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Government Relations: GROW - Government Advocacy

PMA Grassroots Employer Toolkit - Organizational Components

To start off on the right advocacy foot, it's best to have a few organizational pieces in place. Chances are you may already have these functions within your organization. If so, we hope you will be willing to add some of the functions outlined below and in the Advocacy / GR Staff job description to their responsibilities, if that has not been done already. If not, think carefully about who you might assign as the point person for these important activities.

Government relations / Policy team or advisor: If you already have GR or policy staff, be sure to pull them into the loop on advocacy efforts. If you do not already have someone assigned to the task of government relations or advocacy outreach, it's a good idea to make this activity part of someone's job description. The amount of time spent on advocacy will vary from company to company. In some cases, it may be just a few hours per month spent in coordinating with PMA's GR staff or any relevant state association resources. In others, it may be a full-fledged department with different individuals responsible for state legislative relations, state agency relations and outreach to other policy-related organizations. Either way, to be an effective member of GROW, it is important that your business have at least one point person for advocacy and GR communications.

For example, a draft job description for your Advocacy / GR Point Person might say:

The government relations / advocacy staff person has primary responsibility for monitoring policies at the local, state and federal level that would impact our business operations, either positively or negatively. In addition, they serve as the main point of contact between PMA's GROW network coordinators and [company name]. As such, this staff person must be prepared to undertake the following:

1. Gain an understanding of or apply existing expertise to the functioning of government in our city and state;
2. Identify and work with state-level produce-related organizations as appropriate;
3. Agree to work with PMA's GROW network coordinators on issues arising at the federal-level, including working with company leadership to make the requested contacts on behalf of [company name] with U.S. Senators and Representatives;
4. Coordinate with other members of [company name]'s team as necessary;
5. Identify innovative ways to engage employees and customers in advocacy efforts (as appropriate), including organization of the network; and
6. Provide regular reports to[company name] leadership as well as PMA Grow coordinators about actions taken, US House and Senate members contacted, and results achieved.

Other divisions of your company that should be involved in the GR / Advocacy effort include:

  • Marketing -- the messages you put out to the world may sometimes wind up in the hands of elected officials or agency-types. Your marketing division needs to have an understanding of some of the basic policy goals (and potential pitfalls) in order to assist in the overall effort.
  • Customer Development / Sales -- sometimes, your customers can be your best advocates! If you have a customer who is particularly pleased with your product or service, ask them if they'd be willing to participate in your advocacy campaigns. Policy makers are always impressed by the testimonials of real, live people.
  • Employee Relations / HR -- Policy makers will also sometimes listen to "front line" employees more than corporate-types. They like to know how their efforts are assisting the "common man." Much of the focus of this toolkit is on ways to engage employees in your efforts -- without forcing them to go along (which is never influential).
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