As a UDOT Maintenance employee there will be times when the public will want to interact with you directly, meaning face to face conversations. It is good practice before going out on your daily work activities to discuss the planned work and possible messaging in case you encounter interested parties who may have questions. If the work planned can possibly disrupt normal daily activities of the public, coordinate with the Region communications department to formulate a consistent and appropriate response to questions or inquiries. Honesty and consistency is a key factor when answering questions from the public. Also, be sure that all workers have at their disposal the contact information of the communications groups, as questions may arise that may be outside of the work that is being performed by maintenance forces.

As discussed above, UDOT employees are regularly approached by the public who may have concerns or general inquiries about operational issues or matters regarding the work being performed. Maintenance personnel may encounter situations where individuals are passionate and concerned about the work that UDOT is doing and choose to voice their concerns in a very direct and intimidating manner. If and when situations like these arise it is best to diffuse the situation by listening and staying calm rather than trying to persuade or influence the individuals. A rule of thumb is to thank the individual(s) for their questions and concerns and refer them to the UDOT Communications group. It is also best to call the Communications group right after the conversation with the individual(s) has taken place to inform them of the events that occurred and what questions were being asked.

UDOT encourages interaction with the public and stresses the importance of working with the public to keep them informed of events that can impact their daily lives. From time to time, Maintenance forces will be asked to respond to inquiries from the public (See Click N Fix, ContactUDOT, an email from a stakeholder or political constituent). Whenever responding in writing, it is always good practice to check with the Communication group and your supervisor to ensure that the response follows the messaging that the communication group is wanting to convey. With certain types of written communication, there will be directions provided as to who should be cc’d on the response and who should review the response before it is officially sent out (i.e; Governor's direct assignments). In all cases it is good practice to review the response with the communications group before officially responding on the behalf of UDOT.  Review and follow the policies listed below for the protocol on the sharing of information with the public: 

• Policy 04-03 Content Review for Public Communications:

• Procedures for UDOT Policy 04-03

• Respond as soon as possible to the Click ‘n Fix manager using the tool they contacted you with, either email, phone call, or see Click Fix management software.

• Provide as much detail as possible about what is going on. Keep in mind leadership recognizes not all submissions may be “closed” immediately but the more information UDOT can provide the more educated the public becomes about our processes and the factors that lead to the circumstance. 

• Follow up with the Click ‘n Fix manager when a final resolution is reached so that the submission may be closed.  

• Currently the individuals staffing the front desks at the Regions are responsible for distributing the Click N Fix issues to the responsible groups. If at any time you receive Click N Fix issues that are not in your control, work with the front desk to contact the right individuals or groups.  

Contact UDOT is very much like “Click N Fix”, in that questions and concerns may be posed regarding work activities, project, or road conditions. UDOT has a “Contact UDOT” form on the website to direct questions to the appropriate individual(s) or groups.  These forms are submitted to the UDOT Central office and distributed accordingly.  UDOT’s goal is to provide a timely response to these questions and concerns.  The process is outlined below:  

• Coordination Email Responses (process)

• Email will come via ContactUDOT@utah.gov that will need a response or follow up action to occur. 

UDOT Maintenance staff and crews routinely work with the local agencies (LA’s) to coordinate projects and schedule work activities to ensure that they are not impacting each other’s work or causing lengthy delays on local and state highways. When Maintenance crews are contacted by local agencies it is important to involve other divisions who need to know about the upcoming work or issues. It is customary to relay any specific requests coming from the LA’s to the District Engineer and Communications group as a starting point.

Phone calls are a regular occurrence for Maintenance forces depending upon the day and what events, actions, or work items are being completed.  Maintenance may receive phone calls that are being directed to them by the Region office, when this occurs please ask a few questions of the administrative assistant before the phone call is passed on to you, such as:  

• What is the reason for the call?

• What area are they inquiring about?

• What is the name of the individual?

• Is the individual upset or are they in need of assistance?

• Is there someone else who may be able to provide assistance that I can not?