Internal Communications

In the Know & Before you Go

In the Know and Before You Go are our flagship weekly newsletters that inform faculty and staff about University news, reminders, deadlines, resources, events and operational updates.

These channels are best for information that is useful to a broad internal audience, especially when the message helps employees understand what is happening, what action may be needed or where to find additional information.

Good fits may include:

Not every announcement requires a newsletter placement. Some messages may be better suited for a targeted email to subsets of faculty and staff, a college or division channel, a website update, a direct manager delivery or a student-facing communication.

Targeted Email Communications

Email can be an effective way to reach faculty, staff or specific employee groups when a message is timely, important or requires action. UCM can help determine whether an email is the right channel and how the message should be structured. Internal email support may include audience guidance, message planning, copy refinement, sequencing or coordination with other communications channels.

Email may be appropriate for:

• Campus-wide announcements
• Operational updates
• Leadership messages
• Policy or process changes
• Major initiative updates
• Messages that require employee action
• Communications that need careful timing or audience coordination

Email may not be appropriate for:

• Time-sensitive reminders

Some circumstances, such as facility closures and other time-sensitive University wide updates, will necessitate last minute emails, but the majority of emails will perform best when sent a month or more in advance. We request 5-6 business days to properly support requests. To help reduce email overload, UCM may recommend a different channel when a message can be handled through an existing newsletter, webpage, manager cascade or self-service resource.

Targeted emails are messages sent to a specific group of faculty, staff or students. The Internal Communications team can send emails to all faculty and staff, but messages for smaller or more specialized audiences may require a separate email group. 

For small groups with membership that changes infrequently, you can create a Google Group. Google Groups allow you to add individuals to a group and send targeted emails. Following these instructions will allow you to create a group internally with an associated montclair.edu email address where you can send emails and share files on Google Drive. The person who creates the group is responsible for adding and removing members to keep the list accurate.

For larger groups, or groups whose membership must be updated regularly based on job title, department or role, contact the Office of Information Technology to request a listserv. A listserv is a better option when the recipient list must remain current and accurately reflect University records.

Campus Message Planning 

Some communications require more than one message or channel. UCM can help campus partners plan how and when information should be shared with faculty and staff.

Campus message planning may include:

This kind of planning is especially useful when a message affects many people, introduces a change, requires action or may generate questions from campus stakeholders.

Change Communications 

Change communications help people understand what is changing, why it matters, how it impacts them, what they need to do and where they can get support.

UCM may support change communications for University initiatives, operational shifts, process changes or other efforts that affect a broad segment of faculty and staff.

Effective change communications often include:

UCM can help develop messaging that is clear, practical and audience-aware, especially when changes require coordination across multiple Colleges, Schools, divisions or units.

Be aware that lead time is especially important when it comes to change communications, so visit How We Prioritize Projects for more information on lead time.