Report 3

Assessment of Assessment of Assessment of Assessment of Internal Internal Internal Internal CommunicationCommunicationCommunicationCommunication ChannelChannelChannelChannelssss

North West Parks and Tourism BoardNorth West Parks and Tourism BoardNorth West Parks and Tourism BoardNorth West Parks and Tourism Board

Survey Survey Survey Survey ReportReportReportReport

Prepared byPrepared byPrepared byPrepared by

Yaw Johnson ArkaahYaw Johnson ArkaahYaw Johnson ArkaahYaw Johnson Arkaah

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Survey Background and MethodologySurvey Background and MethodologySurvey Background and MethodologySurvey Background and Methodology 1111

Background 1

Objectives 1

Methodology 1

Data Entry and Analysis 2

About the Participating EmployeesAbout the Participating EmployeesAbout the Participating EmployeesAbout the Participating Employees 3333 Breakdown by Gender 3

Breakdown by Age Group 3

Breakdown by Years of Service 4

Breakdown by Division 5

Breakdown by Status of Employment 6

About Channels Used by Communications UnitAbout Channels Used by Communications UnitAbout Channels Used by Communications UnitAbout Channels Used by Communications Unit 8 8 8 8 Familiarity with Communication Channels being Used 8

Familiarity with Email as Communication Channel 9

Familiarity with Notice Board as Communication Channel 10

Familiarity with Facsimile as Communication Channel 11

Familiarity with Photo Gallery as Communication Channel 12

Frequency of Using Communication Resources 13

Reading Email Messages from Communications Unit 14

Reading Communiqués Posted on Notice Boards by Communications Unit 15

Reading Fax Messages from Communications Unit 17

Message Content Evaluation 18

Email Message Content Evaluation 19

Fax Message Content Evaluation 20

Notice Board Message Content Evaluation 21

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iii

About the Current Communication ChannelsAbout the Current Communication ChannelsAbout the Current Communication ChannelsAbout the Current Communication Channels 23232323 Importance of Communication Channels 23

Importance of Disseminating Information through Email 24

Importance of Disseminating Information via the Notice Board 25

Importance of Disseminating Information through Fax 26

Effectiveness of Communication Channels 27

Effectiveness at Communicating Board/Executive Management Decision 28

Effectiveness at Communicating Board News and Programme Updates 30

Effectiveness at Communicating Other Relevant and Important News 31

Views about NonViews about NonViews about NonViews about Non----Existence of Official NewsletterExistence of Official NewsletterExistence of Official NewsletterExistence of Official Newsletter 33333333

SuggeSuggeSuggeSuggestions, Remarks and Commentsstions, Remarks and Commentsstions, Remarks and Commentsstions, Remarks and Comments 35353535

Main Conclusions and RecommendationsMain Conclusions and RecommendationsMain Conclusions and RecommendationsMain Conclusions and Recommendations 42424242

1

BackgroundBackgroundBackgroundBackground

The most important element of an organization is its communications system. Communication is the lifeline of an organization. It is the exchange of information among its employees. The way an organization informs itself about internal communication is to conduct a communications audit. A communications audit provides valuable information about an organization's internal communication system. Therefore, a communication audit is a necessary tool to determine the condition and effectiveness of an organization’s communication system. In essence, the expectation of this internal communications audit is to address the needs of the Communications Unit, which has a key communications role within the Board. Consequently, effective internal communications are important in managing the reputation of the North West Parks and Tourism Board. This study was undertaken based on the request from the Communication Unit of the North West Parks and Tourism Board. ObjectivesObjectivesObjectivesObjectives

The overall objective of the survey is to provide an independent view of current state of the communications tools being used by the Communications Unit of the organization. In specific terms, the study is also intended:

• To assess the current effectiveness of the North West Parks and Tourism Board’s internal communications systems.

• To measure the Board’s progress in improving internal communications. • To identify measures to improve existing internal communication systems where

appropriate. MethodologyMethodologyMethodologyMethodology

In July 2010, a survey was conducted by the Research and Planning Unit of the North West Parks and Tourism Board to assess staff member’s views on communications within the organization. A simple random sampling technique involving 315 staff members were used. Divisions included in the audit were:

SURVEY BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGYSURVEY BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGYSURVEY BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGYSURVEY BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY

2

• Human Resources • Finance/Administration • Business Development • CEO • Biodiversity • Hotel Schools • Marketing

The Research Team distributed more than 500 questionnaires to staff members. The purpose, process, and timeframe of the surveys were explained with an opportunity for questioning by participating staff members. The Research Team requested participants fill out the survey and return them within a week through their Unit Heads. Data Entry and AnalysisData Entry and AnalysisData Entry and AnalysisData Entry and Analysis

In conducting a communication audit, a large amount of data is collected. The data must be analyzed, or broken down into various parts. The breakdown of this data is done by using various methods to elicit information related to the current status of the communication channels being used by the Communications Unit. These methods include the use of a questionnaire survey, confidential interview, network analysis, diary of specific communication activities, and description of critical communication episodes. For this particular study, questionnaire survey was used. The questionnaire survey gained information related to the current status of the communication channels currently used by the Communications Unit. The questions ranged from topics about familiarity of the channels, frequency of usage to the views about the non-existence of official newsletter. Responses to the closed-ended and open-ended questions were entered by trained data capturers into Microsoft Excel file. Data cleaning was thoroughly conducted to clean the data of all errors and ambiguities. SAS statistical analysis software was used to import the data from Microsoft Excel to SAS while analyses were done using the SAS system.

3

This part of the report presents the breakdown of participants by various categories as they relate to the Board. From a total of 500 questionnaires sent out, 305 were returned, representing a response a rate of 61 percent. This gives substantial statistical validity to the results presented in this report. BreakdownBreakdownBreakdownBreakdown by Gender by Gender by Gender by Gender

• As depicted in Figure 1, of the 305 responses received, the majority of them were males (193 or 63.9%).

Females,

109,

35.7%

No

response,

3, 1.0%

Males,

193,

63.3%

Figure 1: Breakdown of Participants by Gender

Breakdown by Age GroupBreakdown by Age GroupBreakdown by Age GroupBreakdown by Age Group

• As also shown in Figure 2, most of the participants fall within the 40-49 years age category (93 or 30.6%) followed by participants falling within the 30-39 years age category (86 or 28.3%).

• Most of the 109 participating female staff members fall within the 30-39 years age category (39 or 35.8%) while 61 (31.6%) of the 193 participating male staff members fall within the 40-49 years age category while another 61 (31.6%) fall within the 50+ years age category.

