Changes coming to In the Know in early February

The In the Know editorial team thanks all who responded to a recent readership survey about this internal newsletter, which is received by all faculty, staff and learners in the School of Medicine and Public Health. The feedback and insights that were provided are valuable as we seek to continually improve In the Know to best meet the needs of the SMPH community.

The survey ran from Oct. 15-Nov. 15 and received 173 responses. Most respondents were staff (87%), with faculty comprising 7% and learners 3% of respondents. Remaining survey respondents indicated their affiliation with SMPH as “other” (2%).

Several data-informed changes are planned for the newsletter in early February.

New section headings

A key goal is to format In the Know so that it can be skimmed easily and efficiently, so readers can readily learn more about topics of interest. The survey showed that this is the most common way readers interact with newsletter content.

The majority of respondents said they skim the newsletter.

A series of changes will be aimed at this goal:

Adding “Deadlines/Action Items” heading

  • A new heading at the top of the newsletter will list action items for deadlines in the upcoming week.
  • Assessing how often content is run more than one time in the newsletter. Criteria for repeating content include importance, urgency, relevance, and degree to which awareness and action is aligned with SMPH missions of education, research and service.
Events was the most popular content, and Shout-Out was the least popular.

Adding “Events” heading

  • Survey data revealed that event announcements are very important to readers, particularly school-wide events (SMPH Diversity Summit, Ice Cream Social, Bioethics Symposium, Hot Topics in Public Health, etc.). We will implement an Events heading to draw attention to event content.
  • We are also exploring the feasibility and ease of “add to calendar” links for events.
School-wide events were the most popular events, followed by those hosted by individual units.

Resources heading

A heading called Resources will highlight a rotating list of lesser-known yet valuable resources. Examples include information on lactation spaces, disability accommodation, stay interviews, etc.

    Shout-Out refinements

    Qualitative feedback indicated that readability of Shout-Outs could be improved, and that this section should focus more on the individual being celebrated. This insight is valuable, as Shout-Outs are an important community-building component of the newsletter.

    • Formatting of this section will use font styling that better emphasizes the name and role of the individual being honored.
    • Longer submissions may be edited for brevity.
    • The Shout-Out submission form will continue to ask submitters to select which of the school’s values the individual exhibited in their actions and will continue to ask this question. As included in the school’s Shared Guidelines for Professional Conduct, these are a powerful tool for the SMPH community to express gratitude for how we work and treat each other. Being able to connect individual behaviors with values is a critical component of fostering a positive organizational culture.

    Publishing schedule will remain the same

    Several readers suggested that In the Know be published only once a week. It is currently published twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7 a.m. The editorial team reviewed this feedback, deliberated based on a holistic view of organizational communications infrastructure, and decided that the publishing schedule will remain unchanged based on the following rationale:

    • Many readers commented about the usefulness of the newsletter and asked that no changes be made to the schedule.
    • Unless a significant volume of submissions were declined, shifting to once-a-week would result in a longer issue, resulting in a format that is more difficult to skim. Survey data showed most readers skim the newsletter.
    • Events are often submitted close to when they occur (we recommend submitting a minimum of two weeks before the event date). A less frequent publication cadence would mean the SMPH community does not learn about some events.
    • A twice-a-week newsletter is the communications standard for large units across the university and health system. The publishing schedule of In the Know is set to intersperse with twice-weekly newsletters from UW–Madison (Inside UW on Tuesday and Thursday mid-mornings) and UW Health (Weekly Briefing on Wednesdays and Weekly Wrap-up on Fridays), for example.

    High marks for trustworthiness and creating a sense of community

    • The survey results showed very high levels of trust in the information in the newsletter.
    • Other responses, such as to “I feel connected to SMPH as a working and learning environment,” had overall positive trends, albeit lower responses.
    • We are exploring ideas, such as one submitted in the survey, to feature the work of various units throughout the school in advancing our mission and vision.

    Survey data such as this is instrumental in helping all readers of In the Know, and we are grateful for all who took time to respond to the question prompts. We are committed to the newsletter’s readers, and we hope that when we succeed in our strategic communication endeavors, people in our organization feel informed, included, engaged, and inspired.

    Sincerely,
    The In the Know editorial team

    Kaine Korzekwa, MS
    Executive and Internal Communications Manager

    Kendi Neff-Parvin
    Wisconsin Medical Journal Managing Editor

    Robyn M. Perrin, PhD, ELS
    Chief Communications Officer