New policies and changes to existing policies can impact a broad swath of UNT’s diverse community. One of the most important steps in our policy update workflow is effectively communicating those changes to the people who are affected. The following quick guide should help you with this process.
Identify Stakeholders & Impacts
The first step in communicating policy changes is to carefully identify those who are impacted by it. The most common and easily identified stakeholders are those who will experience direct impacts by the policy. An example of a direct policy impact is when a rule governing the amount of vacation days a staff member may take per year changes. In that example, all staff who qualify for vacation would be directly impacted.
However, policies can also have indirect impacts. Using the previous example, a part-time payroll staff person may not know of the changes if they originate in human resources, and may not qualify for vacation, but still will need to know of the changes because they affect how she performs her job function.
Please consider both direct and indirect impacts. To assist with identifying stakeholders, we have created a Policy Stakeholder Identification Form, which includes example information in it.
Create Timeline
Depending on the policy's level of impact, it may only require email notifications to a small group of stakeholders. Whereas, other policy changes may need additional steps of communications before the policies go into effect and are published. Policy owners and contacts should plan accordingly for any additional communications needs. This may include scheduling face-to-face town hall style meetings or training sessions. If you are considering a policy change that may require extra steps, please contact the policy office for help creating a timeline and strategy to ensure best practices.
Identify Communication Channels
There are many ways to communicate with individuals and groups of people at UNT. Below are some common stakeholder groups and communication channels available for each group.
- One or More Individuals:
Email is an efficient way to reach a select individual or group of individuals. Meeting face-to-face, via Zoom, or Teams, or speaking via phone are appropriate and effective alternatives.
- Divisions, departments, or units:
Many divisions, departments, and units have their own communication channels -- e.g., a newsletter of their own, a distribution list, or a Teams channel.
- Staff:
UNT Today, distribution lists, targeted emails, departmental emails or meetings.
- Colleges:
Most colleges have their own communication channels -- e.g., a newsletter or a distribution list.
- Faculty
UNT Today, Faculty Success newsletter, distribution lists, emails through Deans, targeted emails, departmental emails, or meetings.
- Students:
UNT Weekly, targeted emails, and student media -- including North Texas Daily and ntTV.
- Entire Campus Community:
There are many outlets for reaching the campus community. Communications strategies will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the potential impact of a specific policy change and the target audiences. For assistance with this, please reach out to the Internal Communications Team at UBSC.
Craft your Message
The Policy Communication Message Template offers three examples for communicating policy changes based on the types of changes and complexity.
Send Your Message
The last step is to share the message with policy stakeholders. This can mean anything from a personal e-mail or meeting to utilizing one of the communications channels provided by the university. It’s important to create and follow a plan from start to finish regarding your policy communications.
Need Assistance?
For help with identifying your stakeholder groups, please contact the University Policy Office at policy@unt.edu or (940) 565-2335. For assistance with identifying the best channels of communication and crafting your message, please reach out to the Internal Communications Team at UBSC.