Team Talk

Team Talk brings managers together with their teams on a face-to-face basis so that information can be delivered, questions asked and feedback collected. A team briefing system is an excellent way to enable communication upwards, downwards and sideways throughout an organisation.

Team Talk is not just about giving information, it’s a forum where employees can come together in their teams to discuss the points being raised and to ask questions; and for their feedback to be recorded and relayed back up the organisation to the appropriate management levels.

Team Talk is also an ideal forum for sharing good news and recognising and celebrating your achievements as a team.

The staff culture survey showed colleagues didn’t always understand the direction of the University and also felt they lacked the opportunity to contribute and influence that direction. Both upward and downward communication are clearly signposted in the Staff Culture Survey as areas for improvement in the University.

For colleagues to perform effectively they need to have a clear understanding of their role, as well as the wider objectives of the team and the contribution they are making to the University’s future and vision. A team briefing is an effective mechanism to achieve this.

A high level University briefing PowerPoint document will be drafted with input from across VCEG four times per year. This will then be approved at VCEG and circulated to SLT (Senior Leadership Team) members to begin the cascade.

• A channel for delivering clear and consistent messages from the University’s Vice Chancellor's Executive Group (VCEG) and encouraging open communication

• Timely face-to-face communication which prevents rumour and the grapevine from gaining credibility
• A great form of two-way communication - it’s not just about informing people, but listening and responding to questions and concerns
• Colleagues have an opportunity to ask questions and for suggestions to be fed back from colleagues to the top of the organisation
• A greater awareness of organisational issues and involvement at all levels
• A shared sense of mission, vision, collective aims and reasons about why we’re working here
• The ability to reduce misunderstanding within teams and within other parts of the University
• Colleagues are provided with up to date information on performance, results, progress and policy changes

Team Talk will be used as a catalyst to bring together teams for a face to face team briefing.

• Team Talk briefing document will be sent out four times a year (with a break over the Summer and at Christmas).
• Information for Team Talk will come from the Vice Chancellor's Executive Group (VCEG).
• Bedfordshire Team Talk will also include a rotating opportunity for colleagues to meet with different members of VCEG and ask questions through our online 'Ask VCEG Anything' sessions. More information about these online sessions can be found here.
• Guidance will be provided on how to run a Team Talk.

Face to face briefing will follow the process below:

• Face to face team briefings should take place within a two-week window of each document being issued.
• 50% of the briefing should focus on information from the briefing document. The other 50% should be about information relevant to that team.
• There will be a feedback form for SLT to fill in and send back to Internal Communications here.
• Feedback from all Team Talk briefings will be collated and shared with VCEG. Responses to the key themes raised will be shared on in.Beds and referenced in the next Team Talk briefing.
• Team briefing documents and outcomes will be shared on in.Beds.
• Questions from Teams which SLT are unable to answer themselves should be included on the feedback form. Answers should be provided quickly and fed back to the Team.