About the Participating EmployeesAbout the Participating EmployeesAbout the Participating EmployeesAbout the Participating Employees

4

30-39

years, 86,

28.3%

18-29

years, 48,

15.8%

50+

years, 77,

25.3%

40-49

years, 93,

30.6%

Figure 2: Breakdown of Participants by Age Group Table 1: Breakdown of Participants by Age Group by Gender Gender

Female Male

Number Percent Number Percent

Age group

18-29 years 23 21.1 25 13.0

30-39 years 39 35.8 46 23.8

40-49 years 32 29.4 61 31.6

50+ years 15 13.8 61 31.6

ALL PARTICIPANTS 109 100.0 193 100.0 Breakdown by Years of ServiceBreakdown by Years of ServiceBreakdown by Years of ServiceBreakdown by Years of Service

• As displayed in Figure 3, most of the participating staff members indicated they had been with the Board for 10 years or more (141 or 46.7%) followed by those who had been working for the Board for 4-9 years (63 or 20.9%).

• The majority of the participating female staff members (35 or 33.0%) indicated they had been working for the Board for 4-9 years compared with the majority of the participating male staff members (108 or 56.0%) who indicated they had been working for the Board for 10 years or more.

5

5246

63

141

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Less than 1 year 1-3 years 4-9 years 10+ years

Years of Service

Nu

mb

er

of

Pa

rtic

ipa

nts

Figure 3: Breakdown of Participants by Years of Service Table 2: Breakdown of Participants by Years of Service by Gender Gender

Female Male


Years worked for NWPT&B

Less than 1 year 23 21.7 29 15.0

1-3 years 17 16.0 29 15.0

4-9 years 35 33.0 27 14.0

10+ years 31 29.2 108 56.0

ALL PARTICIPANTS 106 100.0 193 100.0 Breakdown by DivisionBreakdown by DivisionBreakdown by DivisionBreakdown by Division

As displayed in Figure 4, most of the participating staff members were from the Biodiversity Conservation Management Division (193 or 65.0%) followed by participants from the Hotel Schools Division (39 or 13.1%) and Finance/Administration Division (33 or 11.1%).

• Further breakdown by gender reveals that most of the female participants were from the Biodiversity Conservation Management Division (45) followed by female participants from Finance/Administration Division (23) and Hotel Schools Division (18).

6

• On the other hand, most of the female participants were from the Biodiversity Conservation Management Division (145) followed by male participants from the Hotel Schools Division (21) and Finance/Administration Division (10).

133

33

8

193

39

8

0

40

80

120

160

200

Busin

ess

Develo

pm

ent

Hum

an

Resourc

e

Fin

ance/

Adm

inis

tratio

n

CE

O

Bio

div

ers

ity

Conserv

atio

n

Managem

ent

Hote

l Schools

Mark

etin

g

Num

ber

of P

art

icip

ants

Figure 4: Breakdown of Participants by Division Table 3: Breakdown of Participants by Division by Gender Gender

Female Male


Division working for

Business Development 10 76.9 3 23.1

Human Resource 2 66.7 1 33.3

Finance/Administration 23 69.7 10 30.3

CEO 1 12.5 7 87.5

Biodiversity Conservation Management 45 23.7 145 76.3

Hotel Schools 18 46.2 21 53.8

Marketing 7 87.5 1 12.5

ALL PARTICIPANTS 106 36.1 188 63.9 Breakdown by Status of EmploymentBreakdown by Status of EmploymentBreakdown by Status of EmploymentBreakdown by Status of Employment

Most (277 or 94.7%) of the participants in the study described their status of employment with the Board as full-time while 15 (5.1%) described their status of employment with the Board as contractual.

7

15

277

13

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Contractual Full-Time No response

Nu

mb

er

of

Pa

rtic

ipa

nts

Figure 5: Breakdown of Participants by Status of Employment Table 4: Breakdown of Participants by Status of Employment by Gender Gender

Female Male


Status of employment

Contractual 5 4.7 9 4.9

Full-Time 101 95.3 175 95.1

ALL PARTICIPANTS 106 100.0 184 100.0

• Of the 106 participating female employees, 101 (95.3%) were full-time employees while 95.1% (175) of the participating male employees were also full-time employees.

8

Participants were asked a couple of questions regarding the channels used by the Communication Unit in communicating messages with employees of the Board. Questions include familiarity and frequency of use. FAMILIARITY FAMILIARITY FAMILIARITY FAMILIARITY WITHWITHWITHWITH COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION CHANNELSCHANNELSCHANNELSCHANNELS BEING BEING BEING BEING USEDUSEDUSEDUSED

Figure 6 is a breakdown of responses provided to the questions asked. Of the participating employees who responded:

48 45

60

98

158

227

179

72

99

33

66

135

0

50

100

150

200

250

Familiar with EMAIL

being used by

Communications Unit

Familiar with NOTICE

BOARD being used

by Communications

Unit

Familiar with FAX

being used by

Communications Unit

Familiar with PHOTO

GALLERY being used

by Communications

Unit

Num

ber of E

mplo

yees

No response

Yes

No

Fig 6: Familiarity with Tools Used by the Communications Unit • Most (158 or 61.5%) indicated they were familiar that the Communications Unit

uses email as communication channel while 99 (38.5%) indicated they were not familiar with the tool.

• The majority (227 or 87.3%) indicated they knew the Communications Unit also uses the notice board as a communication channel while 33 (12.7%) indicated they did not know.

• The majority (179 or 73.1%) said they knew the Communications Unit also use facsimile (or fax) as a communication tool while 66 (26.9%) said they did not know.

ABOUT ABOUT ABOUT ABOUT CHANNECHANNECHANNECHANNELS USED BY COMMUNICATIONS UNITLS USED BY COMMUNICATIONS UNITLS USED BY COMMUNICATIONS UNITLS USED BY COMMUNICATIONS UNIT

9

• Most (135 or 65.2%) indicated they did not know that the Communications Unit also uses photo gallery as a communications channel while 72 (34.8%) indicated they knew the Communications Unit uses it.

FamiliaritFamiliaritFamiliaritFamiliarity withy withy withy with Email as Com Email as Com Email as Com Email as Communication Channelmunication Channelmunication Channelmunication Channel

Table 5 presents the breakdown of participants’ familiarity with email as a communication channel used by Communications Unit according to gender and division. Table 5: Familiarity of Email as Communication Channel

Count Pcnt

Gender Familiar with EMAIL being used by Communications Unit

Yes, I am familiar 73 76.8 Female

No, I am not familiar 22 23.2

Yes, I am familiar 76 50.0 Male


Division working for Familiar with EMAIL being used by Communications Unit

Business Development Yes, I am familiar 13 100.0

Yes, I am familiar 1 50.0 Human Resource


Yes, I am familiar 25 80.6 Finance/Administration


Yes, I am familiar 6 85.7 CEO


Yes, I am familiar 72 46.8 Conservation Management


Yes, I am familiar 24 75.0 Hotel Schools


Marketing Yes, I am familiar 8 100.0

• Most of the participants from Finance/Administration Division (25 or 80.6%) and Hotels Schools Division (24 or 75.0%) indicated they knew the Communications Unit uses email as a communication channel.

