Disclosure of internal audits 2004-2005
Audit of Internal Communications at TSB
Final Report
April 2004
Our report:
- Examines the current state of internal communications at the TSB
- Assesses the efficiency and effectiveness of TSB internal communications activities
- Identifies TSB best practices
- Examines practices in 3 other agencies
- Identifies opportunities for improvement and makes recommendations
Methodology
- To conduct this audit, we:
- reviewed key TSB documents
- interviewed 18 TSB employees, including executives, the Manager of Communications, and 8 front-line employees
- discussed internal communications with the Public Service Employee Survey Follow-Up Committee
- examined internal communications practices in 3 agencies:
- Canadian Transportation Agency
- Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Competition Bureau
The current state of internal communications
Current state of internal communications
- Internal communications is challenging at TSB:
- modal "silos"
- headquarters and regional offices
- investigators and non-investigators
- TSB recognizes this challenge:
- Business Plan identified internal communications as priority
- Public Service Emolyee Survey Follow-Up Committee is tracking progress
- Major agenda item during Managers' Conference
- Selected for study by Audit Committee
- These initiatives have set expectations for improvements in internal communications
- TSB 2003-2004 Business Plan identified these initiatives to improve internal communications:
- Internal communications plan for Business Plan
- Employee/manager orientation program
- Revised employee exit feedback process
- Revised performance discussion / evaluation process
- TSB has implemented or is implementing these initiatives with some delays
- Public Service Employee Survey Follow-Up Committee identified these remaining shortcomings in December 2003:
- Intranet not used effectively
- No strategic and integrated approach to internal communications
- Senior Management Committee should identify a focal point to coordinate efforts
- Information should be shared broadly rather than provided only to selected audiences
- TSB has not yet acted to address these issues
- TSB is communicating actively:
- Business Plan communications initiatives
- Managers' Conferences
- Administrative Officers' Conference
- Regional visits by executives
- Executive Director meetings with new staff
- Newsletters
- Intranet
- Conference calls
- E-mails
- Staff meetings at all levels
- Relevant factors affecting internal communications:
- A senior communicator is not at Senior Management Committee meetings
- Communications Division is rebuilding, coping with higher priority operational demands
- Resource constraints have prevented some proposed internal communications initiatives from proceeding
- Governance initiative could alter decision-making processes and structures
- New corporate planning position could present opportunities to strengthen internal communications related to corporate planning
Efficiency and effectiveness of TSB internal communications
Efficiency and effectiveness
- Overall assessment of existing internal communications activities:
- Use of a range of vehicles and methods is appropriate as people have different needs, preferences
- Interviews suggest majority of front-line employees feel they are informed about issues affecting their work, and have a say in decisions and actions that impact their work
- Managers say they are well informed and have a say; appear to take communications responsibilities seriously
- Range of compliments/complaints/suggestions, but no consensus on whether major problems exist
TSB communications methods
- Face-to-face
- Intranet
- E-mail
- Newsletters
Face-to-face communication
- TSB investments in internal communications appropriately emphasize this essential tool for two-way communications
- Regional visits
- Managers' and Administrative Officers' conferences
- Executive Director meetings with new staff
- Staff meetings
- Public Service Employee Survey Follow-up Committee
- Employees speak highly of these activities
Intranet
- Some employees describe it as poorly structured, out of date, but many see it as a useful source of information, and some use it "all the time"
- One manager set out contents for proposed online Manager's Handbook; recommended training on Intranet for managers, and an Administrative Officer's Handbook
- A proposed project to enhance Intranet has not received funding
E-mails
- Employees "bombarded" with e-mails, described as annoying, top down, or (from regional perspective) too often focused on Head Office interests
- Concerns that too many send e-mails to "all staff", that important information is not sent to all who need to know, that distribution lists are inadequate
- E-mail generally accepted as a necessary tool for communicating some types of information
Newsletters
- Corporate Services, Air Investigations, Human Performance Division, Information Technology Division publish newsletters
- Reaction largely positive, though concerns expressed about sustainability, value, need for several separate newsletters, reinforcement of silos
- None displays Canada workmark, as required by Government Communications Policy
- Mixed views on need for a corporate newsletter
Best practices
Best practices within TSB
- Based on comments from TSB employees and Hallux knowledge of practices elsewhere, TSB best practices in internal communications include:
- Emphasis on face-to-face and two-way communications
- Ongoing management and employee involvement in response to public service employee survey results
- Corporate support for managers (e.g. Business Plan presentations, Values and Ethics package)
- Regional representation on most TSB committees
- Addition of "What's New" section on Intranet
