Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chloe McIntosh
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RESEARCH APPROACHES
Descriptive Quantitative Research MLJC Consultancy conducted surveys on three key groups that were identified on behalf of MLJC Consultancy and the Geelong Football Club. The three groups were as followed: 1. PLAYERS OF GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB 2. CORPORATE AND COTERIE GROUPS 3. MEMBERS OF THE GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB MLJC Consultancy conducted a survey on the current players of the Geelong Football Club to determine their feelings regarding the communication between and approachability of the clubs public relations department. The survey focused on the information flow between the players and PR Staff, allowing for recommendations to be made based on the results of the survey. The survey that was administered on August 2010 by MLJC consultancy is included in the (Appendix 8). The Player Satisfaction monitor is conducted through self completion questionnaires. The survey was administered in hardcopy in a team meeting due to the poor response rate from previous years. In previous years the survey was administered by placing the questionnaire in each individual players locker with instructions of whom to hand it to. The survey was administered in November 09, with results received the day the survey was administered. The Corporate and Coterie Members Satisfaction Monitor was conducted through self completion questionnaires. Due to declining response rates via mail from 20002008, the 2009 survey was administered online. A link was sent via email on November 10th 2009, a reminder email was sent on the 24th of November to those that had not completed the survey and another reminder sent on the 10th of December. All responses were received by the 18th of December. The questionnaire used in 2009 (Appendix 6) This survey was the fourteenth in the series. A census of all members is attempted; however less than half a full response rate was achieved.
SURVEY DESIGN
The survey of all target publics members, corporate and coterie groups and players - were administered through self-completion questionnaires. This required MJLC Consultancy to contact the Geelong Football Club to ask for approval. With their support the respondents were informed of the purpose of the survey and were given and asked to take part in them. When the surveys were returned MJLC Consultancy thanked the respondents for their cooperation. There was a different survey given to each target public and the questions were based around the demographics of that target public. The survey contained close-ended response questions. Respondents were asked to rate their attitudes towards each question. Close-ended responses provide a more straightforward and clear analysis of the results as opposed to open-ended questions.
MLJC has found that the Geelong Football Club has set a satisfaction target of 80 out of 100 as a Key Performance Index to be achieved across all stakeholder groups. Satisfaction of the players of the Geelong Football Club is a key component in the ongoing success of the Football Club. Overall player satisfaction has been analysed by using series of player satisfaction attributes which are listed in the table found below
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60 55 50 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Overall player satisfaction currently sits at a satisfied level (79) only one point from being highly satisfied and meeting the Geelong Football Clubs key performance index (KPI) which is (80) across all stakeholder groups. Player satisfaction peaked in 2001 and 2003 before hitting a 9 year low in 2007 before rapidly improving over the past 2 years.
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Bottom 10
Amount nonfootball commitments R/ship b/w players and other staff Comm. About appearances & functions Way club handles players delisted Amount of club functions appear at Support stafftrainers/ massage therapists R/ship b/w players and football dept R/ship and comm. b/w coaches and players Other equipment (Gym, pool, spa) Introductions to depts. and staff 58
91
59
90
62
Coaching & teaching methods Relationship b/w players and club Player Leadership program Quality of recruits
89
64
88
66
88
67
87
67
86
71
85
71
84
84
The table above ranks the 20 attributes into the top 10 and bottom 10. There 6 attributes that are seen as below acceptable, that is receiving a rating of less than 70.
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Question 1:
3 Monthly 50%
Monthly 45%
Results indicate that the majority of Geelong Football Club players currently receive information regarding the undertaking of player appearances on a monthly and 3 monthly basis. 50% of players were updated on the appearances they must complete on a 3-monthly basis whilst 45% of players were updated on a monthly basis.
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Question 2
Fortnighly 65%
The majority (65%) of players wish to be updated about the upcoming appearances they are to complete on a fortnightly basis, with only 20% of players preferring to be updated less frequently that on a fortnightly basis.
