NC State
Staff Senate

Communication Guidelines

Suggested Staff Senate Communication Guidelines 
As Recommended by the Ad Hoc Communications Committee

Communication with Staff Senate and the staff that we represent is two-way, from constituents to Senators and from Senators to constituents.  When contacted by a constituent with a question or issue, you may know the answer based on current Senate activities or discussions during meetings.  If you are not sure of the response, forward the question/issue via e-mail to the Vice Chair. Dissemination of information is also a responsibility. As Staff Senators and Alternates, it is our duty to share information with the staff of the University in a quick and efficient manner.  Some communications are of an urgent nature, or may contain a personal opinion, greeting, or request of the chair. If this is the case, the Staff Senate Chair may determine to disseminate this type of communication directly from the Staff Senate Master Listserv. This determination will be based on the level of importance or timeliness of the information.  Most communication, though, will be sent by the senators by request of the Staff Senate Secretary. The Staff Senate is divided into Districts. The Districts shall meet together particularly in the beginning of each senate year and at other times as needed, to come to a consensus as to how to best disseminate information according to the needs of their particular district. This may be through emailing or posting information. It may be conducted by dividing the constituents among senators or rotating the responsibility among the senators keeping in mind what is the most efficient method of distribution. If information is received and you are not sure whether to communicate it to constituents, contact the Secretary to clarify before sending it out.  If you will be away from work, arrange with another Staff Senator or Alternate in your district to cover for you and send out Senate communications if possible.

Process for communications:

There are two main methods to communicate information:

1. E-mail

The Senate Secretary will provide the Districts with lists of constituents provided by Human Resources on a quarterly basis. The District should maintain these lists in any manner to assure that every constituent is provided with information. Creating listservs either by District or by Senator can facilitate the distribution of information via email. Training on creating listservs utilizing Majordomo is available through the Office of Information Technology (OIT).

  • Avoid forwarding emails to constituents. If you do forward a message be sure to delete the FWD: from the subject line of the email.
  • When creating a new email message.
    • Copy relevant text from the message received (usually from the Secretary).
    • Review the message in its entirety for errors. Notify the secretary if any errors are present.
    • Attach any document to be distributed with your message.
    • If applicable, check web links to be certain they are activate and were copied correctly.
    • At the beginning of the message, add any comments you think may be needed for your group of constituents.
    • At the end of your message, insert your name as a Staff Senate representative of your specific district, along with how to contact you.
    • Email signatures work especially well for this purpose.

2. Print – Post – Distribute

  • Not all employees in all districts have immediate access to computers or email. In that case, we need to make other arrangements to ensure they also receive Staff Senate communications. You will still communicate to constituents according to the department or unit indicated by your district. Print email messages and post on bulletin boards for employees to see, and/or Print attachment/flyer (on color printer if possible)
    • Determine the locations on campus for constituents in your district who will likely not receive the information by email.
    • Make arrangements to post information in those areas, or Determine an alternate method of distribution to ensure that everyone receives all communications.

If you have any other questions about how to stay in contact with your constituency, please contact the Chair, Vice Chair, or Secretary.

Revised 6/11/2010