Happy birthday Blas
31 January 2011
Professor Terry Threadgold
Professor Terry Threadgold, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Staff and Diversity and chair of the Communication Strategy Group reviews staff communication and outlines what’s in store for the coming year.
“In 2010 some 250 of you were involved in focus groups exploring the way we communicate with our staff. You told us what you liked, what you didn’t like and what you wanted to see more of. You came up with many excellent ideas and suggestions, all of which were considered by the Communication Strategy Group. In the coming months we hope to put many of those into practice. We’re working on an action plan and will be sharing it with you very soon.
“Until then, I can update you on some of the things we have already put in place after hearing your views.
“You said you like the monthly newsletter Cardiff News but that you don’t all want to receive an individual print copy. In the December edition of Cardiff News, we told you how you can opt out of the print copy if you wish, and that we’d be introducing centrally located news stands within Schools and Divisions.
“It has also been made easier for you to sign up for the daily media summary, produced by the Public Relations team. The media summary is a brief email outlining news articles in the UK and internationally featuring the University, our research, staff and students. It also covers the main headlines in Wales and the top education and health stories of the day. Anyone wanting to receive this should send an email to publicrelations@cardiff.ac.uk
“We’re also working on a number of points raised by all of you. We’re putting together a central bank of resources giving all of you access to the University’s logo, images and videos if you need them for presentations, publications or documents. We’re also working towards improving signage and branding across the University.
“More opportunities for staff from different parts of the University to meet and network also emerged as a theme from the focus groups. There are already examples of good practice in place. Positive Health and Environment Week and the Recognition of Service awards are just two initiatives that bring staff from all areas of the University together on an informal basis. We are now looking at how we can build on those further.
“We are very grateful to all of you who took part in the focus groups and those of you that have given us your feedback in other ways. Thank you for your time, for your thoughts and suggestions as we develop the University’s communication plan for the future.”
Louise Casella
Louise Casella, Director, Strategic Development gives an update on the University’s Staff Communication Strategy.
When we launched Blas a year ago, we hoped it would make a real difference to internal communications. We wanted it to support our priorities to make communication clear, succinct, open and timely.
Throughout 2010 we held a number of focus groups with a very wide range of staff to find out what you think about the University’s communication and I’m pleased to say that many of you had positive feedback about Blas. Although it was a recent introduction, you said it had made an impact and was working well.
The focus groups we ran proved to be enjoyable, rewarding and insightful for those of us involved, and I think I can speak for all who facilitated groups in saying that we were delighted with the open, honest and constructive manner in which feedback was provided. There was a real recognition too that communication is a shared responsibility for us all. I’d like to thank all of those who took part for their lively participation. The work of the groups has helped us to identify the things that were important to you. Those priorities have been discussed by the Communication Strategy Group, many have been put into practice and others are being worked on currently.
Over the course of 2011 Blas will be used to keep you updated on all aspects of University life. You can expect to hear more about your achievements, internal University news and updates on projects such as the Maindy Road development. I am confident that Blas will continue to help foster a sense of community and give all of you a greater awareness about your colleagues and the University.
If you haven’t already told us what you’d like to read about in Blas, please get in touch with the public relations team by emailing Blas@cardiff.ac.uk . We are always keen to hear about your suggestions for future topics and articles in Blas.
