This first decade of the 21st century has certainly presented most Americans with a variety of challenges. As a nation, we are working our way through security issues, wars, a revolution in technology, an economic crisis, and increased expectations with shrinking resources. These concerns have created an increasing need for resiliency, imagination, commitment, and communication.

Clear communication must be one of our priorities. Excellent communication between the many departments and shops within the Plant Operations division and with our external stakeholders is critical to successfully meeting our mission. It is through clear and effective communication that we can remove at least one level of anxiety from the mix; that being the uncertainty brought on by not knowing the important issues in our work environment.

Communication is a two-way street. It is just as, if not more important, to listen to the issues and concerns that are raised by staff at all levels as it is to pass information down from the top. We are an organization of people with many opinions and varying degrees of motivation, commitment, job satisfaction, personal circumstances, and the list goes on. Simply put, communication is the common denominator that allows us to effectively support the University of Michigan and be successful.

Perhaps the most effective way to improve communications is to hold face-to-face meetings with all of our team members. I know many of our work groups hold operating meetings on a regular basis and I expect all groups to follow this practice. I speak for all of the Associate Directors when I state that we, as upper management, are ready to hear everyone’s comments and concerns and we are willing to consider and act upon these ideas. We encourage all employees to feel free to come forward with issues and suggestions without fear of any negative repercussions. Let’s work together to make sure everyone is informed of the issues and actions facing our department and that all employees feel they have had a chance to be heard.

We have a number of ways for communicating amongst ourselves; newsletters, websites, memos, presentations, and meetings. Within our restructuring efforts, we have taken the opportunity to redesign the Plant Exchange. A new look is not only appropriate at this time, it is also indicative of our support for the restructuring effort. We’ve been fortunate to engage the talents of a graphic designer, allowing us to free up staff time to focus more on our primary mission to the University. I’d like to thank Anna Balhoff for her contribution to the Plant Exchange over the past year.