Last month, more than 350 faculty and staff shared feedback about University Communications via the Survey of Administrative Services. Thanks to all respondents, nearly half of whom work with University Communications regularly (i.e. at least every few months). The positive feedback provides affirmation and encouragement, while the constructive feedback will help the team improve processes and further strengthen the University’s communication and marketing efforts.

Nearly three of every four respondents who said they regularly work with University Communications reported that they are satisfied with the department’s services. The highest scoring areas, and the mean in a five-point aggregate scale, were:

• Staff are courteous––4.53
• Staff complete their work within budget—4.42
• Staff are professional–4.38

There were also three clear areas that need improvement:

• Staff respond to my inquiries in a timely manner—3.65
• Staff help identify solutions that I otherwise wouldn’t have considered—3.66
• Communication from my area is better as a result of having worked with University Communications—3.68

In terms of specific services, all survey respondents—whether they work regularly with University Communications or not—are most satisfied with campus communications (4.19) including OnCampus and leadership messages, and with alumni communications (3.84) such as Blue magazine and eBlue digital newsletter.

Strategic communications planning (3.43) and student recruitment communications (3.32) are the areas perceived as needing the most improvement. The University Communications team has already begun putting more focus on these two areas, and they will remain priorities going forward.

All other services provided by University Communications scored above 3.50; that suggests fairly solid performance all-around.

Some of the initiatives already underway to improve performance within University Communications include:

• Developing and implementing strategic communications plans to better serve key audiences, including faculty/staff, alumni/donors, prospective students and families, and the general public.
• Asking campus partners to collect and share data that will help University Communications better understand audience needs, develop impactful strategies, and define measurable outcomes.
• Developing and deploying digital solutions whenever possible and appropriate to better serve key audiences, generate valuable data, and drive down printing costs.
• Continuing the transformation of the University website to the new look-and-feel, with redesigned webpages for two academic units going live yet this semester and other units and departments to follow.
• Facilitating a first-ever, newly-formed marketing advisory council with representatives from each academic unit, to identify and share best practices across colleges and schools.
• Providing self-serve tools to help campus partners meet more of their day-to-day needs and allow University Communications more time to focus on strategic work.
• Working with national branding firm 160over90 to analyze market research and elevate the Drake brand, with implementation of the new brand platform to be in full swing this spring.

The survey feedback will serve as a blueprint heading into 2018, as University Communications works to better support the University’s mission and continuous improvement initiatives. In the meantime, you can learn more about University Communication’s expertise and explore the department’s online toolkit.

–Dave Remund, University Communications