Question 3
45%
20%
The majority (80%) of players prefer to receive updates relating to appearances electronically. 45% prefer to receive information electronically through text messages sent to their mobile phones outlining updates whilst 35% prefer to receive information electronically via their personal email accounts. Only 1 in 5 players prefer the current system of receiving a hard copy in your locker, with 4 in 5 players outlining the need for change.
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55%
Just over a half of players rate the Geelong Football Club staff in charge of coordinating player appearances as average in relation to their approachability. The remaining players (45%) are split between the staff being below average and above average.
Question 5
Just under two thirds of players said that they have no input into the type of appearances they undertake for the Football Club. Only a small majority (10%) claim they do have a say whilst the slightly larger number (25%) admit to occasionally having an input into the type of appearances they undertake.
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ELITE SPONSORS:
NIB, Skilled, ISC, Simonds, Geelong Advertiser.
PREMIER SPONSORS:
Bendigo Bank, Carlton Draught, Coca Cola, Momentum Energy, Rays Outdoors, Shell, TAC and Telstra
ASSOCIATE SPONSORS:
Belmont Timber, Betfair, Bundaberg Rum, Body Science, Costa Group, Deakin University, K-Rock, Lambys, Motarola, Scotchmans Hill and Pura Milk
PIVOTS
The key benefits of this membership are very similar to that of the Gold Cats in that they receive premium match day hospitality at not only Skilled Stadium but Etihad Stadium and the Melbourne Cricket Ground also. They also receive gold seating at all club events and are reserved a seat at the Grand Final as well as a personal or business acknowledgement at match functions and in the Cats Insider. This is all at a cost of $5,090 per person.
WAGS
This is a membership group for Melbourne-based supporters. For $2,600 they receive pre-match hospitality at seven nominated games in Melbourne, as well as premium reserved seating and a car park pass to all Etihad Stadium and MCG home games. They also receive an invitation to the Geelong Cats Season Launch.
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PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS
- Of the respondents: - 15% were Sponsors -13% were Gold Cats -28% were Open Air Box Holders - 8% were Pivots - 21% were WAGs -14% were Player Sponsors. - Around half of the Corporate and Coterie members who responded to the surveys were Company owners (42% in 2009). - Around half of the Corporate and Coterie members work in Geelong (45% in 2009). - The main three industries represented in the corporate and coterie groups were construction, finance and insurance and personal and other services. - The vast majority of Corporate and Coterie members who responded over the first nine years were aged 35-64 years (84%) - In 2009, 20% of the respondents were female.
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Satisfaction
Sponsor Pivots 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 May Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct April Oct 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2000 2000 2001 2001 2002 2002 2003 2003 Gold Cats WAGS Open Air Box Holder Player Sponsor/ Other
The survey results showed a gradual increase in overall communication satisfaction within the corporate and coterie groups over the last ten years. The rating of overall satisfaction among corporate and coterie members fell 4 points to 79 out of 100, from a high of 81 out of 100 achieved in 2008. Each of the coterie groups achieved their highest ratings for overall satisfaction in 2008, with all, except WAGs, reporting a decline in 2009. WAGs achieved an extremely satisfied 91 out of 100, the highest of the monitor. On the other hand, Player Sponsors rated satisfaction at below the satisfied level (68). Pivots achieved the target KPI (81), despite a decline from 87 in 2008. Sponsors (72), Gold Cats (74) and Open Air Box Holders (75) rated overall satisfaction at the satisfied level.
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Over the 10 years of the monitor, the forecast rate of renewal for the upcoming season increased, achieving a high of 72 out of 100 in 2008. This declined in 2009 to 67 out of 100; the second highest of the monitor. WAGs were the only group to provide a rating for likelihood to renew at the highly satisfied level (81). Pivots have reported significant improvement in this measure from well below satisfied (31) to achieved 78 out of 100 in 2009, the highest of the monitor. Player Sponsors (52) and Gold Cats (57) provided the lowest ratings for likelihood to renew in 2009. Of concern, Gold Cats reported a decline of 30 points from 2008 (87) to 2009 (57).
