TRANSPORT EXECUTIVE
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS POLICY
PAGE
Introduction
2
General Communications Principles
2
Internal Communications Objectives
2
The Internal Audience
3
Internal Communications Mechanisms
3
Measurement of Effectiveness
7
[Agreed at Management Board 21 June 2005]
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1.
Introduction
The Transport Executive recognised the need to further improve its internal
communication for the benefit of employees following the results obtained from
the Employee Attitude Survey 2004. Significant time and resources have been
allocated to this area of work as it is recognised that the most important
relationship an organisation has are those with its employees.
As such the Internal Communications Policy has been developed by the
Transport Executive to ensure that employees and Line Managers are aware of,
and understand the Transport Executive’s approach to Internal Communications.
Aligned to the existing Internal Communications Protocol and our organisational
values this Policy, details communication principles, objectives and mechanisms
developed to enhance Internal Communications within our organisation.
2.
General Communications Principles
The Transport Executive has a responsibility to be open and honest about what it
does and part of that is communicating with its employees.
The organisational values of integrity and respect states:“that the Transport Executive should foster an environment
where openness, trust and respect are the norm.”
Therefore, the principles that underpin the Internal Communications Policy are:



Open and honest – straightforward and transparent.
Timely – information when and to whom it is needed.
Accessible – clear, inclusive and throughout the organisation.
Appropriate – the right information delivered in the right way in the
appropriate language for the target audience.
 Two-way – allowing for full involvement with feedback channels.
3.
Internal Communications Objectives
The key objectives of the Internal Communications Policy are: To communicate clear consistent messages to all employees regarding
the business and issues that affect the Transport Executive.
 To inform employees about the Transport Executive’s activities first,
before being informed by external audiences.
 To identify the mechanisms to be utilised when communicating with the
internal audience.
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4.
The Internal Audience
The Transport Executive employs approximately 350 direct employees.
A significant number of these employees are based within the Head Office in
Sheffield, with the remainder located at the Transport Interchanges, and Travel
Information Centres throughout South Yorkshire.
Contractors carry out the majority of “front-line” jobs at Interchanges, such as
cleaning, security and customer service roles and as such are included within
parts of this Policy.
5.
Internal Communications Mechanisms
The Transport Executive uses a number of mechanisms to formally communicate
with employees. These are:-

Management Board Team Brief - a monthly cascade of information from
the Management Board meetings through Line Managers to all employees.
Each month, the Management Board Team Brief contains a number of
articles relating to key business issues. These are determined by the
Management Board. In addition, to this content, a monthly
communications ‘theme’ will be included, with a corresponding article
about that ‘theme’. The programme of communications themes for
2005/06 is attached as Appendix A.
Additionally, the monthly Management Board Team Brief facilitates twoway communication by the inclusion of a mechanism for feed-back, e.g.
employees can ask questions (on behalf of their Team, not necessarily as
individuals) that during a Team Briefing should their Line Manager be
unable to answer directly, it is then recorded. Questions are then sent by
the Line Manager to the Communications Department, who will then coordinate an appropriate response on behalf of the Management Board
Attendees.
The questions and corresponding answers will then be collated and
attached to the following Management Board Team Brief and will be made
available to all employees. Therefore, issues raised from different
Departments, and the appropriate management response/position will be
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disseminated to all employees within one month. A completed example
is attached as Appendix B.
Key purpose:- To communicate key business issues from the
Management Board Meetings and facilitate two-way communication.

Directors’ Briefings - A programme of business updates and an
opportunity for Line Managers to meet Directors and discuss business
issues. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions and are required to
cascade the information obtained from these sessions to their respective
Teams.
Key purpose:- To allow for face-to-face meetings between Directors
and Line Managers. To update messages on business objectives,
priorities and targets.

Accessible Management - A Policy of Accessible Management has been
further developed since March 2005. The Management Board Learning
Centre Drop-In Sessions facilitate direct contact with the Management
Board. Additionally, Management Board are regularly visiting employees
on “walkabouts”.
Key purpose:- Direct cross-functional access to Management Board
Attendees in order to increase approachability, and both disseminate
and receive business related information.

Line Manager Team Briefings - Used by Line Managers to disseminate
information about their respective Departments and the organisation
Key purpose: - To disseminate direct information between Line Manager
and their Team in relation to departmental and organisational information.
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
Valued Interviews - Performance Review and Objective Setting interview
undertaken between the Line Manager and employee. This process
includes an employee development element, which identifies Learning and
Development needs.
Key purpose:- Performance Review and Direction Setting.

One-to-one Employee Briefings - Direct Interface between Line Manager
and employee to discuss a broad spectrum of issues including both
business related and personal issues.
Key purpose:- To disseminate direct information and enhance the
employee relationship.

