Corporate
Communications Policy.
|
- South
Hams District Council acknowledges that good communication is fundamental
to the effective delivery of its services.
- We
will apply our definition of good communication to all written, oral,
visual and behavioural acts by the Council, its staff and its Members.
This includes communication between staff.
- We define good communication
as:
- a two-way process for giving
and receiving information efficiently and effectively
- addressing our audience in
whatever way they find most appropriate and easy to understand
- using plain English
principles, which means avoiding jargon, baffling, complicated or
officious language, and long sentences
- listening carefully, exchanging
information, and improving mutual understanding
- building lasting relationships
with the people and organisations affected by our work
4. The way we communicate
must ensure our policies, strategies and working practices are easy to
understand and seen to
be fair.
- The
way we communicate must show our employees to be professional, diligent,
fair, and accountable.
- We
will regularly ask for people’s opinion on our policies, strategies and
the way we work. We will use the information they give us to do a better
job.
- We will
adopt a ‘house style’ guide to be used for all written material, including
letters, produced by the Council.
- The
way we communicate will reflect the Council’s legal and moral
responsibilities in areas such as human rights, equal opportunities,
health and safety.
- The
Council’s internal communications structure will reflect our definition of
good communication.
- Members
of the Council’s corporate management team (CMT) are responsible for
ensuring this policy is implemented within their teams. They must show
their staff how to use the principles of good communication to improve
their work.
- Managers
must ensure their staff are fully aware of our internal communication
facilities, including our house style when published, and make sure they
use them.
- All
our plans and strategies, such as our annual service plans, will include
steps to improve communications.
- We will assess the internal and
external communication skills of our staff, including managers, as part of
their annual appraisal and development process.