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b) Being kept informed about the Club achieved a below satisfied rating of 67 in 2009, which is 5 points lower than the high of 72 out of 100 achieved in 2008. Ratings for this measure vary widely across coterie groups and from year to year. In 2009, WAGs (82) were the only group to achieve the highly satisfied level, which was also the case in 2008 and 2007. In 2009, the lowest ratings were provided by Gold Cats (56), Pivots (54) and Player Sponsors (58).
c) Ratings of the access to directors and senior management on match days has remained well below the satisfied level throughout the 10 years of the monitor, and in 2009 was 60 out of 100. WAGs (77) were the only group to achieve the satisfied level on this measure in 2009. Sponsors (66) provided the second highest rating across groups in 2009, improving from the low of 44 out of 100 in 2007. Pivots (50) reported the lowest rating for access to directors and senior management on match days, down 20 points from the high achieved in 2008 (70). Gold Cats (53) also reported a significant decline from a high of 83 in 2008.
d) The rating of access to directors and senior management not on match days has been similar to the rating of access to directors and senior management on match days. The 2009 result was similar at a below satisfied 58 out of 100. Results by coterie group vary considerably, with WAGs (70) providing their highest rating for the monitor and being the only group to achieve the satisfied level on this measure. Sponsors (63) provided the second highest result, declining 6 points compared to 2008 (69). Player Sponsors (45) and Gold Cats (47) provided the lowest ratings.
e) The 2009 result of the access to players and coaching staff is well below the satisfied level with 53 out of 100 was well below the satisfied level. Gold Cats (36) provided the lowest rating for this measure in 2009, a large decline compared to the 2008 result (67) when it achieved its highest rating and the highest rating for this measure across coterie groups. WAGs (68) achieved the highest rating in 2009, which was the highest for this group over the 10 years of the monitor, followed by Sponsors (59).
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QUESTION 4
a) How satisfied are you with the level of consultation that takes place prior to the
Club making decisions that affect your coterie group? b) How satisfied are you with the forums for discussion that are provided by the Club? c) How satisfied are you with the feedback you receive on the reasons for decisions that affect you and your coterie group? d) How satisfied are you with the consultation you have had on the Clubs business plan and progress?
Communication - Consultation
OVERALL COMMUNICATION Forums for discussion Consultation - business plan & progress 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 May Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct April Oct 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2000 2000 2001 2001 2002 2002 2003 2003 Consultation - decisions impacting group Feedback - decisions impacting group
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a) The rating of the level of consultation prior to decisions trended upwards and achieved a rating equal to the highest over this time, it remains well below the satisfied level at 57 out of 100. WAGs (73) were the only group to achieve the satisfied level for this measure, which was equal to the highest for this group over the 10 years of the monitor. The second highest rating was provided by Pivots (63). Gold Cats (44) and Player Sponsors (45) provided the lowest ratings in 2009.
b) The rating for forums for discussion in 2009 achieved a rating of 56. This was one of the lowest rated attributes across the survey. WAGs (77) were the only group to achieve the satisfied level, which was the highest result for this group over the 10 years of the monitor. Gold Cats (39) achieved their lowest rating following a decline in ratings of 19 points compared to 2008 (58). Player Sponsors (45) also rated forums for discussion well below the satisfied level. Sponsors (59) achieved a rating equal to the highest for this group over the 10 years of the monitor.
c) In 2009, the rating for feedback on reasons for decisions affecting you or your coterie group achieved a rating of 55 out of 100. This was one of the lowest rated attributes across the survey. WAGs (73) were the only group to achieve the satisfied level, which was the equal to the highest result for this group over the 10 years of the monitor. Gold Cats (42) achieved the lowest rating following a decline in ratings of 25 points compared to 2008 (67). Player sponsor (45) also rated feedback for reasons for decisions well below the satisfied level. Sponsors (56) and Open Air Box Holders (55) achieved ratings that were 2nd and 3rd highest across the coterie groups. d) In 2009 the rating for the consultation on the Clubs business plan and progress achieved of 56 out of 100. WAGs (70) were the only group to achieve the satisfied level. Player Sponsors (40) provided the lowest rating on this measure, with Gold Cats (47) reporting the largest decline. Sponsors(59) and Open Air Box Holders (58) achieved ratings that were 2nd and 3rd highest across the coterie groups.