- Posting of Senior Management Committee minutes on Intranet
Practices in other agencies
Canadian Transportation Agency
- Communications Directorate is responsible for internal communications
- An Information Services (IS-03) employee works full-time on internal communications, supports Corporate Services
- Director of Communications sits on executive commitee
- Monthly electronic newsletter
- Electronic events calendar
Canadian Human Rights Commission
- New Communications Branch (April 2004) responsible for internal communications
- Director of Communications sits on executive commitee
- Quarterly online newsletter; monthly message from Chief Commissioner
- Workplace Advisory Committee (co-chaired by Director of Communications and employee representative) provides feedback on internal communications
Competition Bureau
- Managers responsible for internal communications
- Assistant Commissioner, Communications sits on executive commitee
- One officer in Communications Branch spends one-third of time on internal communications, supports Corporate Services
- Communications publishes new online webmagazine
- Intranet (maintained by Communications) is a key tool
Observations
- Communications attends executive committee, plays important role in internal communications
- None of the 3 agencies has a current internal communications plan/strategy
- Canadian Human Rights Commission has an Internal and External Communications Framework
- None has an internal communications budget
- All have corporate publications
Areas for improvement
Areas for improvement
- TSB can strengthen internal communications by taking action in 3 areas:
- Improve the integration of internal communications into the decision-making process
- Make better use of communications skills and knowledge
- Strengthen some TSB communications tools
- Improve the integration of internal communications into the decision-making process:
- Internal communications should not be seen as an end in itself, but as a means of achieving business objectives
- Internal communications should not be divorced from external communications, as both are often needed in concert to achieve business objectives
- The key questions are "Who do we need to consult?" about a particular business issue and "Who needs to know?" about a particular business issue
- Recommendations for integrating internal communications into the decision-making process:
- Prepare an annual corporate communications strategy -- internal and external -- linked to the corporate planning process
- Environmental assessment, audiences, key messages, activities
- Prepare individual communications plans to set out how communications tools and techniques will be used to help achieve specific business objectives, with performance indicators such as level of awareness
- Make managers accountable for internal communications, provide them with improved tools to communicate
- Make better use of communications skills and knowledge:
- Trained and experienced communications professionals bring a set of skills and knowledge to an organization
- TSB can tap into the skills and knowledge of its communications people more effectively than it is at present
- The key issues are whether senior management has ready access to communications advice, and whether manager of communications has ready access to the executive director
- The reporting relationship of the manager of communications is of secondary importance
- Recommendations for making better use of communications skills and knowledge:
- Invite manager of communications to participate in all Senior Management Committee meetings, to advise on internal and external communications
- Place a communications strategist on other key committees, to advise on internal and external communications
- Strengthen relationship between Communications and Corporate Services, which is a key player in most internal communications activities
- Strengthen some TSB communications tools:
- Intranet
- E-mail
- Newsletters
- Intranet:
- Intranet is already an important source of information for managers and employees, but many called for improvement
- In addition to reorganizing and cleaning up the site, consider:
- Manager's Handbook, containing policies, human resources information, financial information, etc.
- Events calendar, showing both external and internal events and where appropriate a contact person
- E-mail:
- There is no easy fix for complaints about e-mail volumes
- Two measures could help make a small difference:
- Guidelines for employees on the use of e-mails (these could likely be picked up from another department)
- Creation of additional internal e-mail distribution lists, so employees are less likely to send to "all staff", or have to spend time creating their own lists
- Newsletters:
- Existing newsletters show TSB staff want to communicate, and discouraging them would send the wrong signal
- A new corporate newsletter could help bridge "silos", prove useful for corporate messaging, but would require significant investment
- An alternative would be to use the existing Corporate Services newsletter for broader corporate purposes
- updates on Business Plan priorities
- status of Public Service Employee Survey Committee work, etc.
- TSB participation in interdepartmental Newsletter Editors Network could provide useful ideas
Some final observations
- TSB's internal communications efforts, while not perfect, are largely sound for a small agency with the challenges of regions and modes
- The emphasis on face-to-face communication is excellent and should be maintained
- To meet expectations for improvements, inform staff of changes that result from this audit
- Evaluate future internal communications efforts on the extent to which they help achieve corporate objectives