Communication channels

While electronic media can be inclusive and efficient, face-to-face approaches are important in building engagement and sustaining relationships.

Consider scheduling regular face-to-face check-ins with your team. Walking meetings or stand-up (huddle) meetings can serve to provide a regular and time-efficient touch-point with your colleagues so that everyone on the team knows who is working on what. 

Download a template agenda with action items.

Improve your skills with HR courses in effective workplace relations. See the employee learning calendar for topics like:

• Running effective meetings
• Giving and receiving feedback
• Improving presentation skills 

Check out the VP Finance and Operations' (VPFO) Service Excellence, a fantastic face-to-face initiative to recognize accomplishments and build engagement for the VPFO team.

Don't underestimate the value of word of mouth. For example, say you're promoting an event about climate change. Consider other departments and groups on campus that may be able to help spread the word, like the Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability, PICS, Environmental Studies, Geography, etc. Share information about your event directly with these interested stakeholders and ask them to forward it to their contact lists. Build up your mailing lists over time so that you can easily spread the word about future events.

Some ways of connecting by email:

• Mailing/distribution lists for your department
• Newsletters for your department or other related departments

See the employee learning calendar for topics like:

• Email communications
• Business writing

Briefing notes are useful for teams to work together in decision-making processes and incorporate stakeholders' recommendations. Whether they prepare recipients to engage in an activity, resolve a problem, make a decision, or document a situation, briefing notes are well-named: they brief the reader in a concise—but thoughtful—way.

Download a briefing note template.

Posters are still a popular way to promote events and initiatives. For events or campaigns of interest to faculty and staff, you can distribute posters to departments and units via Distribution Services.

Posters for campus community bulletin boards can be distributed (for a fee) via the OneCard office. All posters and notices on campus community notice boards must be approved for posting and comply with UVic poster board regulations. Boards are regularly monitored and maintained and are located on the first floor of most UVic buildings. Learn more about posters at UVic

Use the UVic Digital Signage Program to connect with people across campus or in your own area. Digital signage refers to the public-area flat-panel displays on campus used specifically to distribute information to the on-campus community. Submit a slide to get your message distributed across the entire digital signage network on campus for free.

The Campus Checklist biweekly e-newsletter provides valuable information about our campus community to all UVic faculty and staff. If you'd like to include an item in a future Campus Checklist, email checklist@uvic.ca. Suggested content goes through a rigorous approval process and only a few messages are selected.

The Ring is the University of Victoria's community newspaper. The print edition is published 8 times a year, usually on the first Thursday of the month. Suggest a story to promote your news or event.

Connect (formerly SharePoint) can be used to manage projects and more. Use this secure platform to share documents, calendars, project files and more with other UVic faculty and staff members.

Some events of a strategic importance are shared on uvic.ca's homepage in the story grid near the bottom of the page. Suggested content goes through a rigorous approval process. To suggest your event for the home page, please contact your department's communications officer. If you don't have one, please contact the relevant communications officer in UCAM.

Your online presence is a key part of your communications strategy. The Digital Development & User Experience team in UCAM can help you make it the most effective tool for the audiences you need to reach. They can help whether you're looking to create a brand new site, updating your existing one, or want to learn about other ways to connect with people online.

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are important tools that help us connect with our communities. Learn more about social media and how to use it.

Use your department or group's social media accounts to post regularly about events or opportunities. If you're trying to reach a wide audience, consider using UVic's social media mailing list to encourage other units to post on their accounts. This will also notify the administrators of UVic's main social media networks.

UVic's central social media accounts are a great way to reach students, young alumni and the local community. Submit your suggested post to our social media coordinator. Due to the high volume of requests, we cannot post all suggested content to UVic's main accounts.

The UVic events calendar is for events that are sponsored or associated with the University of Victoria, by a specific department or faculty or being held in one of our larger venues such as the stadium or Farquhar Auditorium.

Event listings are moderated.

MyUVic Life follows the daily experiences of over 20 undergrad students at UVic to give you a window on what it’s like to be a UVic student. Email myuvic@uvic.ca to submit your ideas for events and issues to cover.