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What is your most preferred form of receiving information from the club? (Circle one)
- Personal (one-on-one) - Written (fax) -Written (email) - Internet website - Personal (public presentation of information) - Written (letter) - Telephone - SMS
Over the 10 years of the monitor, the emergence of the internet has had a profound impact on expectations of the format of communication. In April 2000, email was the third most preferred form of communication, with only 16% of Corporate and Coterie members in favour of that method. However, in 2009 it was clearly the most preferred method with 76% preferring to receive information via email. Results indicate a reasonable proportion of members would like to see email replace faxes and letters, with both of these formats declining over the past 10 years of the monitor.
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Overall
Overall satisfaction 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30
Feb May Oct Apr 00 00 00 01 Oct 01 Apr 02 Oct Apr 02 03 Oct Apr 03 04 Oct Apr 04 05 Oct Apr 05 06 Oct Aug Apr Nov May 06 07 08 08 09
Valued member?
The members overall satisfaction with the communication, the involvement with the club and the feeling of being a valued member in the May 2009 report increased and achieved the recommend KPI of 83 out of 100 set by the club, which was 11 points higher than the previous 10 year average of 72. Thus resulting in both the overall satisfaction and feeling like a valued member reaching and achieving higher than that of the previous 10 years. The key measures of both the apparatuses where both 11 points higher than the average over the 10 years of the monitor, with ratings at the target KPI of 83 and 81 respectively. The members overall satisfaction was seen to be a major area for the club to target, and with the expectation that it will continue to increase every year.
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Telephone Service
OVERALL 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30
Feb May Oct Apr 00 00 00 01 Oct Apr 01 02 Oct Apr 02 03 Oct Apr 03 04 Oct Apr 04 05 Oct Apr 05 06 Oct Aug Apr Nov May 06 07 08 08 09
Speed
Manner
Knowledge
The results showed that the members of the Geelong football club acknowledged the improvements in the telephone service provided by the GFC. The overall Telephone Service that was provided particular to the members of the club reached a KPI for the first time in May of 2009, which was 80. This was an important statistic for the GFC as it gave them a way to measure their direct feedback, one on one to the members, and ultimately how the members perceived this. The Manner and knowledge that the Telephone service provided has been consistent over the past years although speed in decreasing. The speed of answering the telephone scored 75 out of the possible 100 and is yet to achieve the targeted KPI for the past 10 years, despite this it has been constantly on the satisfied range in all but two of the surveyed periods.
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Cost/ Value
OVERALL 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30
Feb May Oct Apr 00 00 00 01 Oct 01 Apr 02 Oct Apr 02 03 Oct Apr 03 04 Oct Apr 04 05 Oct Apr 05 06 Oct Aug Apr Nov May 06 07 08 08 09
Affordability of membership
The members results showed that the overall cost and value for money for their particular membership reached its desired KPI for the first time in April 2008 and has since then maintained it at 80, until the last survey that was undertaken in May 2009. It was also suggested that the affordability and value of the membership was an important determinant in formulating overall satisfaction with the club as a whole.
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1. How would you rate the overall communication within the GFC? 2. How would you rate the regularity of information you received from the GFC?
They were then asked to rate these out of 100.
Communication to Members
OVERALL 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30
Feb May Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct Apr 00 00 00 01 01 02 02 03 03 04 04 05 05 06 Oct Aug Apr Nov May 06 07 08 08 09
Regularly informed
The members overall communication with the Geelong Football Club reached it KPI of 85 out of 100 in April 2008, and since then has platoed. The members feel as if they are generally well informed and this is also at a steady state of 87 out of 100, but the graph indicates it is rapidly changing and thus this may be an area the GFC would like to look into. The consistent follow of information in and out of the club is an important part for members satisfaction and thus should be addressed within in this communication report.