E-mail/Frast-track News Bulletin - Formal news bulletins to all
employees. To be used for quick dissemination of business/industry
related news that all employees should be aware of.
Only the Communications Department and the Directors have the
authority to issue these bulletins, which has a specific corporate design
and template attached as Appendix C. This sets them apart from other
“All-Staff E-mails” that are sent out. Line Managers are required to ensure
that all their employees have read the Fast-track News Bulletins within
two working days of issue where ever possible.
Examples where a Fast-track News Bulletin should be used are:-
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 Key personnel announcements (such as changes to Management
Board, Passenger Transport Authority).
 Major funding awards.
 News regarding major incidents at Interchanges.
.
Key purpose:- Quick and easily identified direct updates to all employees
on business related issues.

E-mail - Produced as required, depending on the flow of information.
Key purpose:- To provide time critical information to named individuals or
groups of employees. Used by the Communication Department to
circulate all press releases to employees to ensure they receive news
updates before it appears in the media.

Intranet - Carries a broad range of information available to all employees
with PC access. Departments are responsible for updating their own areas
of the Intranet site.
Key purpose:- To provide instantly updated news and information for
employees. It relies upon the user to “pull’ the information, rather than
a communications “push”.

Executive Exchange - Internally produced employee newspaper
circulated on a monthly basis. It is delivered to all employees, regardless
of location. The Communications and Human Resources Department will
agree the contents of the newspaper. A monthly column is included by the
Directors.
Key purpose:- To keep employees up-to-date on the latest
developments within their Department and the organisation. Effective
method of keeping each other informed about issues/activities.
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
Notice Boards - A number of notice boards are located on each floor at
Head Office, Sheffield and throughout the Transport Executive sites within
South Yorkshire.
Key purpose:- To provide communications material to be read at the
employee’s convenience. Used for non-urgent news and information.

