washtenaw county oced findings & recommendations

The Problem:(As identified by the OCED)

We believe that we can more efficiently communicate information to the public. We would like UMSI students to study our process of gathering information that is pertinent to the public from the OCED and how it flows out to the public through key information outlets.

The Scope:(Determined by the UMSI team)

Identify how effective your current methods and strategies are of collecting and communicating pertinent information to the public.

Further investigation provided a “bird’s eye view” of the communication process, uncovering inconsistencies and assessments of best practices for collaboration.

MethodologyFor Data Collection & Analysis

➔ Client Interviews

➔ Interpretation Sessions

➔ Workflow & Sequence Models

➔ Consolidated Models

➔ Affinity Walls

Consolidated

Model➔ Vague distinction between

job roles.

➔ Overlapping

communication efforts.

➔ Heavy use of email-based

communication.

➔ Incoming online inquiries

from the public are not

addressed.

Findings(Overview)

➔ External communication is not a priority.

➔ There’s a lack of strategy and you deal with it.

➔ It’s difficult to identify and target overlapping

audiences.

➔ You are best when collaborating.

➔ The website leads to frustration.

➔ Tracking information leads to smarter communication.

External Communication

is not a priority.➔ Schedule all-staff meetings to discuss external

communication efforts.

➔ Plan for, delegate, and incentivize participation.

➔ Have staff write their job descriptions to include

tasks related to communication.

➔ As new positions become available, seek

candidates with communication experience.

There’s a lack of strategyand you deal with it.

➔ Implement shared calendars to allocate and track time

involved in communication tasks.

➔ Set deadlines and appointments to check in on status.

➔ Use this transparency to synchronize efforts within the

department. This will provide information to better set

deadlines for future work.

It’s difficult to identify

overlapping audiences.➔ Unify fragmented social media accounts and identify a

hashtagging system.

➔ Share a document that includes target audiences and

their communication preferences.

➔ Reference the language used in previous external

communication documents to keep things consistent.

You are at your best when

collaborating.

➔ Do not cancel meetings to review external communication

efforts. These delays drag out the process.

➔ Share both final PDF’s and ‘workable’ files on the server.

➔ Consider the workspace layout in the new office and how you

can encourage face-to-face collaboration.

The website leads to

frustration.➔ Improve navigation of OCED pages.

➔ Generate meaningful and accurate links, titles, and

resources for each page.

➔ Avoid having content based entirely on images.

➔ Invest efforts in content before aesthetics.

◆ Develop an office-wide skeleton for information

Tracking information leads to

smarter communication.➔ Collect and track information through surveys.

➔ Revisit data to identify trends.

In conclusionA cohesive strategy will:

Strengthen your brand and work smarter, not harder by:

➔ Allocate adequate time to communication tasks.

➔ Give each other feedback.

➔ Establish sustainable systems for tracking information.

➔ Take a bird’s eye view at the website and restructure it.

Thank you!

Questions or Comments?