November 13 2015

Getting it Done with a Team of One

Quite a few of us have only “ourselves” and that is it for our IT Communications team; we coordinate all our efforts. We typically pick and choose the channels or communications we can manage with our limited time and talent resources.

Size of team, and tips on how we do what we do:

• • Becky – I am team of one, no students. Just beginning internal IT communications for project updates, include IT Liaisons from other departments. We have a Facebook page, Twitter; university has a subscription to Emma (I use it for mass mailing); limiting printing to when I want a big impact since we’re trying to go more green. Also use digital screens around. Table tents in Student Union or display windows. Sidewalk chalking. We don’t use a calendar, that would imply we have a plan. [laughter from group] We only plan our NCSAM communications way out. Struggle with colleagues telling me about changes. Recent update on network was first time they really told me. Constant reminders at the rare staff meeting, trying to listen to conversation, pick up on things we might need to send out. A few cheerleaders in our department may hear something and ask their colleagues, “Hey, should we get Becky to draft up something to send out?”

  • Laurel – Yes, same boat; I handle phishing alerts and other messages from IT to campus, We have a central group (Public Affairs) for university-wide communications and I contribute IT information to them; also have an IT colleague with student workers that have graphic skills that I can borrow. Use Outlook calendar to keep up with my tasks. Our technology department just added “Communications” in May, still struggling to get all contingents to talk to each other and to me. Just started publishing a newsletter in place of non-urgent email messages. We write up as they occur, just don’t publish immediately, wait for newsletter.

  • Rhonda – I am the only person here, but other people do technical communications (2 part time, full in Security/Compliance, full time in Design, one part time student). A part-time student worker designed a social media calendar (Twitter, Google+). She posts info to the calendar, I approve and she posts tweets via HootSuite and a manual push to Google+.

  • Nancy – primarily team of one, but have some support from Assistant CIO who had worked as our communications person before his new role. We take advantage of student staff at our Service Desk. Daily post to Twitter which auto-posts to Facebook. One student is responsible for lining up tweets for several months then other students actually send out the posts. We don’t currently review every post that goes out, we really want to include the student voice on these channels. I also found our Technical staff are extremely thankful that there is a communications person that can take care of communications for them.

  • Sandra – I’m the only person here for both training and communications. We also use Digital Signage.

  • Rich(?) – Project Manager, do some work for communications. Another person also does some communications, but no one has responsibility for IT Communications.

  • Carlyn – 1.5 FTEs and a small army of student workers; graphic design for us is possible only because we buy Bigstock credits (about $1 per credit, find images that only cost 1-2 credits). Facebook is managed by our student workers but it is only an undergraduate channel.

  • Melanie – started with team of one with a work-study student and recently changed in re-org and lost the work-study student, but now I can borrow graphics work from two student workers who do that in my new dept. But once I moved into this new group, the other OIT staff stopped asking me for communications since they don’t report to my boss. My communications are only on-campus and external (customer-facing). A bulletin board above my desk and a calendar those are the only ways I can keep organized. For student participation, I have to send the day of. For faculty/staff, I need to send reminders way ahead. We also use tables (Booth) at special events. I’d love to be included in student orientation. All we get is a walk-by on the tour and a student tour guide says “there’s the technology support center for students,” and they keep walking.

  • Paul – I’m a team of one and have responsibility for all our IT web sites and internal communications between IT Service departments and then external (customer-facing). Google groups, like ITS-headsup, is how we share internal updates. Any member can post to that group, which it sends an update and it is an official update. ITS-headsup is a supplement to change/project management process. My Google calendar is very colorful, that is the only way I can keep up with it. I also use WonderList. The booths sound interesting, feel lucky that I have finally been included in student orientation presentations. Have been asking if I can attend various staff meetings around campus and that has helped me get the word out.

Social Media managers – Tools like Hootsuite and others – who is using tools like that? (refer back to mailing list archives – link: http://listserv.educause.edu/scripts/wa.exe?S1=itcomm

How are you handling the challenge of getting people to talk to each other?

• • We try to meet with external stakeholders (Telephone Operators, Registrar, Parking, etc.) at least once a year. Review their scripts and then prompt changes or alter my own scripts to mesh with those. Our Liaisons have been helpful in setting those up. Technology Implementation Managers in each college act as our liaisons. I get the groups that don’t have their own TI manager. Employed by each College and IT pays a small stipend to them.

  • Our department implemented ITSM/ ITIL processes: Incident Management and Change Management processes, and part of those processes include communications, even where to post. The incident management process and change management has really helped change people’s view of communications.

  • Six different units – director to other directors; the director over the communications person funnels updates to the communicator to use in next newsletter, etc. Still struggle to keep up with internal communications. We rely on a call for news items for our monthly eNewsletter, sometimes that prompts service managers to submit an update.

  • Both the weekly Managers Meeting (general updates in 3-5 minutes) is very helpful to keeping people informed. Also use the ITIL Change Mangement process.

  • Our Directors meet, but not our managers. We tried that, not sure why it dissolved, maybe through different re-orgs.

Saying “No”

• • Advice: Whatever you don’t want to do for the rest of your life, don’t say “yes” in the beginning.

  • Advice: I didn’t say “no” to other people, but I should have said, “No” to my own big ideas that took more resources than we had – so I just worked more hours. That was the wrong thing to do, even though the events or campaigns accomplished what we wanted, it took its toll on my tiny team. We finally had to push back and drop things that were “nice to do” but didn’t really fulfill our communications mission.

  • Advice: I am careful to consider the request – not just doing something because no one else wants to do it. I came out of a close-knit group and that family is still willing to help me out when I’m stretched to cover two events at once (if both are important).

  • Advice: Use input from your supervisor to keep you from accepting too many jobs, tasks or responsibilities. Be careful not to be a dumping ground.