Suggestion Topics:

Communication Committee

Below are suggestions received by the Communication Committee from either the suggestion boxes or the online Web form. Some suggestions have been summarized to save space or avoid repetition when more than one person has commented about similar issues. We read and refer each suggestion. If the suggestion maps to the charge of one of the Communication Committee Task Forces, it is sent to that chairperson for inclusion in the Task Force's deliberations. If a suggestion relates to a functional area of SLAC, it is sent to someone who can respond to that suggestion. Referrals are preceded by the word REFERRED. RESPONSES from the people to whom a suggestion has been referred are included when available.

All the suggestions below are specifically about the Communications Committee.

SUGGESTION: ES&H is not represented on the Committee (4 suggestions)
REFERRED: Pat Kreitz and Dick Blankenbecler
RESPONSE: Yes, ES&H does not have any representatives on the committee as has been noted by Ken Kase and others. In putting together the committee's task forces, we simply made an error. We thought one person was a 'dual' representative when, in fact, he is no longer in ES&H. This was an error. It was realized too late in the process of the Task Forces' working together. To help remedy this oversight, we have taken some very definite steps to ensure we obtain a large amount of input from the ES&H Division. Interviews have taken place with Ken Kase and other senior managers in the Division. Task Force A & B have interviewed a large number of ES&H staff both separately and as focus groups. They have also sent out general invitations to ES&H staff to attend meetings with Task Force representatives. As you can see from the suggestion/response that follows this one, there are other groups unhappy with the composition of the task forces. We wish it would have been possible to include all the groups and people with good ideas on the Task Forces. One way we want to mitigate the necessary size limitation is through wide participation by SLAC people in the Committee's and Task Force's input gathering. Be sure to send in your suggestions and to answer Task Force A's survey. Call or email your ideas to any of the Committee chairs or members. We want to hear from you.

SUGGESTION: Get more persons on the (Communications) committee that are representative of the bargaining unit and non-exempt employees. My suggestion would benefit: ALL
REFERRED: P. Kreitz and D. Blankenbecler who contacted suggestor.
RESPONSE: Because of the need to have small enough groups to really work effectively together, we were not able to include as many people as we would have preferred. There are, in fact, bargaining unit and non-exempt employees on the Task Forces. Other groups are not represented at all on the Task Forces simply due to the limitations on committee size. To correct for this, and to ensure a wide and thoughtful gathering of ideas, suggestions and issues, we are working hard to provide a number of ways people can share their ideas and experiences directly with us. This online and paper suggestion 'box' effort is part of the solution. Additionally, each Task Force will be actively seeking ideas and opinions from a wide cross section of SLAC employees including a significant number of bargaining unit and non-exempt employees.

SUGGESTION THEME: Error in URL for Communications Committee's Website
The URL in the all hands memo is missing the dash between www and project.

REFERRED: Pat Kreitz blew the copy editing-- sorry! Ruth McDunn has now linked the Communication Committee Website to the SLAC Detailed Home Page under 'Working at SLAC: General'.
> Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 16:40:05 -0700
> From: "McDunn, Ruth" <mcdunn@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>
> To: 'Patricia A. Kreitz' <pkreitz@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>
> Subject: RE: Online Suggestion Box (fwd)
>
> Without the dash the url is invalid and there is no way to redirect, since
> wwwproject.slac.stanford.edu does not exist. Making a link to the
> communication web site on the detailed page would at least allow them a
> way to find the site. I haven't made a link yet -- didn't know if it was
> "ready". Your call.
> -- Ruth

SUGGESTION: Here's the perfect example of how communications fail at SLAC. Many of us filled out your survey and are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the winning number for the beam tree. The paper survey said the winner would be announced May 30th. On May 30th, your web site was updated with a new announcement date of June 2nd. Now it's June 5th and the winning number still isn't posted on your site.
RESPONSE: Yes, you're right that the announcement day was moved from Tuesday to Friday of that same week. The Friday, June 2nd date on which the announcement was promised wasn't kept. Instead the announcement was made on the next working day, Monday June 5th. We apologize.

On June 5th it was posted as a SLAC announcement and on the 'Win a Beam Tree' Web page. It was also sent as a SLAC-wide as a flyer and is posted on many bulletin boards. The Task Force volunteers doing this tried their best, but weren't able to do it as quickly as they'd originally estimated. It is important in communications, as in other work activities, to keep promises, and be accurate and reliable. The Editor will be sending this email to D. Blankenbecler and P. Kreitz to ensure they acknowledge those key principles of communication in their Communications Committee report.

SUGGESTION: Hello,
I am wondering if I won the beam tree - #(Editor's note: number deleted). I do not see the winning number as it was stated it would be there at the communications web site. Thanks a bunch.
RESPONSE: I'm sorry to report that the winner had a four-digit number and has already picked up his beam tree. Thank you for letting us know that you didn't find it on the Communication Committee Web page. In fact, it was on a page that was linked to from the Communication committee page -- the page about the Beam Tree itself. This was a link on the main Communication page, listed as: 'Win a Beam Tree'. (But some people might have reasonably thought this was just the prior announcement of the opportunity to win, not the results.)
The Task Force had also submitted it as a SLAC web announcement (in the Announcements box found on the highlighted, detailed, and Welcome home pages). To reach those who don't have ready access to computers, they sent it out as a flyer to be posted but this was slightly later.

McDunn
18 Jan 2002 04:01 PM