Cuyahoga County Internal Communication Plan

- Make Cuyahoga County an Employer of Choice
Strategic Priorities
  • 15.4 Ensure proactive, regular two-way communication among county staff
    - Make Cuyahoga County an Employer of Choice
About this measure

This measure provides updates on major milestones and anticipated next steps associated with efforts related to the development and implementation of the Cuyahoga County Internal Communication Plan.

Updates are provided by the Cuyahoga County Department of Communications on a quarterly basis.
Why is this important?

The Cuyahoga County Internal Communications Plan provides a roadmap for the Department of Communications to improve internal communications channels, create a positive, open, and supportive culture that values staff and ensures proactive, regular two-way communication among County staff. Strategies detailed in the plan include:

  1. Creating an Internal Communications Departmental Committee,
  2. Planning standing face-to-face meetings with members of the Executive Leadership Team,
  3. Revamping the intranet so that it is robust, utilitarian, and informative,
  4. Administering the annual Cuyahoga County Internal Communications Survey,
  5. Devising standardized internal communication policies and procedures, and
  6. Developing a resource document for mass communications that includes a road map to follow with input from the Department of Communications.
How are we making an impact?

The Department of Communications will be leading implementation of the Internal Communications Plan. Through plan implementation, the Department will foster an environment that

  • Listens to staff to identify challenges and preferences and facilitate a greater buy in,
  • Facilitates formal communications to encourage confident, clear, and succinct communication of County news to avoid confusion and apathy,
  • Gives employees access to senior management, creating a venue to encourage sharing of views, questions and concerns,
  • Formally recognizes staff at an individual, team, and project level in front of colleagues, ensuring they feel valued, and
  • Stratifies material to meet different audiences in tone, content, and format to deliver the message effectively.
Milestone Measure

The Department of Communications completed the following activities during the third quarter of 2019 to continue execution of the County's Internal Communications Plan:

  • The third annual Internal Communications Survey was conducted. The survey aimed to understand and assess the current state of communication within the County and solicit employee feedback on what can be done to improve communication within the organization. Results of the survey will be reported during the fourth quarter of 2019.
  • Construction began on the County’s Intranet and there is now an unpublished product that is still being developed. During the fourth quarter of 2019, the communications team will continue to prepare for the test and launch of the County’s new Intranet.
  • “In the Know” has continued to be produced and distributed weekly. 
  • A newsletter called “Sheriff’s Department News” was developed to increase communication with employees of the Sheriff’s Department. It features updates, spotlights and information exclusively to the Sheriff’s Department.
  • An internal book drive was developed for the County Jail’s lending library. Staff were encouraged to donate gently used paperback books of general interest non-fiction and fiction. The book drive will end during the fourth quarter of 2019. 
  • The communications team assisted the Project Drive Management team in developing and administering their assessment survey. The survey aimed to assess the employee’s knowledge of the coming enterprise resource planning (ERP) system modules.