Partnering with CFH Print UK for over 3 years, Welwyn Hatfield Council knew they could trust their specialist print partner to deliver their requirements during the 2024 general election period.
Welwyn Hatfield Council is a local government district with borough status in the county of Hertfordshire. The electoral team at the authority are responsible for engaging and communicating with over 100,000 residents whilst ensuring the successful delivery of electoral services from start to finish.
With an already 3-year relationship behind them and just having completed their May electoral duties, where CFH Print UK produced 276,476 documents for Welwyn Hatfield, the partnership were ready for the 6 weeks turn around required for the general election. Welwyn knew that the reliability of the service already received would ensure that the general election would run without errors.
The general election was called on the 22nd May 2024, providing CFH Print UK and Welwyn Hatfield council 6 weeks to organise and dispatch their communications to their residents. From the very start communication was critical to ensure that the process would be smooth, efficient and on-time to meet the deadlines and accuracy required.
A dedicated account manager was assigned from the very start, where a mutual understanding of requirements were identified with a forward thinking approach. The teams at CFH go above and beyond to ensure that the timescales work for Welwyn and are accommodating to the requirements and any changes that may occur.
The solution utilised for this process, is CFH Managed a print communication solution, that is IT led. The solution empowers councils to send communications through a trustworthy process that enables deadlines to be met whilst being produced through a secure production facility.
At the start of the process, CFH Print UK supply a detailed questionnaire which captures the requirements of each council. The questionnaire enables all the important information to be documented including print numbers, paper stock and deadlines. One of the most important parts of this document for Welwyn is capturing the timeline requirements, to ensure their deadlines through CFH are met so that their internal deadlines can be worked towards.
With the needs outlined and agreed upon, data is supplied through a secure STFP following the issuing of an order confirmation. The data is then transferred into digital print proofs that are supplied for confirmation before the documents are printed within a secure print factory. Due diligence is then undertaken by CFH to ensure that the print is accurate and to the highest quality, before these are transported to Welwyn.
For Welwyn Hatfield Council, they opted to utilise CFH Print UK for the printing process only. Whilst many councils opt for the whole process to be covered including the printing, enclosing and dispatching, the team at Welwyn prefer to hand enclose all printed items. This is factored into the timeline between the two organisations, and documents are printed and delivered securely to the designated destination. The team at Welwyn then double check the print quality and hand enclose the letters, all within a 24-time period. These are then collected by Royal Mail and delivered to each recipient.
Throughout the whole process CFH Print UK were professional, issuing communication reminders and updates to ensure both parties met the impending deadlines, and everything was where it needed to be.
The team at Welwyn expressed their thanks and were keen to comment on how professional, friendly and knowledgeable CFH Print UK are, which makes the process of managing a general election that little bit smoother.
Feedback from Welwyn Hatfield was extremely positive, with CFH Print UK going above and beyond throughout the whole process to provide everything on time and to the highest quality.
Welwyn Hatfield Council noted that they were impressed by the variety of print outputs provided by CFH Print UK, including gummed ballot books, one-piece mailers and poll card personalisation.
The teams were always on hand, able to provide best practice advice and a bespoke service that was relevant to their requirements. The whole process provided peace of mind with the knowledge that the print output will be supplied accurately and on time ready for hand enclosing.
Overall, on behalf of Welwyn Hatfield Council, CFH Print UK have printed over 186,000 personalised documents for the general election period. This included 82,326 poll cards and 89,360 ballot papers. In total so far in 2024 CFH have produced 462,567 on behalf of Welwyn Hatfield Council.
The 3-year partnership had positioned the two organisations in a positive manner to deliver a successful election period, through a well-equipped and communication driven approach. The relationship is set to continue to positively develop, and the teams look forward to the continuation of their partnership.
Partnering with CFH Print UK provides us with the reassurance of knowing our electoral print requirements will be delivered accurately and on-time to meet our deadlines. Their bespoke approach means that their services work with our requirements, providing us with everything we need when we need it. The teams are knowledgeable and always happy to help, they keep us up to date, their communication is second to none. We would recommend CFH Print UK, their electoral teams and their print quality and output, as we know they will meet requirements every time.
Electoral Services Manager,
Welwyn Hatfield Council
