Communications: we’re listening

13 Mar 2015

In response to feedback from the 2013 Staff Survey, the Faculties and the PSS have been working to improve their internal and external communications, with a particular emphasis on two-way communication

Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

In the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, a new Marketing and Communications team has conducted a cross-Faculty review of current internal and external communications. As a result, the team has introduced the new Team Brief newsletter, ‘The World Works Better With Us’ campaign and social media channels.

The Faculty now also has a graphic design service, photography expertise and support for the Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) project team.

All websites and intranets within the Faculty are undergoing development and a virtual news team has been established between the Marketing and Communications team, the Web team and the central Press Office.

At school level, better two-way communication is being supported through new and revised meetings, newsletters, and awaydays and social responsibility days.

Faculty of Humanities

In the Faculty of Humanities, bi-annual Faculty Office staff open meetings have been introduced to update staff on University and Faculty developments and to provide an opportunity for questions and feedback.

Russell Ashworth, Director of Faculty Operations, is visiting Faculty and School PSS teams to discuss relevant challenges and priorities at Faculty level and to listen to any concerns or suggestions about the work of the individual team. All staff comments are fed back to the Faculty Senior Leadership Team.

In addition, the Faculty’s leadership development programme for academic leaders and managers, Step into Leadership, is being revised to include specific communication and staff engagement training.

Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences

The Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences has developed a fortnightly e-newsletter, ‘MHS Matters’, which receives consistently high views each week and has reduced the volume of non-urgent emails and announcements within the Faculty.

An online feedback facility has been developed on the Faculty intranet and on MHS Matters, and an intranet review project is also being undertaken, in consultation with MHS staff.

A series of inaugural lectures by new academic appointments are now being delivered to all staff, and are also being filmed and made available on the intranet.

Faculty of Life Sciences

Simon Merrywest, Director of Faculty Operations, has introduced a Director’s Brief for PSS staff which contains includes general updates on the Faculty and University, a “spotlight” on a particular area of the Faculty PSS and CoreMunicate.

The Faculty also encourages more informal interactions, such as a monthly Happy Hour on a Friday, open to all Faculty staff, and a monthly soiree in Christie’s Bistro to which a cross section of staff are invited.

Professional Support Services

In the Professional Support Services, the team brief process was reviewed and relaunched and CoreMunicate (the new name for Core Brief) was introduced during the team brief cascade in April 2014.

Each CoreMunicate includes a topic for discussion and feedback amongst PSS staff. Feedback is collated by PSS Directors and fed back to the PSS Leadership team.

CoreMunicate is published on StaffNet each month after the team brief cascade has been completed.

Guidelines and training are provided for managers and supervisors who deliver team brief.