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Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) Internal CommunicationsPolicy(Approved by the Senior Executive Team, 17 January 2012)

1. Introduction

Good internal communication is one of the vital ingredients in making an

organisation successful in achieving its goals. Research shows that effectivecommunication within an organisation significantly improves morale and

performance.

This Policy outlines the internal communications framework which we intend toadopt, the principles and objectives which will underpin it, and the roles of staff,supervisors and managers in establishing really effective internal communicationswithin F Plus. !e recognise that in many parts of the organisation, internalcommunications already works well, but we need to ensure that this is the caseacross the board and that there is consultation with staff on all relevant issues,

together with the active encouragement of feedback and ideas from staff.

The actual contentof what is communicated will not be e"clusively or evenpredominantly about #F Plus business$ in any narrow sense% most of it is likelyto relate to understanding the ambitions and meeting the re&uirements of ourpartner '()s *+niversity ollege Falmouth and +niversity of ("eter-, and of theirstudents and staff, as well as understanding and responding to relevant issues in

the e"ternal environment *all of which is #F Plus business$ in a broader sense-.

)n most areas of the organisation, there will also be significant communication/

consultation with stakeholders*+niversity of ("eter *+o(- and +niversityollege Falmouth *Falmouth-- and contact with #customers$ *whether Falmouth or

+o( students and staff, or others-, which is not covered by this policy.

2. Who is covered by this olicy!

)n this policy, #internal communications$ refers to formal communication with and

between the following%

ll staff on F Plus contracts.

/taff on other contracts who are under F Plus management. *Thisincludes staff in cademic and /tudent /ervices on Falmouth contracts.-

)n addition, while the F+ is an independent organisation and the F+ sabbatical

officers and e"ecutive are not under F Plus management, they have a #dottedline$ into the F Plus corporate structure. The ction Plan *through which thispolicy is being implemented- therefore includes them in communication channelsas far as possible.

This policy does not cover communication with Falmouth and +o( students and

staff, e"cept for those under F Plus management *see above-.

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". #nderlyin$ rinciles and ob%ectives

Principles:

0ur communications with our staff will be%

0pen and honest

Timely

(mpowering

Proactive

Responsive to &uestions and feedback

1oined2up and consistent

ccessible to all *including those without computers-

Objectives:Through our communications with our staff, we aim to%

Provide staff with the information to carry out their jobs efficiently and

effectively

Turn our agreed 3alues into reality *by identifying and encouraging

appropriate patterns of behaviour in each area- 'elp achieve our /trategies *by using communication to turn them into

action-

(ncourage and use feedback and ideas from our staff

(ncourage a sense of F Plus4s identity, and a sense of engagement by our

staff

/how that we value our staff

Provide clear channels for appropriate communication in an emergency

Audiences:!e recognise that our staff are a diverse group, differing in%

!orking hours *full2time5part2time and shift patterns-

Type of work *including whether office2based or manual, and the maincustomer groups for which they are providing services-

6ocation *Tremough5!oodlane-

Position within the organisation

6evels of knowledge, skill, understanding, education, e"perience etc

6evels of engagement with and commitment to F Plus

Methods of communication:Through our )nternal ommunications ction Plan we will ensure thatcommunication methods are appropriate to the different audiences noted above.)n general terms%

!e will identify the best methods of communications to match our

objectives and available resources with the needs and preferences of ourstaff. *!e will not use methods of communication simply because they

e"ist.-

0ur primary method of communication will be face2to2face 2 as this is

consistently shown by research to be the most effective way of improvingperformance and morale.

!e will use appropriate electronic means of communication.

!e also recognise that many of our staff do not use computers as part of

their work and we will provide alternative methods of communication forthese staff.

Messages:

0ur messages should be% Purposeful

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Tailored to the audience *both in delivery and content-

Timely

onsistent

/treamlined

8utually reinforcing.

&. Exectations and 'esonsibilities

4. All staff !under "# Plus management$ including Academic and%tudent %ervices staff on "almouth contracts&

s a member of staff, you can e"pect to be%

provided with relevant information and kept informed of relevant

developments9

consulted on issues relevant to your area and the wider organisation9

given the opportunity to raise &uestions or issues of concern relevant to

your work. :our &uestions should be treated seriously and respectfully and

should be answered either immediately or within a reasonable period.

s a member of staff, you should%

raise relevant &uestions or problems with your supervisor or line2manager

*or through other channels if necessary- ; your &uestions should betreated seriously and respectfully9

attend F Plus meetings where re&uested *or where this is not possible,

arrange to be given feedback by a colleague or manager-9

read relevant F Plus emails or notices.

4.' %upervisors

s a supervisor, you can e"pect to be% allowed to communicate most issues *particularly relating directly to your

own area- to your staff yourself9

briefed on any sensitive or significant issues in advance of your staff being

informed, so that you are in a position to answer &uestions from yourstaff9

consulted on proposed developments which will affect your area, to ensure

that proposals are #workable$ on the ground9

asked by your line2manager for feedback and concerns from your staff on

any relevant issues9

kept informed of general developments by your line2manager or senior

managers.

)n addition to the responsibilities of all staff, if you are a supervisor, you also have

responsibility to%

talk< to your staff about relevant issues, how they apply to your work

area, whether proposals are #workable$ or how they could be improvedetc9

(* ou can u!e emai"#textin$ etc i% appropriate, but p"ea!e en!ure thatyour !ta%% have an opportunity to di!cu!! the i!!ue and rai!e any

re"evant prob"em! or concern!)&

treat &uestions from your staff seriously and respectfully. Respond to all

&uestions *whether immediately or after further investigation- and providean e"planation for the answer9

raise any significant problems or issues of concern in your area *which youcannot resolve- with your line2manager9

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be as informed as you can be about the issues relevant to your area and

your staff9

empower your staff by providing them with information to enable them to

do their jobs as well as possible9

encourage networking by your staff, both with staff in other areas of F

Plus and with other stakeholders *eg F+, Falmouth and +o( staff and

students-9

attend relevant training relating to internal communications, if invited.

4.(. Managers/senior managers

s a manager, in addition to the e"pectations and responsibilities of supervisors*above-, you also have a responsibility to%

support the supervisors reporting to you in carrying out the responsibilities

listed above, including ensuring that they have all relevant information andthat they are ade&uately trained where necessary9

hold regular meetings with your #direct reports$ to discuss developments,

plans and performance within your area5department, as well as wider FPlus developments where relevant9

in particular, consult your #direct reports$ on all relevant proposed

developments to ensure that they are #workable$9 ensure that yoursupervisors discuss them with front2line staff9 actively seek and address

any feedback or concerns9

empower your supervisors by allowing them to communicate on most

issues directly with the staff reporting to them.

. Imlementation and revie

This policy will be implemented through a general ction Plan which will be

reviewed and updated every si" months initially. There will also be action plansfor specific internal communications campaigns *eg development and roll2out of

strategies, values, branding etc-.

This policy will be reviewed every two years.

pproved by% Senior Executive Team, 17 January 2012

ommunication of this policy% 'o""out by irector!, January#ebruary 2012+

ub"i!hed on Shareoint and emai" to a"" !ta%%, - .arch 2012+

Ruth 0lver, 1an 7>?7 *minor revisions, Feb 7>?7-

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