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A&F’s current communication practices are decentralized, and for years have been unsupported centrally. Some individual divisions or units with financial resources have dedicated personnel to the development of website content, marketing / branding materials, announcements, etc. Historically, the A&F website has been a patchwork of design and content, with little standardization outside the UMB requirements from OCPA. Branding/marketing was limited to specific programs – e.g., Office of Sustainability, Department of Police and Public Safety, various programs within HR. A social media presence was non-existent until the late 2010’s.

The Personnel dedicated to communications practices have recently included the Public Information Officer (PIO) for both the Department of Police and Public Safety, two Sr. Organizational Change Management Analyst roles that create communications on behalf of change initiatives, and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and a portion of effort from the Director in the Office of Sustainability. These roles provide support to their respective units, and this plan does not seek to change the scope or positioning of these roles. In 2023, a Senior Communications Specialist was hired in the Office of the Senior Vice President (OSVP) to support comprehensive A&F communications needs throughout the department. Further, CMAS evolved in 2020 from Management Advisory Services to identify opportunities for improvement and promoting collaboration between central administrative departments and UMB schools and departments, including enterprise-level communication strategies across UMB and within A&F.

A&F branding includes both general templates for all of A&F as well as multiple standard templates (Word, PowerPoint, website, etc.) for several divisions and programs– e.g., Future of Work, Live Near Your Work, UMB Shuttle - throughout the department and will continue to expand as divisions, units, or programs require. OCPA remains the principal partner in the design and implementation of these templates.

Email management includes UMB-issued email accounts to all faculty, staff, and students, group email accounts, and distribution lists. Most are not managed within A&F and without standardized best practices within A&F. Group email accounts within A&F (e.g., UMShuttle@umaryland.edu, CASS@umaryland.edu, GeneralAccounting@umaryland.edu, ELR-forms@umaryland.edu, EMT@umaryland.edu, etc.) total over 200 and remain the responsibility of the requester. A standard set of rules does not exist for how these accounts should be established, monitored, and terminated. Likewise, UMB-issued email accounts and the use of signature blocks have not been standardized throughout A&F. Distribution lists (DLs) can be independently created either by a user or centrally by Center for Information Technology Services (CITS) and requires the requestor to maintain account oversight. Similarly, DLs have not been managed with standardized processes.

Sharing A&F announcements to the UMB community is fragmented throughout the department and has been supported primarily where dedicated personnel have been provided. For example, newsletters are prevalent in support of some programs (e.g., Sustainability, HCM, etc.), yet other programs (e.g., Service Excellence and DEI) must rely either on email distribution or enterprise-managed forums, like The Elm, Elm Weekly, etc. to distribute announcements. Social media is available in the Department of Police and Public Safety, but no other divisions have a social media feed. Further complicating announcement distribution throughout A&F and the UMB campus is that a large portion of A&F personnel are not stationed at computers during the workday. E-communications yield few structural obstacles, yet they don’t always reach all A&F employees.

Finally, artificial intelligence (AI) is an evolving force within the University, and workplaces everywhere. UMB embraces AI technology and provides A&F employees with access to Copilot, an AI-powered digital assistant integrated into the Microsoft suite of products.

Without data, most of this information will be reasoned conjecture. That said, A&F can make certain assumptions based on its reach and response in previous communication campaigns and can extrapolate from its own working knowledge and processes.

Most desk-based employees can be reached via email. Typically, A&F will include a complete message in its communications, with the opportunity to link to expanded information, which is typically hosted internally within A&F. This is both efficient and effective. What can be challenging is segmenting distinct groups within this subset, for example when the department wanted to reach a subset of A&F employees for the Hippodrome Theatre Camp. A&F was able to accomplish this, but it took multiple steps across two departments.

To push newsworthy events/announcements, invitations, or initiatives, A&F typically uses The Elm Weekly (“The Elm”) to amplify these communication efforts. Doing so allows the department to piggyback its message in the Elm, which pushes Elm content out via a Monday morning email. However, A&F is not allocated its own section in The Elm to share public announcements. There is also the monthly Bits & Bytes newsletter from Change Management and Advisory Services for UMB administrative systems and processes.

For those who do not read The Elm, A&F will also post the information on the front page of the A&F or division/unit pages. While these front-page notices are a passive means of communication (dependent on incoming traffic), they are a way to prioritize messages and serve as an excellent reminder medium.

The secondary challenge in communications is reaching non-desk-based employees. While every employee has access to a UMB  email address, checking this account is not practical for many A&F employees. In addition to forwarding information via email, A&F employs an “all of the above” approach to reaching these specific audiences. This approach includes reaching out to managers to communicate directly with them, physically posting information in gathering places – e.g., break rooms, locker rooms, etc. - and using strategically located UMB e-boards. Additionally, announcements historically made only to senior leadership have not successfully trickled through all facets of each A&F division, further limiting the effectiveness of using a top-down communication strategy to reach all A&F employees.

Many A&F employees do not routinely access email or web鈥慴ased communications during the workday. For these audiences, communications strategies must prioritize in鈥憄erson messaging, supervisor鈥憀ed briefings, physical postings, and digital signage. Managers play a critical role in reinforcing key messages and ensuring information reaches all employees regardless of work environment or technology access.

