Gwmwater goes ‘virtual’

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic and statewide restrictions on gatherings has accelerated the need for organisations such as Gwmwater to engage with stakeholders and customers virtually.

Gwmwater has traditionally hosted a bi-annual customer and stakeholder workshop, inviting customers, partners and stakeholders to share information, gather insights and ensure both performance and decision-making are consistent with expectations.

Later this month, Gwmwater will host its first virtual forum, with a focus on sharing information and project updates.

Gwmwater engagement, culture and assurance general manager Andrew Rose said the organisation was committed to understanding and ‘proactively’ engaging to meet customer and stakeholder expectations.

“We recognised early that in the current environment, our traditional methods of engagement were not possible,” he said.

“We were determined that we maintain regular and authentic engagement with our community, so we’re trialling this virtual workshop to see how it goes.

“It really presented an opportunity for us because we have such a large geographic footprint, we struggled at times to make sure our engagement activities were accessible to all.

“Hosting online removes that geographic barrier for people and we hope to get as many interested people involved as possible.”

Mr Rose said the organisation recognised that stable internet access could be a challenge for some.

“We’re not expecting for this first workshop to be perfect,” he said.

“We’re dipping our toe in the water and will be very keen to hear how the experience was for participants.”

The workshop is scheduled for 9.30am on Friday.

More information, including an agenda and registration details, is available on the organisation’s website, gwmwater.org.au/stakeholderworkshop.