Telephone - Direct contact with an identifiable person.
Key purpose:- Quick and direct method of communication.
7.
Measurement of Effectiveness
To determine which communications methods are the most effective and popular
with employees, an Employee Attitude Survey will be carried out on annual basis.
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APPENDIX A
MANAGEMENT BOARD TEAM BRIEFING
PROGRAMME OF COMMUNICATION THEMES
2005/06
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APPENDIX A DRAFT
SYPTE Internal Communications Plan
October 2005 – September 2006
Month
Theme
Champion
Team
Brief
Draft
Issue
1
October
2005
Budgets
PL
2
November
Capital Programme
DY
Draft
Issue
3
December
Valued
DM
Draft
Issue
4
January
2006
Health and Safety
DY
Draft
Issue
5
February
LTP Progress
GR
Draft
Issue
6
March
Customer Service
MMc
Draft
Issue
7
April
Business Plan
RW/DB
Draft
Issue
8
May
Learning and
Development
DM
Draft
Issue
9
June
Current Issue
RW
Draft
Issue
10
July
Current Issue
DB
Draft
Issue
11
August
Network
Developments
DY
Draft
Issue
12
September
Health and Safety
DY
Draft
Issue
Authorised for issue by:_________________________________________________
Team Brief
returns
Executive Exchange
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Draft
Proof
Issue 15
Directors’
Team Briefings (theme)
Communications
Events
‘Training and
Development Week’
‘Health and Safety
Week’
Date:__________________________
Distribution: Management Board Attendees / HR & Communications Department
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APPENDIX B
MANAGEMENT BOARD TEAM BRIEFING
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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REF 0/05
TEAM BRIEFING ITEMS
PROCESS
 Management Board Members to disseminate within five
working days of the Management Board Meeting to their
Management Team.
 Following which, Line Managers are to disseminate
information to their respective teams within five working
days.
* NB No more than four hierarchical levels of briefing will take place and as such
the cascade process will be complete within a maximum of twenty working days.
Team briefing Items arising from the Management Board Meeting
For more
information
please contact the
author of the item
indicated below:-
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
These questions would be raised at the Management Board, and
assigned to a member of the Management Board for a reply. This
answer would then be passed to the Communications Department
and be printed in the following month’s Team Brief.
Q:
What’s the latest position on the Passenger Transport
Executive moving from the Exchange Street offices?
Are we staying in Sheffield? (Question from: Finance
Department)
A:
We have been looking at a number of potential sites for
relocation of the Exchange Street offices. There are number
of options nearby and employees will be kept fully informed
and consulted about any progress on this issue. (Paul
Lambert, Chief Financial and Services Officer)
Q:
Why can’t the Passenger Transport Executive take major
decisions by always having to pass it onto the
Passenger Transport Authority to decide. The
Passenger Transport Executive are surely the transport
experts, not just elected councillors with non-transport
backgrounds? (Question from Traveline)
A:
The Passenger Transport Executive works for all four District
Councils within the South Yorkshire area and is indeed
funded through the Council Levy. The Passenger Transport
Authority comprises of elected members from each of the
Four District Councils and we meet monthly to advise them
on progress in meeting the Passenger Transport Authorities’
objectives.
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The Passenger Transport Authority members represent the
people that ultimately fund the Passenger Transport Executive
– Council Tax Payers – and as we are publicly, accountable,
all major decisions are taken with the backing of the
Passenger Transport Authority.
These Passenger Transport Authority meetings are also open
to the public and press, so we are, therefore, open about what
we do and how we spend public money. (Roy Wicks, Director
General).
Q:
How popular have the Learning Centre Drop-in sessions
been? What about those who don’t work on Fridays or
work at other locations? (Question from: OIS)
A:
The sessions have been fairly well attended up to now, but we
would like to see more people take up the opportunity to
discuss issues with the Management Board Attendee. If you
are unable to make it on a Friday or get to Exchange Street,
please contact any member of the Learning and Development
or Human Resources Teams. Or, why not contact the member
of the Management Board Attendee direct? (Dawn Madin,
Head of Human Resources and Communications).
Q:
Does the Passenger Transport Executive ever stand up to
or challenge the Government especially when it can’t
make decisions on big important transport schemes, or
does it just put up with things? (Question from: Human
Resources)
A:
We have regular dialogue with the Department of Transport,
who are well aware of our aspirations and plans to develop
public transport in the County. Together with our colleagues in
other Passenger Transport Executives, we actively target the
Government over major issues – a collective voice is often
more effective than an individual one.
However, we have to be realistic when it comes to demanding
money for major projects. We have to present what we think
are the best transport solutions for the County, whilst
remembering we aren’t the only ones looking for cash. Not
only are there six other Passenger Transport Executives, but
dozens of District Councils all after the same funding. (Roy
Wicks, Director General).
Q:
Why don’t we have a canteen or at least an area where we
can take a break at Exchange Street – surely, there is
room in Castle Gate?
A:
The building at Exchange Street isn’t ideal and that is one
reason why we have been considering relocating to a building
better suited to our needs. There simply isn’t the room in the
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building for such a facility, but if we do move, all aspects of
employee accommodation will be considered.
Q:
Why does the Passenger Transport Executive have to set
up a Driver Training Academy – isn’t this just yet another
case of the operators shirking their responsibilities in the
name of profit? (Question from: Communications)
A:
The Transport Academy is available to all transport employees
across the county, and many of our own employees and
contractors have signed up for courses. Please contact either
the Human Resources or Learning and Development Teams
for more information. (Dawn Madin, Head of Human
Resources and Communications).
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APPENDIX C
FAST-TRACK BULLETIN
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Fast-track
Bulletin
Dear Colleague
As I'm sure you are all aware the bus forms the core of the public transport network across South
Yorkshire and therefore is at the heart of what we do in the Transport Executive.
You may also be aware that bus patronage has been in decline over recent years. We need to identify
and deliver a plan to halt and reverse this decline.
In recent months, a small team has been busy working with our partners at the 4 Districts on the South
Yorkshire Bus Strategy for 2006 - 2011 which is a fundamental part of our second Local Transport Plan
(LTP).
This strategy maps out what the real issues are and outlines the different options available to us and our
partners in the bus industry. The Bus Strategy will be a key part of what we do over the next 5 years.
I'm keen that you all get the opportunity to be part of what is a vitally important issue for not only us as
an organisation, but the county as a whole.
The Strategy is currently with our external stakeholders for consultation, and we have already received
some interesting feedback. I'd like to offer you all the opportunity to see what the strategy is all about
and what it could mean to us in future.
In the latest issue of Executive Exchange, an article explains many of the key points in the strategy, and
the full document is also available on the intranet at:
http://syptenet/Resources/Strategic%20Planning/BusStrategy/StrategyDraftconsultation-090305.doc
http://syptenet/Resources/Strategic%20Planning/BusStrategy/StrategyDraftconsultation-090305.doc
Please take time to read at least one of these articles.
Over the next month you will have to opportunity to find out more about the strategy and also let us
know what you think.
There will be a number of briefing / drop-in sessions where you can come along to find out more.
We are at an important stage in determining the future for local bus travel. If you'd like to find out more
about the key points in the Bus Strategy, please do not hesitate to contact myself, Cathy Masserella, David
Young or Graham Read. If you have any suggested improvements please forward these to Mike Holmes.
Regards,
David Brown
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