The purpose of this policy is to specify the various channels of communication within Complete Business Solutions Australia (CBSA), determine their intended purpose, and the roles and responsibilities of staff in accessing and using them.

Policy

1. Communication Objectives

• Internal communication is used to reinforce the organisations business priorities and objectives. This involves ensuring that information disseminated to staff is valid, reliable, relevant, easy to access, and appropriate.
• CBSA aims to continue to develop and trial new communication ideas, channels, and tools to improve information sharing and collaboration between staff members.
• Staff are actively encouraged to share information within the workplace. CBSA expects that staff will use the communication channels and associated tools for business work practices and in compliance with this and other relevant policies and procedures.

2. Communication Channels

CBSA has a number of communication channels for intended purposes including:

• Email: Used for messages to staff, clients, and other stakeholders.
• Client surveys: Used to gather information and feedback from clients for a range of purposes.
• Presentation: Used to present information verbally for internal work groups such as meetings, inductions, or to external clients and stakeholders.
• Business documentation: Used to present information formally in written format to staff members such as reports, policies and procedures, and other business-related documents. Also used to present information in written format to clients and other stakeholders such as business correspondence, invoices, and other business-related matters.
• Cloud-based collaborative tools: Used by work groups of staff to collaborate, share, and communicate on projects online
• Website and social media channels: Used to inform clients of services offered. Used by staff to access policies and procedures.
• Instant messaging: Used to allow real-time communication between staff members informally.
• Video-conferencing: Used for video communication between staff, clients, and other stakeholders where communication occurs remotely.
• Phone: Used for real-time discussion between staff members and clients.

3. Meeting Etiquette

• This policy is applicable to all meetings being organised by CBSA management and staff members and includes formal and informal meetings. All attendees of a meeting must adhere to the following meeting etiquettes:
• All meetings must be fair and transparent and implement open and informed decision-making
• All attendees must exhibit the CBSA values of being inclusive, honest, accountable, sustainable, and professional at all times.

Procedures

1. Meeting Preparation

• Prior to a meeting taking place the presenter of the meeting should:
  • Identify the objective(s) of the meeting.
  • Identify the audience of the meeting.
  • Schedule a time and location for the meeting location.
  • Identify the items to be covered at the meeting to meet its objective(s).
  • Ensure that they have reserved/booked out facilities required for the meeting.
  • Develop a Meeting Agenda and distribute this to the audience of the meeting prior to the meeting occurring.
• Meeting Agenda:
  • It is the responsibility of the management to organise formal meetings and to delegate meeting preparation tasks to relevant CBSA staff members.
  • The staff member responsible for preparing the meeting agenda must use the TM006 Meeting Agenda Template CBSA V1.0 for finalising the agenda.
  • All information relating to the meeting topic and focus of discussion must be added to the agenda and numbered consecutively as agenda items.
  • Each agenda item must be allocated appropriate timing and ensure specific timeframes are provided. For e.g., Welcome and introduction to meeting topic 9:30 am - 9:45 am.
  • The meeting agenda document must be saved using the following format: Name of meeting-date of meeting. For e.g. Board Meeting-15.01.20XX.
• Notice to attendees:
  • All meeting attendees must be provided with at least one week's notice prior to meeting.
  • Attendees must receive notification of the meeting via a message with information about the type of meeting being planned and its objectives, meeting requirements and any preparation that the attendees maybe required to do, suitable date and time and any technology requirements that the attendees may need to prrepare in advance.
  • The meeting agenda must be shared with the attendees via e-mail at least three days prior to the meeting, along with any other relevant documentation attached with the e-mail as well.
• Meeting attendance:
  • All meeting attendees must respond back to the e-mail notification about the meeting within two days of receiving this notification.
  • If any of the meeting attendees cannot attend the meeting for some reason, they must respond back to the e-mail notification immediately stating the reason for their absence.
  • All meeting invitations that have been declined must be noted in apologies in the meeting minutes.
• Venue arrangements
  • The venue arrangements for all CBSA meetings will depend upon the number of attendees. There are three meeting rooms onsite within the office premises and each meeting room has varying seating capacities, as follows:
  • Meeting Room 1- This room can accommodate up to 6 attendees
  • Meeting Room 2- This room can accommodate up to 9 attendees
  • Meeting Room 3- This room can accommodate up to 12 attendees
  • If a meeting requires more than 12 attendees, then you can hire an external venue. However, you will need to take management's approval prior to booking in an external venue. For taking this approval, you are to send an e-mail to the management with at least two external venue options along with the costs incurred and the total seating capacity. The management is to respond back within a day with the option they like best for the meeting being organised.
  • For all meetings organised by CBSA (internal or external venue), the CBSA staff must ensure that the venue meets the requirements of IM004 Health and Safety Policy and Procedures.
  • The venue must be confirmed prior to sending out the meeting agenda and the venue address must be noted under the Location section of the meeting agenda template TM006.
• Catering arrangements
  • The catering arrangements must be made at least three days prior to the meeting day.
  • The catering arrangements are made as per the following guidelines:
  • For 1 - 1.5-hour long meeting, no catering is required.
  • For any meeting between 1.5 - 3 hours long, one tea break with snacks must be organised.
  • For any meeting between 3 - 6 hours long, one tea break and a lunch must be organised.
  • Only the CBSA approved caterers must be hired to make the meal delivery and ensure that the dietary requirements for all attendees have been considered while finalising the order
  • The budget for catering must be approved by the management prior to the meeting and can be done along with approval for venue budget.
• Other resources
  • The CBSA staff member responsible for making meeting arrangements must identify all resources required for effectively running the meeting, for e.g., technology requirements, internet connectivity, ensuring there is no noise disturbance, proper signs are available to indicate an ongoing meeting, conference phones and speakers, presentation screen and projectors etc.
  • The CBSA staff member must ensure that they take approval from the management for using all the extra resources required for organising the meeting effectively, for e.g., equipment required, internet connection availability and any other associated resources and finalise arrangements for the set-up of all resources required for the meeting, at least one day prior to the meeting day.

2. Meeting Delivery

• The presenter should conduct the meeting as per the Meeting Agenda by:
  • Providing an introduction to the purpose of the meeting
  • Taking attendance
  • Covering minutes from any previous meeting
  • Covering agenda items
  • Coming to agreement about planned outcomes.
  • Provide a closing to the meeting, thanking the attendees for their time.
• The presenter should ensure that they and the attendees show respect to other attendees by:
  • Ensuring attendees don't speak over other attendees
  • Ensuring that attendees act ethically as per the organisations Code of Ethics during the meeting
  • Ensuring attendees answer questions posed to them openly and with honesty
  • Managing disagreements between attendees ensuring that differences of opinions are acknowledged, and that rigorous examination of all options is explored to reach a compromise
  • Keeping negotiations focused on key issues and moving forward towards a final resolution

3. Meeting Finalisation

Once the meeting has concluded the presenter should document the meeting using the Meeting Minutes template

• Distribute the meeting minutes to all attendees
• Upload the meeting minutes to the organisations cloud-based storage system following CBSA's Document Management Policy & Procedures.
• Follow up with attendees on any actions they have been assigned during the meeting to ensure actions are completed.

Question:

Based on Communication Policy and Procedures

> provide an outline of the three operational issues you have identified and your strategies to address these issues

> provide an overview of the three risks you have identified and the contingency plans to manage these risks

> seek feedback by asking questions to identify improvement opportunities with your strategies, and contingency plans.

Thank you in advance