Strategic Internal Communications for Government

Many organizations, especially federal government agencies, conduct periodic surveys to gauge employee satisfaction and morale. The data from these surveys can be very telling, especially during periods of turmoil, forced change, and uncertainty. This session will provide you with tips on how to interpret your survey data, or other informal morale indicators, to identify the areas where internal communications can make a difference.

Discuss what works and what doesn’t when developing a foundation of trust by establishing transparency and open lines of communication up, down and across the organization, including how to:

• Identify areas where lack of communication is indicated as the underlying cause of problems
• Get past the perception of “nobody tells me anything” 
• Make the best use of focus groups to clarify problem areas and develop potential solutions
• Understand the forming, storming, norming and performing stages of team development

John Verrico, Chief of Media Relations, Science & Technology Directorate

U.S. Department of Homeland Security