• A greater fraction of the female employees (76.8%) than male employees (50.0%) indicated they knew that the Communications Unit uses email as a communication channel.

10

• Of the 13 participating employees from the Business Division all (100%) indicated they knew the Communications Unit uses email as a communication channel.

• Most (82 or 53.2%) of the Conservation Division said they did not know that the Communications Unit uses email as a communication channel.

Familiarity withFamiliarity withFamiliarity withFamiliarity with the No the No the No the Notice Board as Commtice Board as Commtice Board as Commtice Board as Communication Channelunication Channelunication Channelunication Channel

Table 6 displays the breakdown of participants’ familiarity with the notice board as a communication channel used by Communications Unit according to gender and division. Table 6: Familiarity of the Notice Board as Communication Tool

Count Pcnt

Gender Familiar with NOTICE BOARD being used by Communications Unit





Division working for Familiar with NOTICE BOARD being used by Communications Unit


Human Resource Yes, I am familiar 2 100.0



CEO Yes, I am familiar 7 100.0






• A greater percentage of the female participants (93.1%) than male participants

(83.5%) indicated they knew that the Communications Unit uses the notice board as a communication channel.

• All participants from Business Development Division (11), Human Resource Division (2), Office of the CEO (7), and Marketing Division (5) who answered this question indicated they knew the Communications Unit uses the notice board as a communication channel.

11

• Most of the participants from Finance/Administration Division (28 or 90.3%), Conservation Management Division (137 or 82.5%), and the Hotel Schools Division (28 or 96.6%) indicated they knew the Communications Unit uses the notice board as a communication channel.

Familiarity withFamiliarity withFamiliarity withFamiliarity with FacsimileFacsimileFacsimileFacsimile a a a as Communication Channels Communication Channels Communication Channels Communication Channel

Table 7 reports the breakdown of participants’ familiarity of fax as a communication channel used by Communications Unit according to gender and division. Table 7: Familiarity with Fax as Communication Channel

Count Pcnt

Gender Familiar with FAX being used by Communications Unit





Division working for Familiar with FAX being used by Communications Unit

Yes, I am familiar 7 70.0 Business Development













• A greater percentage of the female participants (80.2%) than male participants

(68.4%) indicated they knew that the Communications Unit uses fax as a communication channel.

• Most of the participants from Business Development Division (7 or 70.0%), Human Resource Division (2 or 66.7%), Finance/Administration Division (24 or 75.0%),

12

Office of the CEO (6 or 85.7%), Conservation Management Division (97 or 65.5%), and the Hotel Schools Division (31 or 96.9%) indicated they knew the Communications Unit uses fax as a communication channel.

• All participants from the Marketing Division (6) who answered this question indicated they knew the Communications Unit uses fax as a communication channel.

Familiarity withFamiliarity withFamiliarity withFamiliarity with Photo GalleryPhoto GalleryPhoto GalleryPhoto Gallery as Communication as Communication as Communication as Communication ChannelChannelChannelChannel

Table 8 displays the breakdown of participants’ familiarity of photo gallery as a communication tool used by Communications Unit according to gender and division. Table 8: Familiarity with Photo Gallery as Communication Tool

Count Pcnt

Gender Familiar with PHOTO GALLERY being used by Communications Unit





Division working for Familiar with PHOTO GALLERY being used by Communications Unit












Marketing No, I am not familiar 3 100.0 • Most of the participants from Conservation Management Division (94 or 74.0%) and

the Hotel Schools Division (20 or 87.0%) indicated they did not know the Communications Unit uses photo gallery as a communication channel.

13

• The majority of the participants from the Office of the CEO (5 or 83.3%), indicated they knew the Communications Unit uses photo gallery as a communication channel.

• All participants from the Business Development Division (11) and Marketing Division (3) who answered this question indicated they knew the Communications Unit uses photo gallery as a communication channel.

FREQUENCY OF THE USE OF COMMUNICFREQUENCY OF THE USE OF COMMUNICFREQUENCY OF THE USE OF COMMUNICFREQUENCY OF THE USE OF COMMUNICATION RESOURCESATION RESOURCESATION RESOURCESATION RESOURCES

Participants were also asked to indicate the frequency at which they use the tools used by the Communications Unit.

57

103

46

99

4135

60

169

66

48

77

114

85

150

3832

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

No

response

Never use

it Rare

ly

use it

Fre

quently

use it

No

response

Never use

it Rare

ly

use it

Fre

quently

use it

No

response

Never use

it Rare

ly

use it

Fre

quently

use it

No

response

Never use

it Rare

ly

use it

Fre

quently

use it

Frequency of using

EMAIL being used by

Communications Unit

Frequency of using

NOTICE BOARD

being used by

Communications Unit

Frequency of using

FAX being used by

Communications Unit

Frequency of using

PHOTO GALLERY

being used by

Communications Unit

Num

ber of P

artic

ipants

Fig 7: Frequency of Using Communication Resources As shown in Figure 7, of those who responded:

• The majority (103 or 41.5%) of them indicated they do not particularly read email messages from the Communications Unit while 99 (39.9%) indicated they frequently read email messages from the Communications Unit.

14

• A vast majority (169 or 64.0%) of them also indicated they frequently read messages and communiqués posted on the notice board by the Communications Unit.

• The majority (114 or 47.7%) of them also said they frequently read the fax messages sent by the Communications Unit as opposed to the 20.1% (48) who indicated they have never read any fax messages from the Communications Unit.

• Only a handful (32 or 14.6%) of them indicated they frequently go through the Communications Unit’s photo gallery while the majority (150 or 68.2%) indicated they have never paid attention it.

ReadReadReadReading Emailing Emailing Emailing Email Messafes Messafes Messafes Messafes from Communications Unit from Communications Unit from Communications Unit from Communications Unit

Table 9 displays the breakdown of responses to the question of how frequent employees read email messages from the Communications Unit. As revealed:

• A relatively larger proportion of the participating female employees (47.4%) than the proportion of male employees (33.1%) indicated they frequently read email messages from the Communications Unit.

• A relatively smaller proportion of the participating female employees (33.7%) than the proportion of male employees (49.0%) indicated they never read email messages from the Communications Unit.

