Communication

1. Communication March 25, 2014

2. Agenda Communication Resources Communication Points of Contact Standard Communications Help Desk FAST Help County Best Practices Brainstorm Activity – Reaching Stakeholders Communication Planning Communication Do’s and Don’ts Brainstorm Activity – Areas for Improvement

3. Communication Resources County Liaisons NC FAST Website FAST Help Email Lists County Champions Work Support Strategies Website

4. Communication Resources County Staff and Supervisors Champions Champions Champions Knowledge Transfer Issues and status Issues and status Knowledge Transfer County Readiness Team Supported by Communication Resources and NC FAST Help Desk Issues and County status Issue resolution and Collaboration on Deliverables Project Business Staff Implementation Leadership Pilot Users Group Refinement of Approaches Status Updates DHHS Leadership Project Leadership EAC

5. Standard Communications Director’s Call Director’s Meetings County Champion Calls Pilot Calls Weekly Project Emails Ad-hoc Project Emails Postcards

6. Help Desk Backlog Reduction • Actions to Address Backlog: • Co-located all resources working on Help Desk tickets at Camden building • Implemented IVR updates on 3/24 • Met with ITS Remedy team on 3/18 to discuss Remedy enhancements to streamline ticket management; Remedy training held on 3/24 • Deployed select FFM OSS resources to Help Desk; going through Medicaid troubleshooting training • Implemented agent performance measurement • Analyzing tickets received since 2/20 (the end date of prior analysis data) • Sending tickets back to counties that lack sufficient problem or troubleshooting documentation (going back to 2/1/2014) • Delivering supplemental MAGI training to Help Desk Medicaid team resources on 3/28 • Assigned MPRs to support the Help Desk full time (Sandy Danner and Valerie Sutton – week on/week off)

7. FAST Help Trainer Office Hours Webinars Weekly Troubleshooting Tips Postcards Help Desk Troubleshooting Tips Communication Resources

8. Home Page Trainer Office Hours

9. Webinars A library of targeted training webinars

10. Weekly Troubleshooting Tips • Topics include: • Matching Clients • Simulating Payments • CNDS Verifications • Case Status Types • Troubleshooting MAGI Applications Using the Validate Changes Feature

11. Postcards Available in both standard and PDF versions – plus Excel listing of resolved defects.

12. Help Desk Troubleshooting Troubleshooting tips developed by the NC FAST Help Desk

13. Communication Resources PowerPoint templates and ePASS posters

14. County Best Practices • Develop formal communication plans • Create targeted messages for audience • Develop timeframes for sharing messages • Have staff subscribe directly to NC FAST • Have staff work in groups during webinars • Have question/answer troubleshooting teams • Internal newsletters/flyers/fact sheets • Regular staff meetings

15. Brainstorm Activity Best methods to get information out • Targets: • Staff • County Officials • Clients • General Public

16. Communication Planning The Communications Plan proactively delivers open, honest, and timely communication and enables the organization to embrace changes to people, work processes, and planning. • The Communications Plan… • Is primarily a tactical action plan and management tool developed to confirm information is distributed to county staff in a timely manner • Identifies key individuals who will serve as sponsors and change agents, and highlight specific development / support activities that need to occur • Defines the Key Messages and Communications Channels to obtain required awareness, understanding and commitment from Key Stakeholder groups and individuals • The Communications Plan will create and build… • Awareness and understanding • Consistent information • Realistic expectations • Commitment

17. Communication Principles Communications Principles, including; honesty, timeliness, and consistency will generate awareness and commitment. • Principles of Effective Communications… • Relate information to the daily work your audience does every day • Acknowledge and validate concerns of the target audiences • Commit to realistic timeframes and share as much relevant information as soon as possible • Use language relevant to your audience, avoid jargon • Ensure face–to–face communication comprises at least 50% of the communications activity, if possible • Use multiple channels over time to address various communication styles and preferences • Provide frequent opportunities for questions / feedback • Ensure honest and consistent behavior in both word and action • Effective Communications Generates… • A feeling that we are all in this together • Understanding of the benefits of the project and recognition of the potential pain • Awareness, Understanding and Ownership of the change through participation and involvement • Commitment to sustaining the proposed changes implemented • Greater trust in the integrity of the organization • Higher morale, lower potential for implementation problems

