UNC Lineberger faculty, staff and trainees value staying informed about cancer center news, research and events, but they also have voiced concerns about receiving too many broadcast emails, according to a communications survey conducted in April.
The survey was designed to identify what information faculty and staff found useful and their preferences for receiving it. It was completed by 70 staff, 65 faculty and five trainees. A summary of the findings is available (view communications survey summary report).
“We are grateful for those who shared their thoughts on what information is important to them and their preferences for how they want to receive it,” said Chesley Kalnen, web content manager, who oversaw the survey’s development and analysis.
Based on the survey’s insights, the UNC Lineberger Communications team is implementing several changes to how it shares information internally.
Broadcast emails will now be limited to announcements that are urgent and operational and cannot be conveyed using other existing communications tools, such as the Events or Lineup e-newsletters, UNC Lineberger website’s digital calendar, digital signage and email messages targeting specific departments or groups.
The comprehensive broadcast email and internal flyer guidelines is available online.
The UNC Lineberger Data Curation team maintains an email list for each of the cancer center’s nine research programs and can send emails to a specific program. Requests for a targeted program email should be sent to lccc-dct@office.unc.edu. Please allow two business days for the request to be reviewed.
“Because we are a matrix center, many of our colleagues receive email from a variety of departments, programs and schools on campus, including from the cancer center, and this quickly adds up to an excess of email,” said Erin Sommer, director of cancer marketing and communications strategy. “Reducing the number of broadcast emails we send, and using targeted email lists, will enable us to partially reduce the email volume and hopefully get necessary information to the most relevant audiences.”
UNC Lineberger has approximately 1,200 faculty, staff and trainees who are, collectively, affiliated with more than 40 departments, programs, and schools at UNC-Chapel Hill.
The Communications team will be rolling out several communications enhancements in the next few months. This will include new event flyer, PowerPoint presentation and scientific poster templates. Later this year, the lobby monitors, including in the Lineberger and Marsico buildings, will undergo a software upgrade, making them a more reliable source of institutional news and information. There is also work underway to develop an intranet site to provide a central digital location for institutional news, communications and resources.
In addition, the Communications team has developed new branding guidelines, which provide instructions on how to properly use the UNC Lineberger logos, typography, color palette and other design elements. This will help create a consistent look and feel and contribute to generating greater awareness about the cancer center.
“UNC Lineberger is a large, complex organization, and these changes are designed to help us be more effective and consistent with our communications to our internal and external audiences,” Sommer said.