• The majority of the participating employees from Business Development Division (83.3%), Finance/Administration Division (75.9%), the Office of the CEO (71.4%), Hotel Schools Division (54.5%), and Marketing Division (75.0%) indicated they frequently read email messages from the Communications Unit.

• It is, however, troubling to establish that most (55.0%) of the participating employees from Conservation Management Division never read email messages from the Communications Unit while another 23.5% indicated they rarely read email messages from the Communications Division. Only 21.5% of them indicated they read email messages from the Communications Unit.

15

Table 9: Frequency of Reading Email Messages from Communications Unit Count Pcnt

Gender Frequency of reading EMAIL messages sent by Communications Unit

Never use it 32 33.7

Rarely use it 18 18.9

Female

Frequently use it 45 47.4



Male


Division working for Frequency of reading EMAIL messages sent by Communications Unit

Never use it 1 8.3

Rarely use it 1 8.3

Business Development


Never use it 1 50.0 Human Resource


Never use it 7 24.1 Finance/Administration


Never use it 1 14.3


CEO




Conservation Management




Hotel Schools


Never use it 1 12.5


Marketing


Reading Reading Reading Reading Communiqués Posted on Notice Boards byCommuniqués Posted on Notice Boards byCommuniqués Posted on Notice Boards byCommuniqués Posted on Notice Boards by Communications Unit Communications Unit Communications Unit Communications Unit

Table 10 shows the breakdown of the responses to the question of how frequent employees read communiqués posted on the notice board by the Communications Unit. As revealed:

• A relatively larger proportion of male employees (69.0%) than female employees (59.1%) indicated they frequently read communiqués posted on notice boards by the Communications Unit.

16

Table 10: Frequency of Reading Notice Board Communiqués Posted by Communications Unit Count Pcnt

Gender Frequency of reading NOTICE BOARD communiqués posted by Communications Unit

Never read it 10 11.4

Rarely read it 26 29.5

Female

Frequently read it 52 59.1



Male


Division working for Frequency of reading NOTICE BOARD communiqués posted by Communications Unit

Never read it 1 9.1




Rarely read it 1 50.0 Human Resource




Finance/Administration


Never read it 1 12.5 CEO








Hotel Schools


Rarely read it 2 50.0 Marketing

Frequently read it 2 50.0 • A relatively larger proportion of male employees (14.3%) than female employees

(11.4%) indicated they never read communiqués posted on notice boards by the Communications Unit.

• Most of the participating employees from the Business Development Division (72.7%), Finance/Administration Division (63.3%), the Office of the CEO (87.5%), Conservation Management Division (63.7%), and Hotel Schools Division (72.7%) indicated they frequently read communiqués posted on notice boards by the Communications Unit.

17

Reading Fax Messages from Communications UnitReading Fax Messages from Communications UnitReading Fax Messages from Communications UnitReading Fax Messages from Communications Unit

Table 11 is the breakdown of responses to the question of how frequent employees read fax messages from the Communications Unit. Table 11: Frequency of Reading Fax Messages from Communications Unit

Count Pcnt

Gender Frequency of reading FAX messages sent by Communications Unit



Female




Male


Division working for Frequency of reading FAX messages sent by Communications Unit





Never read it 2 66.7 Human Resource


Never read it 3 9.7




Rarely read it 2 28.6 CEO






Never read it 3 9.7


Hotel Schools


Rarely read it 1 16.7 Marketing

Frequently read it 5 83.3 As shown:

• Most of the participating employees from the Business Development Division (72.7%), Finance/Administration Division (67.7%), the Office of the CEO (71.4%), Hotel Schools Division (67.7%), and Marketing Division (83.3%) indicated they frequently read fax messages from the Communications Unit.

18

• On the contrary, most of the participating employees from Conservation Management Division (39.2%) indicated they rarely read fax messages from the Communications Unit as opposed to the 36.4% who indicated they frequently read fax messages from the Communications Unit.

• A relatively larger proportion of female employees (60.9%) than male employees (40.7%) indicated they frequently read fax messages from Communications Unit.

MESSAGE MESSAGE MESSAGE MESSAGE CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT EVALUATIONEVALUATIONEVALUATIONEVALUATION

Participating employees were asked to rate the quality of content of the messages disseminated by the Communications Unit. As revealed in the graphical display in Figure 8:

71

83

47

104

92

5564

94

52 54

78

121

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

No response

Poor/V

ery

poor Fair

Good/E

xcellent

No response

Poor/V

ery

poor Fair

Good/E

xcellent

No response

Poor/V

ery

poor Fair

Good/E

xcellent

Content rating for EMAIL

messages sent by

Communications Unit

Content rating for FAX

messages sent by

Communications Unit

Content rating for NOTICE

BOARD messages posted

by Communications Unit

Num

ber of P

artic

ipants

Figure 8: Message content evaluation

• The majority (104 or 34.1%) indicated the content of the email messages were good /excellent as opposed to the 83 (27.2%) who also indicated that email messages often sent out by the Communications Unit were poor/very poor.

• The majority (94 or 30.8%) of the participating employees indicated the content of fax messages often circulated by the Communications Unit were good/excellent compared with the 55 (18.0%) who also indicated the content were poor/very poor.

19

• Most (121 or 39.7%) of the participating employees also indicated that the content of the messages often posted on the notice board by the Communications Unit were good/excellent as opposed to the 54 (17.7%) who also indicated they were poor/very poor.

Email Message Content EvaluationEmail Message Content EvaluationEmail Message Content EvaluationEmail Message Content Evaluation

Table 12 is a breakdown of participants’ ratings for the content of email messages sent by the Communications Unit. As revealed by the table: Table 12: Email Message Content Evaluation

Count Pcnt

Gender Content rating for EMAIL messages sent by Communications Unit

Poor/Very poor 34 35.4

Fair 13 13.5

Female

Good/Excellent 49 51.0


Fair 30 23.4

Male


Division working for Content rating for EMAIL messages sent by Communications Unit


Fair 2 15.4



Poor/Very poor 1 50.0 Human Resource



Fair 5 16.7



Fair 1 20.0 CEO



Fair 25 19.1




Fair 8 22.9

Hotel Schools


Fair 2 25.0 Marketing


20

• A greater proportion of the participating female employees (51.0%) than male employees (39.1%) rated the content of email messages from the Communications Unit as good/excellent.

• Sizeable proportions of both the female employees (35.4%) and male employees (37.5%) also indicated the content of email messages from the Communications Unit was poor/very poor.

