The Results are in

The marketing and communication team sent a survey to all ISMHS staff late last year regarding internal communication efforts. We asked for your input to help guide efforts to further enhance the communication and engagement opportunities we currently use, and to help influence new communication activity. Thank you to the 63 staff members who replied. The findings and suggestions below are reflective of those replies.

Among the findings:

• 83 percent of staff members feel that they get adequate and timely information about system-wide news.

• 71 percent said their department members communicate frequently with one another. Some 23 percent said “somewhat, but it could be better,” while 3 percent said their department operates in silos.

• 51 percent felt the ISMHS Leadership Team should communicate more frequently with staff.

• 96 percent indicated that email is the preferred method of communication, followed by 69 percent who prefer face-to-face communication.

Suggestions from staff included:

• Distribute information across multiple platforms to ensure it is getting to everyone in a timely manner.

• Provide details of upcoming events and programs in the newsletter.

• All-staff meetings are worthwhile, but they need to be shorter - no longer than one hour.

Keeping the results and suggestions in mind, we’re making some changes – including tweaks to the format of the employee newsletter. The survey showed that 88 percent read this newsletter. In this issue, you’ll find more news, including a column of information from the ISMHS Leadership Team, the continuation of a feature started last month highlighting ISMHS in the news, and a schedule of upcoming exhibits and programs. The HR feature will be shorter going forward and the security information will recur when necessary.

The newsletter will continue to be distributed on the last workday of each month both by email and now in print for part-time employees and those who don’t have easy access to email. Hardcopies will be placed around the museum in the volunteer center (3rd floor next to the accounting office), call center (1st floor behind the ticket counter) and the resource center (2nd floor inside the Education Center). Site managers will print and distribute a copy of this newsletter and/or post it in a location for their staff to see. Additionally, future issues of the newsletter will include photos and mini bios of all new staff and retirees that month, easy-tounderstand information about attendance and finances, and the option to ask and get answers to your most pressing questions via an online form.

This new format and distribution plan will help ISMHS staff feel better connected and informed. If you have suggestions for ways to improve our communications, please contact Marc Allan, director of communication, at mallan@indianamuseum.org