18. Communication Plan Purpose Commitment to the change is achieved by communicating and engaging stakeholders to raise their awareness and facilitate understanding and acceptance. Commitment “Well, sounds like the Medicaid Unit is committed to learning MAGI policy. I understand the role I will play. I understand that it will take time to make this work.” “I believe this transformation is valuable to citizens and my area.” “I actively support the new policies and practices and assist those who may require additional information, or may not understand the purpose.” Support for Change Acceptance “Oh yeah, I‘ve heard of ‘that” Understanding Awareness Time The communications plan is a systematic method that supports each stakeholder (and the organization as a whole) to encourage the adoption and sustainability of the change.

19. Communication Cycle The Communications Plan is an iterative process that is refined and amended over time. • Stakeholder Groups must be identified to better tailor messages and communications effort • Messages must address the concerns of each targeted stakeholder group • Timing and type of communications is influenced by commitment level of target audience • Utilize sponsors, change agents, and presenters that are: • Knowledgeable of subject and have credibility with audience • Demonstrate the ability to listen to and gain confidence of the audience Purpose of Communication • Measure and amend Plans as needed: • Surveys • Debrief sessions • Leadership feedback

20. Feedback Feedback from impacted employees helps gauge how the communications messages are being received and enables the Communications Plan to evolve as the targeted audiences move through the transition process. Disseminate New Communications & Sponsorship Activities NC FAST County Leadership DHHS Feedback can be collected through: Email- where queries and comments may be submitted and answered Face-to-Face - provided through Q&As or responses received from staff. Surveys - specifically conducted to obtain feedback Provide Feedback Focus Groups Email County Champion/OSS Enhance communications, sponsorship and change activities as needed based on feedback

21. Survey Monkey Surveys with up to 10 questions are free

22. Poll Everywhere • Replaces expensive audience response hardware with standard web technology • Uses cell phone technology to have users answer poll questions that update live on the web • Free/Premium, online • www.polleverywhere.com

23. Jing • Take Screenshots: Capture an image of what you see on your computer screen • Record Screencasts: Record up to 5 minutes of onscreen video • Collaborate: Share recordings using Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, and Screencast.com (where permitted by policy) • Free • www.techsmith.com/jing

24. Communication Planning Group Activity

25. Effective Communications

26. Effective Communications Characteristics of an effective communicator: • Focused and Interactive • Create Flow and Direction • Generate a productive Atmosphere • Characteristics of an ineffective communicator: • Uninvolved and Inattentive • Obstructive to flow • Negative and intimidating

27. Always Consider… “Seek first to understand and then to be understood” The 7 habits of highly effective people - Stephen Covey

28. Your Role How to communicate key messages effectively Purpose • Educate • Influence • Direct • Encourage • Motivate Connection Knowledge & Understanding • Establish Common ground • Develop Empathy • Eye Contact • Smile • Talk at regular pace • Be Deliberate • Know your audience • Preparation Transparency Complexity • Listen and be listened to • Positive Mood • Get audience to emphasize • Remove Jargon • Breakdown Ideas • Encourage Questions • Use Examples

29. Email Communication Don’t Do • Include only one message in each email • Tell people what you want before you go into details • Make your message visually easy to read • Focus on your reader • Proofread your email • Follow acceptable terminology and abbreviations (e.g. FYI, ASAP, etc.) to direct the reader’s attention • Attach lengthy files when the reader only needs to know key points from them • Ignore good sentence structure, punctuation, grammar and spelling rules • Send (or forward) your message without checking who you are sending it to (& the content) • Use CAPS, exclamation points, underlining or bold type to convey a stern message • Use abbreviations or acronyms unless the audience knows what these mean

30. Weekly Project Email

31. The Inverted Pyramid Technique for writing all communication:

32. Summary • Communications are best delivered when they are clearly structured and cater for their audience • Effective communicators are integral to each and everyorganization • It is possible to effectively communicate difficult messages, and often is necessary to do so • Communication is 10% what you say, and 90% how you say it

33. Brainstorm Activity Things we could do at either DHHS or NC FAST to improve communications