• Most of the participating employees from Business Development Division (8 or 61.5%), Finance/Administration Division (21 or 70.0%), Office of the CEO (4 or 80.0%), and Marketing Division (6 or 75.0%) indicated the content of email messages from the Communications Unit was good/excellent.

• However, the majority of the participating employees from Hotel Schools Division (17 or 48.6%) and Conservation Management Division (57 or 43.5%) indicated the content of email messages circulated by the Communications Unit was poor/very poor.

Fax Message Content EvaluationFax Message Content EvaluationFax Message Content EvaluationFax Message Content Evaluation

Table 13 is a breakdown of participants’ ratings for the content of fax messages sent by the Communications Unit. As reported:

• A greater proportion of the participating male employees (46.1%) than female employees (41.8%) rated the content of fax messages from the Communications Unit as good/excellent.

• However nearly a quarter of male participants and a quarter of female participants also indicated the content of email messages from the Communications Unit was poor/very poor.

• Most of the participating employees from Business Development Division (4 or 50.0%), Finance/Administration Division (10 or 37.0%), Conservation Management Division (60 or 48.0%), Hotel Schools Division (11 or 33.3%), and Marketing Division (4 or 66.7%) indicated the content of fax messages from the Communications Unit was good/excellent.

21

Table 13: Fax Message Content Evaluation Count Pcnt

Gender Content rating for FAX messages sent by Communications Unit


Fair 26 32.9

Female



Fair 36 28.1

Male


Division working for Content rating for FAX messages sent by Communications Unit


Fair 2 25.0




Fair 2 66.7


Fair 10 37.0



Fair 2 40.0 CEO



Fair 36 28.8




Fair 9 27.3

Hotel Schools



Fair 1 16.7

Marketing


Notice Board Message Content EvaluationNotice Board Message Content EvaluationNotice Board Message Content EvaluationNotice Board Message Content Evaluation

Table 14 is the distribution of participants’ ratings for the content of notice board messages posted by the Communications Unit. As reported:

• A relatively larger proportion of the participating male employees (85 or 52.5%) than female employees (35 or 41.7%) rated the content of notice board messages from the Communications Unit as good/excellent.

22

Table 14: Notice Board Message Content Evaluation Count Pcnt

Gender Content rating for NOTICE BOARD messages posted by Communications Unit


Fair 31 36.9

Female



Fair 43 26.5

Male


Division working for Content rating for NOTICE BOARD messages posted by Communications Unit


Fair 4 33.3



Fair 1 50.0 Human Resource



Fair 11 37.9




Fair 1 16.7

CEO



Fair 42 26.3




Fair 14 43.8

Hotel Schools



Fair 1 20.0

Marketing


• The majority of the participating employees from Business Development Division (7 or 58.3%), Office of the CEO (4 or 66.7%), Conservation Management Division (86 or 53.8%), and Marketing Division (3 or 60.0%) indicated the content of notice board messages from the Communications Unit was good/excellent.

• However, the majority of the participants from Finance/Administration (11 or 37.9%) and Hotel Schools Division (14 or 43.8%) also indicated the content of notice board messages posted by the Communications Unit was fairly good.

23

Participating employees were asked to rate the importance and the effectiveness of the four communication channels currently used by the Communications Unit to disseminate information. IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELSIMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELSIMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELSIMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

Respondents were asked to indicate how important they find each of the four different communication channels, using a 4-point scale with 1=never use, 2=not important, 3= somewhat important, and 4=very important.

53

70

620

156

30

9 10

47

209

60

1811

54

162

8497

18

42

64

0

40

80

120

160

200

240

No

resp

on

se

Ne

ve

r

us

ed

an

y

Not

imp

ort

an

t

Som

ew

ha

t

imp

ort

ant

Imp

ort

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Importance of disseminating

information through EMAIL


information via the NOTICE

BOARD


information through FAX

IImportance of disseminating

information via PHOTO

GALLLERY

Num

be

r of

Part

icip

an

ts

Fig 9: Importance of Communication Channels used by Communications Unit As observed:

• Most of the participating employees indicated disseminating information via the notice board (209 or 76.0%) is more important, followed by the use of fax messages (162 or 66.1%) and email messages (156 or 40.9%).

• The use of photo gallery appeared not to be useful in information dissemination.

ABOUT THE CURRENT COABOUT THE CURRENT COABOUT THE CURRENT COABOUT THE CURRENT COMMUNICATIONMMUNICATIONMMUNICATIONMMUNICATION CHANNELS CHANNELS CHANNELS CHANNELS

24

Importance of DisseminatinImportance of DisseminatinImportance of DisseminatinImportance of Disseminating Information throughg Information throughg Information throughg Information through Email Email Email Email

Table 15 displays the distribution of responses to the question on the importance of email as information dissemination channel. Table 15: Importance of Email as Information Dissemination Channel

Count Pcnt

Gender Importance of EMAIL for disseminating information

Never used any 20 21.3

Not important 3 3.2

Somewhat important 5 5.3

Female

Very important 66 70.2


Not important 3 2.0


Male


Division working for Importance of EMAIL for disseminating information

Business Development Very Important 12 100.0

Never used any 1 50.0 Human Resource

Not important 1 50.0

Never used any 2 6.5 Finance/Administration


CEO Very important 6 100.0


Not important 3 2.0





Not important 1 3.0


Hotel Schools


Not important 1 12.5 Marketing


Of those who responded to this question:

• Most of the participants from Finance/Administration Division (29 or 93.5%), Conservation Management Division (72 or 47.7%), Hotel Schools Division (23 or 69.7%), and Marketing Division (7 or 87.5%) rated the use of email for dissemination of information as very important.

25

• A relatively larger proportion of female employees (70.2%) than male employees (55.7%) rated the use of email for dissemination of information as very important.

• All participants from Business Development Division (12) and Office of the CEO (6) rated the use email for information dissemination as very important.

Importance of DisseminatiImportance of DisseminatiImportance of DisseminatiImportance of Disseminatinnnngggg Information Information Information Information via via via via the Notice Boardthe Notice Boardthe Notice Boardthe Notice Board

Table 16 presents the distribution of responses to the question on the importance of email as information dissemination channel.

• A slightly larger proportion of male employees (78.1%) than female employees (76.0%) rated the use of the notice board for dissemination of information as very important.

