Best practices currently used to assist in communication efforts with staff and direct reports:

• Use the white board in the Information Services office to remind staff of important dates.

• Hold a monthly Information Services meeting immediately after the monthly Manager on Duty meetings to keep staff informed of important issues.
• Keep communication open within each department by touching base with all other departments daily to keep current on what is happening that day and what issues might be effecting staffing or customer service of that department.
• Cross-train throughout the branch to ensure all employees are able to give consistent customer service.
• Hold a monthly Manager-on-Duty meeting as well as monthly departmental meetings.
• Publish a weekly work schedule for the branch so all employees know who is working when.
• Maintain a "Circulation Shortcut" notebook for the circulation desk which contains hard copies of current circulation procedures.
• Use an email distribution list of branch staff to better and more efficiently share relevant information.
• Share the detailed monthly reports of branch activities submitted to the Regional Manager with staff.
• Keep a "Staff FYI" clipboard for documents of importance, monthly statistics, quick updates, etc. at the Children's Reference Desk.
• Make use of a departmental wiki for department-centric best practises, policies and procedures, lessons learned, etc.
• Call an "8:40" (or, "12:05") - a huddle session called on the fly to share current information and/or updates, or to gather feedback on a new idea or policy. 
• Send out a "Just Stuff" weekly email to department staff.
• Established an official communication policy that includes placing hard copies of emails sent to staff within the last six months in a binder for easy access.
• Created a Circulation Department Communication Archive, a binder that holds up to six months of inter-office emails for quick staff reference.
• Hold quarterly departmental meetings and solicit staff input for agenda, then provide copies of the meeting summary to other managers in the branch.
• After each staff meeting, manager meeting and/or system-wide meeting, share relevant information learned with both department staff and other managers in branch.
• Hold monthly Children's staff meetings.
• Ensure staff are aware of that is going on the branch and/or system with regard to security, programs, new technology, etc.
• Hold monthly departmental and MOD meetings.
• Post branch manager's daily schedule in prominent area.
• Designated an area in the Circulation Room for staff to communicate immediate and daily concerns.
• Update Communications binder on the Children's Desk with hard copies of significant procedures, initiatives, etc., for staff review.
• Use email to communicate with staff, direct reports and the other managers in the branch, and follow up in person with items of importance and/or those issues more productively discussed in person. 
• Hold a daily, informal "12:02" meeting for staff present in the branch.

   

Best practices currently used to assist in communication efforts with patrons:

• Communicate information to borrowers via telephone calls, letters and email.
• Strategically place business cards on the circulation desk so patrons know they have access to a point of contact.
• Display and distribute flyers for all branch programs including a handout listing dates the computer lab is closed for classes.
• Created new signage in adult non-fiction section so patrons can quickly located areas of interest. 
• Speak with patrons immediately rather than putting them off to a later date.