Reaching Hill Staffers: A New Approach

By Robert E. McLean, CAE
ASAE's Government Relations, January 2003

Has it become increasingly difficult to reach staffers on Capitol Hill? Consider this: While they juggle more issues, cope with the threat of anthrax in the mail, and struggle to keep up with an endless sea of e-mail, perhaps we need to make it easier for Hill staffers to reach us and learn about our issues.

In 2001, the Arlington, Virginia-based Mailers Council, a small 501(c)(6) coalition of mailers and mailing associations, established a new “For Hill Staffers” section on its Web site. With a single click, staffers can reach materials written specifically for them. We were not the first to offer this direct connection to Hill staffers, and it's easy to understand why the idea has been such a hit.

A 24-hour resource

Most staffers prepare for a meeting with a constituent the night before (when your switchboard may be closed or you've left for the day). They may only have minutes to respond to legislative directors' requests for information. So where do these twentysomething staffers--raised on PCs and adept at managing phone calls and e-mail simultaneously-- go looking for information? On the Internet, of course, where even the greenest staffer can access fact sheets, testimony, and key issue links.

Most of the material you will post in such a section probably already exists, but it may be difficult or impossible to find. The keys to success are simple: Put a "For Hill Staffers" link directly on the home page and keep the material you offer short and free of industry jargon and acronyms. Offer contact names and information for further details.

Bringing them back for more

Frequent updates are essential to this Web site section's usefulness, but just as important is staffers' feedback on whether you are offering what they need, the way they need it.

For example, how will a staffer know it's time for a return visit to check out a new fact sheet? The easiest way is by establishing a listserver. A listserver program is easy and inexpensive to install, and, because participation is voluntary, staffers can subscribe and unsubscribe as they wish. You can even create a community where staffers can discuss your association's key issues.

At the beginning of new congressional sessions, a “For Hill Staffers” Web site section is also the perfect venue for quickly and inexpensively distributing a document most organizations prepare every December or January--the end-of-session report on key legislative and regulatory developments. This will also ready you for the dozens of rookie legislative aides who come to Capitol Hill at the beginning of every new session. In the midst of the mail-related anthrax scares in October 2001, the Mailers Council discovered that "For Hill Staffers" was also a tremendous resource for reporters seeking basic information on the U.S. Postal Service and the mailing industry. It wasn't surprising that they considered the fact sheets, written for Hill staffers, to be extremely helpful. We continue to point reporters to this section of the Web site.

To further improve our Web presence, we have taken advantage of the recess to ask postal legislative assistants for advice on making the site a more complete tool. This new section has allowed us to serve as a comprehensive resource for the legislative assistants we know--and has introduced us to many others.

With very little expense, we've increased our visibility and enhanced the quality of our relationships on Capitol Hill. Does this sound like the goal of your government relations program?