Are you satisfied with the way Riverside communicates important information? Whether the answer is yes, no or sort of, the village wants to hear from you.
“What we’re trying to figure out is what people like, what they want to see more of, how to further engage the community, and in what ways they are accessing information,” said Village Manager Jessica Frances.
The survey is available online through Riverside’s website and will stay open through the end of the month, Frances said. It asks residents what kind of communications they want to see more of from the village, what kinds they see too often, the best ways to reach people and what would make someone want to subscribe or follow the village.
Right now, Riverside staff make use of several avenues to reach the public, Frances said.
“There are residents that only utilize our newsletter. There are some that only subscribe to our E-Flash. There are some who get their news through you all at the Landmark. Some watch Riverside TV, and then you have our socials and YouTube,” she said. “There are multiple ways in which we try to engage with residents. Part of this survey is to try to figure out what the best ways are.”
She said the village makes efforts to post online and keep hard copies of its newsletters, too, for residents who might not have internet access or the ability to download the digital newsletter, where staff share information at the village, township and county level, thanks to the work of Emily Stenzel, the village clerk, and Kit Wiberg, the communications and marketing manager.
“Emily has taken a further step, as has Kit, of collaborating with the township, the school district and the library of sharing information. That also goes into different sustainability measures that the board adopted with regards to the Road to 2050 plan,” Frances said.
While the village updates residents about upcoming events and other news, Frances said not all communications have to be forward-looking.
“Our history posts are one of our top items [on social media], and residents also enjoy the nature pictures that Kit works diligently on,” she said. The village also features residents’ photos, she added.
Frances said she believes the village is doing a good job already due to the breadth of people who engage with its communications.
“We have individuals that subscribe and follow our social media and our E-Flashes that don’t even live in Riverside. We’ve gotten calls before from people in other communities asking about a particular post, so either we have to unfortunately tell them that’s just for Riverside residents, or we’ll direct them to the right county agency,” she said.
Riverside is seeking feedback because staff have learned that residents are “incredibly engaged,” Frances added.
“We saw it when we put together the master plan for parks and recreation. We got a statistically valid survey. It looks like we will have pretty close to a statistically valid survey for the feedback we’re getting for this communication survey,” she said. “We’re always getting a lot of responses, which is great, because we want that feedback.”
