Internal Communications - Progress
In February 2017, the employee communication work group proposed the following charge:
- Specific communications plan for CCTF (High priority)
a. Progress: This document will serve as a plan for the employee communication work group, outlining progress during the 2016-17 academic year and goals for the 2017-18 year. Additional plans involving the CCTF internal communication subcommittee may be forthcoming.
- Employee newsletter rebrand/redesign (High priority)
a. Progress: With the help of the work group and feedback from the CCTF internal communication subcommittee and Campus Communicator Network, University Communications and Marketing launched a new faculty/staff newsletter in August 2017. The newsletter, OHIO Employee News, features a new design and layout and will be distributed every Monday morning during the academic year.
- Faculty/Staff website redesign (High priority)
a. Progress: As UCM moves forward with the redesign of the Compass website during the 2017-18 fiscal year, plans will be made to address the faculty/staff website concurrently.
- Field staff communication strategy (High priority)
a. Progress: The employee communication work group will conduct surveys and research during summer 2017, soliciting feedback from non-desk and field employees regarding effective strategies for ensuring University communications reach this audience. Once all feedback is gathered, the work group will engage other stakeholders and develop a plan outlining new and/or improved communication channels for this audience.
- Drive content in general to OHIO Employee News (High priority)
a. Progress: Future expansion of the employee communication work group with new members during 2017-18 will increase awareness and collaboration among key communicators to drive content to OHIO Employee News.
- Overuse/misuse of Ad Hoc email (High priority)
a. Progress: Compass and OHIO Employee News outlined in the updated Big Book of Communications (produced by UCM’s Communication Services team) will encourage other avenues for communicating information outside of ad hoc emails.
- Advancing use of technology (Secondary priority)
a. Progress: The employee work group will support the efforts of OIT and UCM as the University rolls out its new content management system. New technology will be addressed in the form of tools and communication channels that may be established to reach all employee audiences.
- Establish communication plan standards (Secondary priority)
- Directory improvement (Tertiary priority)
a. Progress: The employee work group will support the efforts of the Web Advisory Group (WAG) as it addresses improvements to the University’s directory.
The above priorities were based on alignment with the Campus Climate Task Force recommendations and ongoing or planned projects related to internal communications, including the redesign of the University’s employee newsletter and other efforts to facilitate improved dissemination of information to all OHIO employees.
In spring 2017, the group began developing a plan to address communication to field staff – those University employees who do not regularly have access to a computer or smartphone during work hours. A short survey was created to better understand how field employees are currently receiving information related to their employment at the University and how they would like to receive information in the future. The survey will be distributed in-person to field employees in a paper format during several all-staff meetings in June 2017 during the two major work shifts. Based on the findings from this survey, the employee communications work group will develop a plan to engage field employees and their supervisors through new or improved internal communication channels.
The group is also supporting the efforts of University Communications and Marketing as it launches the new faculty/staff newsletter in August 2017 and will continue to be involved in the measurement and evaluation process during the newsletter’s first year. In addition, the employee communications work group will continue to engage with colleagues across the University with communication needs, helping to drive quality content for the faculty/staff newsletter on an ongoing basis.
Survey and Results
Communication Plan
- Under development