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1. How would you rate the overall Geelong yearbook? 2. How would you rate the information provided within the year book? 3. How would you rate the relevance of the information and products in the year book? 4. How would you rate the layout of the yearbook? They were then asked to rate these out of 100.
Information
Relevance
Layout
The members suggested that the move to the Yearbook as a success, and this was supported by the recent ratings of the book at the extremely to highly satisfied level, indicating that this was a positive move forward for the club. The change from the magazine in late 2006 to the We Are Geelong yearbook has resulted in significantly improved ratings all round. It appears to have been very successful with overall results at 90 out of the possible 100, 10 points higher than the previous average of 80.
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Website
OVERALL Ease of use 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30
Feb May Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct Apr Oct Aug Apr Nov May 00 00 00 01 01 02 02 03 03 04 04 05 05 06 06 07 08 08 09
Information on site
The members results showed that the frequency of the updates of the website achieved the targeted KPI of 80 out of 100, which is 10 points higher than the 10 year average of 70. The members overall satisfaction with the website achieved ratings below that of the set out KPI (78). Although the website overall has improved over the past 10 years of monitor, with the current ratings only one point below the high level this should indicate continuing improvements should be of focus to the GFC for this communication audit.
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Emails
Gee-mail 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30
Apr 01 Oct 01 Apr 02 Oct 02 Apr 03 Oct 03 Apr 04 Oct 04 Apr 05 Oct 05 Apr 06 Oct 06 Aug 07 Apr 08 Nov 08 May 09
Members suggested that this introduction of the Blue and White collar is an increasing viable source of communication for the GFC. Email access increased to 85%, with 58% receiving the Blue and White email and another 26% receiving the Gee-mail email. This source of communication should be accessed more thoroughly as email is a growing foundation of communication.
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7.1 STRENGTHS
The Geelong Football Club has the advantage of being the only AFL club in the larger Geelong area. The lack of other AFL clubs limits competition there is within Geelong for attracting members. It is generally seen that if you live in Geelong, then you support Geelong. This ensures most of the population of the city will support the club if they follow AFL. Overall, the current members, players and corporate groups were well informed about the Geelong Football Club and generally found the information delivered clear and easy to understand. The clubs recent on field success over the past 4 years has led to an increase in TV exposure nationally, enhancing the reputation of the club and willingness for corporate sponsors to have their name associated with the club. After receiving the results its clear that the Geelong Football Club has a good repour with members, players and corporate groups.
7.2 WEAKNESSES
All good things must come to an end, for as dominant as the club has been on field for the last 4 years, the AFL is designed to not benefit just the rich and powerful clubs. With an older playing list developing, and the inevitable slide down the ladder, the club must work hard to obtain all its current members and sponsors. With the recent federal election still undecided, only the Liberal Party has agreed to instantly fund the 3rd stage of the Skilled Stadium re-development whereas Labour have opted to decide to hold its decision until after the December announcement by FIFA of the successful 2022 world cup bid. The players seem to be not very enthusiastic about some off field requirements they are obliged to full fill, over two thirds of the players have no input into what role they can promote the club
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2.
3. Provide staff with the tools necessary to improve their approachability, and encourage players to embrace their new skills and approach staff. 4. Listen and work with players to determine the appearances they are most likely to enjoy. By having players complete appearances in which they like to some degree could potentially improve the attributes of the amount of non-football commitments and the amount of club functions appear at which are both rated as below acceptable.
5. By completing appearances they enjoy they might not have as much problems with the amount they have to undertake
Advanced Recommendation:
By supplying all players with a blackberry phone and a rebate for data usage, schedules of player appearances could be individually sent and uploaded to their phone on a weekly or fortnightly basis. This would mean that communication would be at an advanced technological level and achieve a rating in line with the Geelong Football Clubs KPI.
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10.0 REFERENCES
Datatab, 2009, Survey Results of Corporate and Coterie Groups & Member, Cranbourne, Vic
Sheehan, M 2010, ALR279 Public Relations and Event Management, Cengage Learning Australia Pty Ltd, Extract 1
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