• Most of the participants from Business Development Division (10 or 90.9%), Finance /Administration Division (26 or 81.3%), Conservation Management Division (131 or 76.2%), Hotel Schools Division (26 or 76.5%), and Marketing Division (4 or 66.7%) rated the use of email for dissemination of information as very important. Table 16: Importance of Notice Board as Information Dissemination Channel

Count Pcnt

Gender Importance of using the NOTICE BOARD for disseminating information


Not important 5 5.2


Female



Not important 5 3.0


Male


Division working for Importance of using the NOTICE BOARD for disseminating information

Not important 1 9.1 Business Development


Somewhat important 1 50.0 Human Resource


26

Table 16 continued: Importance of Notice Board as Information Dissemination Channel Count Pcnt

Gender Importance of using the NOTICE BOARD for disseminating information 1 1.0

Somewhat important 6 18.8 Finance/Administration


Somewhat important 1 12.5 CEO



Not important 7 4.1





Not important 2 5.9


Hotel Schools


Somewhat important 2 33.3 Marketing

Very important 4 66.7 Importance of DisseminatiImportance of DisseminatiImportance of DisseminatiImportance of Disseminatinnnng Information throughg Information throughg Information throughg Information through FaxFaxFaxFax

Table 17 presents the distribution of responses to the question on the importance of using fax as information dissemination channel. Table 14: Importance of Fax as Information Dissemination Channel

Count Pcnt

Gender Importance of using FAX for disseminating information


Not important 6 6.7


Female



Not important 5 3.4


Male


Division working for Importance of using FAX for disseminating information

Not important 3 27.3




Not important 1 33.3 Human Resource


27

Table 17 continued: Importance of Fax as Information Dissemination Channel Count Pcnt

Gender Importance of using FAX for disseminating information 3 3.4

Not important 1 3.1




Somewhat important 2 33.3 CEO



Not important 5 3.3





Not important 1 3.3


Hotel Schools


Somewhat important 1 16.7 Marketing

Very important 5 83.3 • A relatively larger proportion of male employees (68.5%) than female employees

(62.9%) rated the use of fax for dissemination of information as very important. • Most of the participants from Business Development Division (5 or 45.5%), Finance

/Administration Division (21 or 65.5%), Office of the CEO (4 or 66.7%), Conservation Management Division (100 or 66.7%), Hotel Schools Division (23 or 76.7%), and Marketing Division (5 or 83.3%) rated the use of fax for dissemination of information as very important.

EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELSEFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELSEFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELSEFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

Respondents were also asked to rate how effective they find each of the four different communication channels used by the Communications Unit, using a 3-point scale with 1=poor/very poor, 2=average, and 3=good/very good. As revealed in Figure 10:

• Most of the participating employees rated the level of effectiveness of the communication channels used by the Communications Unit at communicating

28

Board and Executive Management decisions as poor/very poor (135 or 44.3%) as opposed to the 64 (21.0%) who rated it as good/very good.

19

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How effective are

communication channels

regarding Board/Executive

decisions?

How effective are


regarding organizational

news?

How effective are


regarding other

important/relevant news?

Num

ber of P

artic

ipants

Fig 10: Effectiveness of Communication Channels used by Communications Unit

• Most of the participating employees rated the level of effectiveness of the communication channels used by the Communications Unit at communicating organizational news and programme updates as poor/very poor (106 or 34.8%) as opposed to the 92 (30.2%) who rated it as good/very good.

• Most of the participating employees rated the level of effectiveness of the communication channels used by the Communications Unit at communicating other important and relevant news as poor/very poor (121 or 39.7%) as opposed to the 64 (21.0%) who rated it as good/very good.

Effectiveness at Communicating Board and Executive Management DecisionsEffectiveness at Communicating Board and Executive Management DecisionsEffectiveness at Communicating Board and Executive Management DecisionsEffectiveness at Communicating Board and Executive Management Decisions

Table 18 is a distribution of the responses meant to measure the effectiveness of the current communicating channels used in communicating Board and Executive Management decisions.

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Table 18: Effectiveness at Communicating Board and Executive Management Decisions

Count Pcnt

Gender How effective are communication channels at communicating Board/Executive decisions?


Average 26 26.8

Female

Good/Very good 15 15.5


Average 59 33.0

Male


Division working for How effective are communication channels at communicating Board/Executive decisions?


Average 3 25.0




Average 2 66.7


Average 13 40.6




Average 2 28.6

CEO



Average 58 31.7




Average 4 12.9

Hotel Schools



Average 3 37.5

Marketing


• Only 15 (15.5) of the female and 48 (26.8%) of the male participating employees

rated the effectiveness of the communication channels used by the Communications Unit at communicating Board and Management decisions as good/very good.

• Only a handful of participating employees from Finance/Administration (4 or 12.5%), Office of the CEO (2 or 28.6%), Conservation Management Division (48 or 26.2%), and Hotel Schools Division (6 or 19.4%) rated the effectiveness of the

30

communication channels used by the Communications Unit at communicating Board and Management decisions as good/very good.

Effectiveness at CoEffectiveness at CoEffectiveness at CoEffectiveness at Communicating mmunicating mmunicating mmunicating BoardBoardBoardBoard News and Programme Updates News and Programme Updates News and Programme Updates News and Programme Updates

Table 19 reports the distribution of the responses meant to measure the effectiveness of the current communicating channels used in communicating organizational news and programme updates, according to gender and division.

Table 19: Effectiveness at Communicating Organizational News and Programme Updates

Count Pcnt

Gender How effective are communication channels at communicating organizational news?


Average 20 20.0

Female



Average 55 32.7

Male


Division working for How effective are communication channels at communicating organizational news?


Average 4 33.3




Average 1 50.0


Average 5 16.1



Average 3 50.0 CEO



Average 50 28.9




Average 10 27.8

Hotel Schools


Average 2 25.0 Marketing


31

• Almost a third (30) of the female and just over a third (59) of the male participating employees rated the effectiveness of the communication channels used by the Communications Unit at communicating organizational news and programme updates as good/very good.

• Just a few participating employees from Finance/Administration (9 or 29.0%) and Hotel Schools Division (6 or 16.7%) rated the effectiveness of the communication channels used by the Communications Unit at communicating organizational news and programme updates as good/very good.

Effectiveness at Communicating Other Relevant and Important NewsEffectiveness at Communicating Other Relevant and Important NewsEffectiveness at Communicating Other Relevant and Important NewsEffectiveness at Communicating Other Relevant and Important News

Table 20 reports the distribution of the responses meant to measure the effectiveness of the current communicating channels used in communicating other relevant and important news, according to gender and division.

• Only 18.8% (18) of the female and 43 (25.7%) of the male participating employees rated the effectiveness of communicating other relevant and important news as good/very good.

Table 20: Effectiveness at Communicating Other Relevant and Important News

Count Pcnt

Gender How effective are communication channels at communicating other important/relevant news?


Average 25 26.0

Female



Average 58 34.7

Male


Division working for How effective are communication channels at communicating other important/relevant news?