A third challenge is the current decentralization of A&F communications activities and a lack of personnel resources. In addition to the PIO, supporting the Department of Police and Public Safety and OEM, communications support is provided full-time by the Senior Communications Specialist in the Office of the Senior Vice President and part-time by the Director for the Office of Sustainability. A cohesive, team approach to A&F communications does not currently exist, even if redundancies exist for a few positions. Further, subject matter expertise varies among each of the three positions, offering opportunities for training and development. Lastly, several divisions and units have an explicit need for communications support, to include campaign development and outreach, website and social media management, online training media development, desktop publishing and design, and media production (photography and video).

Outside of A&F, there are several audiences who should also be considered. A&F has numerous partners throughout the UMB community, and these audiences often determine which communications forum to use – e.g., the web, The Elm, etc.

A&F currently has multiple communication avenues at its disposal to disseminate relevant communications both internal and external to the department:

• Email list(s), including DLs:
  • AF-Everyone
  • AF-Leadership
  • DLs in Outlook and Sympa
• Individual division(s)/unit(s) email accounts (200+ in total)
• Website(s), including A&F Main Page
• Newsletters in select divisions/units and campus partners (e.g. Sustainability, Staff Senate, Bits & Bytes)
• Announcement flyers to post in break/work/locker rooms
• Division/unit all-staff meetings and town halls
• Digital media – e-boards, social media pages (where currently supported)
• Everbridge Nixle
• Constant Contact

While there can be overlap or redundancy between some of these avenues, it’s necessary to embrace this type of approach to reach select audiences. It can also be advantageous to offer repeated exposure to messages with multiple communications happening across so many different mediums.

At this juncture, it is recommended by OCPA that A&F does not have the carrying capacity to maintain an exclusive presence on social media. However, discussions are focusing on alternatives, which may include push notices on the UMB app and/or comingling A&F messaging in the OCPA-managed University-wide accounts: and  The challenge is that these accounts reach the entire campus and external audiences, while most of A&F’s postings are not relevant to non-A&F employees.

An informal conclusion would be that we know that A&F can create at least one touchpoint with all 800+ employees within A&F. Standardizing and streamlining the process and implementation would be the next step.

STRENGTHS

• Digital communication architecture: A&F has direct access to every A&F employee via email, with especially urgent or important messaging coming from the OSVP and/or Dr. Rhodes.
• Strong internal relationships: Managers in different divisions are willing to assist in distribution.
• Dedicated staff who possess creative and innovative ideas.
• Communications position redundancy exists across several divisions and units.
• Varying expertise among existing communications team members.
• Strong institutional support: A&F reputation is well regarded in and around the campus, including its police and safety teams.
• Positive messages: All A&F messaging is centered around the contributions the department makes to the UMB community.
• With a smaller team than OCPA, A&F communications staff can interface with divisions almost immediately, beginning the process more quickly.
• Institutional knowledge in support team.
• University reputation.
• A&F culture is positioned to accept changes to communication strategies.
• Leadership buy-in, support, and engagement.

WEAKNESSES

• Segmented divisions and departments: Managing communications with such varied and siloed responsibilities can be challenging when speaking to entire divisions.
• Mobile employees: Non-desk employees are often not easy to reach, especially while in the field.
• Less-savvy digital users and/or those without a smart device: Even when you can reach someone, it does not mean they know how to interact with technology.
• Diversity of preferred communications mediums – e.g., email, flyers, staff meetings – forces multi- method approach.
• Uncommunicative managers/employees: Not everyone’s priorities align, and it can be challenging “managing up” when it comes to requesting time/information.
• Language barriers: English as a second language (ESL) and disability barriers can have a harder time with traditional communication channels.
• Managing ebb and flow of information: University is sprawling and different areas move/process at different speeds.
• ADA Compliance: Compliance strategies are time intensive and can bring projects to an immediate halt.
• Limited human resources.
• Limited independence for in-department design capabilities: Reliance on OCPA from a design standpoint will shape communication objectives. Gaps in support include but are not limited to: campaign development and media outreach, social media management, desktop publishing and design, and media production.
• “Priority” communication rules for SVP/leadership emails are undefined.

OPPORTUNITIES

• Segmented divisions and departments: Every weakness is also an opportunity. The segmented divisions mean there is also the opportunity to learn to communicate across silos.
• Centrally managed “best practices” for decentralized communications processes throughout the department.
• Pooling resources into a “centralized” communications operation in support of needs throughout the department.
• Creating procedures to reach those people outside the typical desk-based communication channels.
• Reaching those who are unaware of the scope of A&F and the services provided.
• Untapped digital channels like social media and/or Everbridge Nixle.
• Leveraging new technologies to integrate with existing systems to reach more A&F and UMB employees.
• Untapped communication channels (non-digital).
• While the scope of the UMB app is exceptionally limited, it remains underleveraged as a central communication tool.
• Using the AI tools provided by the University to maximize the impact of communication efforts.

THREATS

• OCPA time limitations and competing priorities: Territoriality in communication services, especially if A&F efforts have a monetary impact.
• Information overload: Employees can tune out messaging if there is too much information or they’re hit with irrelevant offerings.
• Budgetary constraints.
• National trends: National discourse/controversies leaking into or limiting communications.
• Staff turnover: Individuals with institutional knowledge leaving can disrupt efforts.
• OCPA requirements – e.g., website and UMB app – limit A&F creative content design and options for information dissemination.
• OCPA does not intend to further develop the UMB app.
• Protecting sensitive data and information when working with AI.