth MP bios and political intelligence can help you prepare for VIP visits, reach out for a free trial today.