Average 6 50.0



Human Resource Poor/Very poor 2 100.0


Average 11 35.5



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Table 20 continued: Effectiveness at Communicating Other Relevant and Important News

Count Pcnt

Gender How effective are communication channels at communicating other important/relevant news? 53 55.2

Average 1 16.7 CEO



Average 56 32.7




Average 7 21.2

Hotel Schools



Average 2 25.0

Marketing


• Just a few participating employees from Business Development Division (3 or 25.0%), Finance/Administration (7 or 22.6%), Office of the CEO (5 or 83.3%), Conservation Management Division (34 or 19.9%), and Hotel Schools Division (7 or 21.2%) rated the effectiveness of the communication channels used by the Communications Unit at communicating other relevant and important news as good/very good.

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Currently, the North West Parks and Tourism Board does not have an official newsletter. To find out whether were comfortable with that, participating employees’ views were sought about the non-existence of an official North West Parks and Tourism Board newsletter. As depicted in Figure 11:

4149

215

0

50

100

150

200

250

No response Does not matter much Totally unacceptable

View about non-existence of newsletter from Communications Unit

Num

ber of P

aricip

ants

Figure11: Views about the Non-Existence of Company Newsletter

• An overwhelmingly 70.5% (215) of the participating employees indicated it is totally unacceptable for the organization not to have an official newsletter. Only 16.1% (49) indicated it did not matter much.

Table 21 is the breakdown of responses according to gender and division. As revealed: • A relatively larger proportion of the male participants (84.4%) than female

participants (77.0%) indicated it was totally unacceptable the Board does not have an official newsletter.

• Most of the participants from Business Development Division (9 or 69.2%), Finance/Administration (23 or 85.2%), Office of the CEO (4 or 66.7%), Conservation

VIEWS ABOUT NONVIEWS ABOUT NONVIEWS ABOUT NONVIEWS ABOUT NON----EXISTENCE OF OFFICIAL NEWSLETTEREXISTENCE OF OFFICIAL NEWSLETTEREXISTENCE OF OFFICIAL NEWSLETTEREXISTENCE OF OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER

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Management Division (143 or 84.6%), Hotel Schools Division (22 or 78.6%), and Marketing Division (5 or 62.5%) unequivocally said it is unacceptable that the Board does not have an official newsletter.

Table 21: Views about the Non-Existence of Company Newsletter

Count Pcnt

Gender View about non-existence of newsletter from Communications Unit

Does not matter much 20 23.0 Female

Totally unacceptable 67 77.0

Does not matter much 26 15.6 Male


Division working for View about non-existence of newsletter from Communications Unit

Does not matter much 4 30.8 Business Development


Does not matter much 1 33.3 Human Resource


Does not matter much 4 14.8 Finance/Administration


Does not matter much 2 33.3 CEO


Does not matter much 26 15.4 Conservation Management


Does not matter much 6 21.4 Hotel Schools


Does not matter much 3 37.5 Marketing


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Participating employees were asked if they had any suggestions, remarks or comments on how to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the communication structure being used by the Communications Unit. Suggestions, remarks and comments are presented in below. Question:Question:Question:Question:

What are some of the problems associated with current tools of communication being used by Communications Unit?

Table 22: Perceived Problems associated with current communication tools

• Sometimes delayed communication • The e-mails are off at times • Verbal as they are unable to read or write, from the notice board • Mainly verbal info as it is more informative and able to understand or read from • They should send the info on time • E-mail, some areas are very remote & accessing mail tends to be problematic • Only a single email access point is available to us • Information comes late or is never distributed • Most employees do not have full access to such tools due to lack of resources • Information comes late or is never distributed • Network Problems • Do not reach all units in time or not at all • Communication is sometimes delayed • Our unit does not have access to the Internet • Resources are available, but are not fairly distributed among departments • All departments require full access to internet & email • Insufficient telephone and ADSL lines • Ineffective emails • Email, computers, fax • Internet always down • internet always down, notice's always late, memo's out of date • We do not have access to e-mails. • Management delays fax reconnection when offline.

SUGGESTIONS, REMARKS AND COMMENTSSUGGESTIONS, REMARKS AND COMMENTSSUGGESTIONS, REMARKS AND COMMENTSSUGGESTIONS, REMARKS AND COMMENTS

36

Table 22 continued: Perceived Problems associated with current communication tools

• No access to email, and fax doesn’t work in most cases • Email and fax messages should be communicated in vernacular • Email messages should arrive on time • Fax connection takes so long, it inconveniences us • They are not effective at all • Lack of resources of at parks e.g. internet connection. Phones are not working. • IT staff must visit parks to ensure proper communication facilities are up to date • Phones do not work half the time • We don’t get information in time due to offline networks • Shortage of funds to buy and repair equipment • We need cellphones allowance, so that when lines are off we still have communication • Please include Setswana another medium of communication • At times information comes in late and becomes useless • Information disseminated are always late • Fax that arrive late makes it difficult for us • None, unless there is no electricity • Electricity cuts offsets the accuracy of the communication • Only when there is no electricity • Electricity is an issue (electricity cuts) • Lack of power disturbs (phones and faxes) • At times admin staff will be writing exams, hence we don’t receive information sent to us • Some officials do not respect the ethics of communications • Lack of emails are the cause of the many miscommunication • No notice boards • Maybe it’s because we don’t have cellphone reception here • Lack of services, mostly electronic systems • Internet provision is poor • The lack of proper communication puts us at a disadvantage • We don’t get information in time due to offline networks • Information dissemination is a big problem, please sort that out • We don’t have proper equipment to operate, especially emails and faxes • Infrastructure needs must be sorted out because it contributes to information being late • General staff does not have access to emails, so may be you should consider faxing • Emails are not filtered through to the rest of the general staff

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Table 22 continued: Perceived Problems associated with current communication tools

• Emails can only deliver a certain amount of information please try something about it • Emails are always down and that slows down production • Faxing of documents is sometimes delayed • Most things needs upgrading especially computers • We don’t have a communications officer in PNP • Limited email access is our main problem • Emails access and fax machines don’t work • We don’t have some equipment in our offices • Only managers have access to faxes and emails • Emails and faxes don’t reach us on time • Please include Setswana another medium of communication • Stall back systems so that even if information was not communicated thoroughly • We don’t have any problems except message that are not relayed to staff immediate • We are not familiar to using computers please use notice boards to cater for those us • We have problems with emails that come from the NWP&TB • We get information late because emails are only received by senior personnel /staff • Junior staff members are not introduced to all communications methods • Fax is the main issue • Managers delay to pass on information on time • Information sometimes arrive too late • We sometime receive information that is not relevant to us • Some parks are not listed on the network • English is a problem, at times we miss important information • Any information should be sent in a language we all understand (Setswana) • Messages come late, we don’t receive them in time at all

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Question:Question:Question:Question:

What areas of the Board’s internal communications need most improvement?

Table 23: Areas that need most improvement

• Send message in time, in vernacular and phone after sending fax to confirm if it • HRM, better communications and qualified managers at the parks. • Notify us of any deaths in the organisation, not all of us receive such information • Improve internal communication • Notice board updates • We should access to emails and fax machine • Internet, notice boards, emails and photo gallery • Monthly newsletter • Please extend the aerial (Telkom) • Visit staff and sent messages in time • Send messages prior to its intended date, and include a brief content • Information does not reach us on time • Reintroduce internal newsletter, inform the board about all activities and info • current system is still usable and is working properly • email, fax and photo gallery • Newsletters, relevant information and notice boards • Update us always, especially on current plans and things that are happening • Provide other means which will ensure that general staff get the information on time • provision of notice boards and please update information on regular bases • Total access to communication mediums • Fax be extended to all staff members and introduction of photo gallery • Research on how internal communication can be improved at all levels within the Board • The server must be upgraded to be able to carry large amount of information • Improve on information content • All areas of internal communications • Distribution of radio controls • Please inform us of any events which concern us • Notice board updates • please communicate important messages in Setswana • Any mode of communication will be highly appreciated • Computer access for general staff members

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Table 23 continued: Areas that need most improvement

• Please improve the electricity supply • Information must be delivered on time • Staff members with no access to computers should be considered • Please consider using Setswana to communicate with general staff • Information must be passed on a lot faster and please use a language we un


Do you have any suggestions on how to address the internal communication needs?

Table 24: Suggestions on how to address internal communication needs

• Newsletter from all divisions can be compiled into one official newsletter • Verbal messages are also helpful & important • GHS has only one point of email, it would be better if it is introduced to all departments • Employees must be asked what the need and to be provided with • Employees should be trained on resources used posted on the notice board • Suggestion boxes need to be provided, employees must be a able to voice out wish • The Board must make sure that each and every department has got an email access • Each employee must to provided with these resources and trained to use them • Improve the technology • Increase the numbers of IT specialists to allow access to the Internet • Fax and notice board will help. • Send SMS’es to managing staff, fax doesn’t always come through • Furnish us (staff) with relevant information • Provide information on time to improve work output • Provide computers to allow all staff access to the Internet • Address matters in vernacular • Provide us with a better communication strategy • Implement systems that everybody can understand and be familiar with • Telephones and internet availability at the parks need to be upgraded • Every staff member must have their own computers • We need to be informed on everything • Make sure all weekly information is distributed equally in all the departments • Please provide feedback on Board activities please

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Table 24 continued: Suggestions on how to address internal communication needs

• Staff must have access to emails and faxes and please help us by means of computer classes. • Re-introduction of newsletters • Notice boards are of great importance • Avail as much information as much as possible • Please try to improve the network systems • Internet access • Email can reach all staff members faster than any other modes of communication • Emails should be addressed to persons intended to give messages to • Employees in the parks find it hard to receive information due to lack of resources availability. Managers should forward information on time as to improve better communication • Upgrade email systems that are in place to avoid cut offs and create and sent photo galleries in all parks if possible • Fax and notice boards • Internet access and provision of weekly or monthly newsletters • Start by installing fax machines and create email addresses for us • We should be provided with alternative communication tools in case the ones we have fail, which is the case in most instances • Please use fax and emails and top management must make sure that all other relevant staff have been reached (informed) • Improve or increase the virtual memories of our computers that they can hold data • Face to face communications delivers the message better sometimes • improve or add modems • at least provide one computer that will help all staff members with accessing their emails • If they could extend the power station • Internet connection is very poor, it needs upgrading or to be serviced regularly • Limit emails to relevant shifts • faxed messages should be placed on the notice boards immediately


Please provide your thoughts on how the Communications Unit can most effectively communicate internal information.

41

Table 25: Ensuring effective communications within the Board

• Each unit to have communication representative • By making follow ups • They must always follow up if staff members have received internal info • All sectors of the board must be treated the same • Provision of every employee with e-mail for communication • There is the nee send messages in time • By making use of more than one communication tool • Send communiqués in time and follow up on them • Communications personnel should introduce themselves to us so that we know them • Confirm when messages are received • Introduce newsletters • Use vernacular • Use of notice board communicates more effectively with the people at the Parks • Please communicate with all staff members frequently • The use of phones and emails is mostly needed • By communicating with management all the time • Fax or email park managers in time and phone if its urgent • Faxes, phones and emails are most preferable • Managers should try and communicate messages in time • Please accommodate us all were language is concerned • Please provide junior staff with email addresses and other means of communication • Via emails and notice boards • Print and put up information on notice boards • Language that everybody understands • Managers should try and communicate messages in time • Try to stop the power cuts • Provision of telephones and two-way radios

42

Main ConclusionsMain ConclusionsMain ConclusionsMain Conclusions

• The research clearly indicates that improvements are required to address concerns related to internal communication practices of the Communications Unit of the Board.

• While the majority of the participating employees indicated their satisfaction with the internal communication channels used by the Communications Unit and dissemination of information, there are still more employees who are dissatisfied or somewhat satisfied, it clearly indicates there is much more work to be done to define and refine these channels as well as their usage.

• There are no clear winners when it comes to particular communication tools or channels. Each one has its adherents.

• There is the need for the Communications Unit to relay information to employees in local dialects as a sizeable number of employees are not comfortable with the use of English as the only medium of communication.

RecommendationsRecommendationsRecommendationsRecommendations

Based on responses to the open-ended questions and the remarks, comments and suggestions, various communication concerns and what improvements they believed were established. Following these, the following internal communication recommendations are made.

• Even though it was established that e-mail is not the most preferred medium for employees to receive disseminated messages from the Communications Unit, it is believed that it could be a key tool for effective internal communication, if the system’s functionality is enhanced. Investigate electronic communication tools for all employees of the Boards that: - Are simple to use or navigate; - Makes it simple for all staff members, especially those with little or no

computer background.

MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSRECOMMENDATIONSRECOMMENDATIONSRECOMMENDATIONS

43

- Investigate why some staff members do not use the e-mail system. - Develop an orientation for those employees who indicated they do not know

how to use the email system so they know what their e-mail and other resources are.

• By studying the suggestions, remarks and comments made by participating employees and finding remedies to the most critical ones should go a long to enhancing the effectiveness of the communication channels used by the Communications Unit.

Report 3

Documents

Transcript of Report 3