Changes to ETH’s internal communications

The Services & Resources portal will be renamed Staffnet, and its homepage will be updated daily. Internal news will become an actual hub and the associated newsletter will be personalised. Finally, life magazine will make even greater use of its strengths as a print publication. These are the main changes that members of the ETH community can exspect in the coming year.

Survey on internal communications

But what do the staff actually expect from ETH’s internal communications? To answer this question, Corporate Communications invited all ETH employees to participate in an anonymous online survey in March 2021. The survey was conducted by an external opinion research institute, with 10,500 employees asked to give their views on ETH’s internal communications. Almost 4,000 people took part, representing a high response rate of 37.4 percent.

Technical and administrative staff made up the majority of respondents, but there was also a high response rate among professors. Participation by academic staff, in particular doctoral students, was slightly lower. However, it was not only the response rates, but also the opinions of the various groups that differed – sometimes greatly.

Who uses which channels

For example, it was found that administrative and technical staff are among the main users of the internal communication channels. Four out of five said that they visit the Services & Resources portal regularly, compared with two thirds of respondents across ETH as a whole.

Internal news is read regularly or occasionally by three quarters of all technical and administrative staff, compared with about 60 percent across all respondents. However, 10 to 15 percent of all employees do not use this channel at all. Two of the reasons given were that the articles are difficult to access and a lack of time to read them.

What professors appreciate in particular

Half of all employees read articles in life magazine regularly or occasionally. Here, too, technical and administrative staff came out on top with 72 percent. However, articles in life are also very popular among professors. About a quarter of all staff do not read the magazine at all; the most common reasons cited were lack of relevant content and not having time to read.

A similar picture can be seen for events (e.g. townhalls or introductory and farewell lectures): just under 80 percent of technical and administrative staff and professors attend such events regularly or sporadically, compared with 60 percent across all ETH staff.

Majority are satisfied

When asked how satisfied they are with these channels, about a fifth of the survey participants gave the maximum score of 5 and two fifths gave a score of 4. Only 1 percent of respondents said they are not satisfied at all with the channels (score of 1).

In response to the open question about which internal communication channels they feel are missing, 89 percent answered “none” or provided no answer. The most common request was for information to be presented more clearly. Some respondents would also like to see channels introduced that are more “democratic” and informal, while others would like the internal communications within their own department to be better. The number of respondents who would like to have additional communication channels (e.g. Slack) is about the same as those who think there are already too many channels.

More tips and categorisation

When asked which topics they would like to read about more, 43 percent said “Tips & Tricks” (e.g. on using computers); the same proportion would like to have more information about available services. In addition, 38 percent of respondents would like more strategic and organisational information on the outlook of ETH Zurich, while 34 percent would like to see greater categorisation of reports in public media. Just under a third would like more information about events, as well as reports on what is currently happening on campus.

On the other hand, about 10 percent of the survey participants would prefer less content of this nature, while around half think the coverage of such content is just right. In terms of information from the Executive Board, two thirds are satisfied with the intensity of reporting, a quarter would like more and 8 percent would prefer less. The proportion of respondents who would or would not like to read more opinion pieces, columns and biographical profiles is roughly equal.

Raise profile of online and print

According to 80 percent of the survey participants, the topics they would like to see more of should be covered primarily online. They see the strength of the print channel mainly in biographical profiles, opinion pieces and insights into ETH departments. To raise the profile of life magazine as a print channel, the life editorial team held feedback workshops with 12 survey participants.

The workshops showed that the magazine’s human and relatable nature are valued in particular. The participants would also like features such as biographical profiles to cover aspects outside work. Non-senior technical and administrative staff should also be considered more in future. Insights (e.g. into other departments) would be welcomed in particular, as they increase the sense of togetherness at ETH.

The respondents would also like to see a clearer distinction between the print magazine and online communications; for example, only selected articles should be published on Internal news as well. On the other hand, they would appreciate a summary of the most important online events in the Panorama section. In general, the variety of topics in the magazine should be maintained, but more critical topics and those that go beyond current events should also be covered.

No direct access to internal information

In terms of the accessibility of online articles, the survey participants were asked about their browser’s homepage: 41 percent said they start browsing the web with Google, 19 percent call up the ETH Zurich homepage, 7 percent start with the page of their department or institute and only 1 percent call up the Services & Resources homepage. The remainder use a different browser homepage or did not answer the question.

What is missing

What do the survey participants think is missing in the internal communications? The most common responses to this open question were “transparent communication”, i.e. more direct and honest communication, including about negative aspects. Other suggestions included making the communications less hierarchical, enhancing the sense of community and bundling information more effectively in light of the many different channels and push notifications.

Corporate Communications has taken the feedback on board. “The results of the survey confirmed what we were already thinking, but they also gave us some important new insights,” says Roland Baumann, who develops the internal communications with the help of a project team. For example, the survey clearly shows that academic staff, most of whom work at ETH on a temporary basis, have different needs. “A separate portal could be set up for them in the medium term,” says Baumann. But he wants to focus first on developing and improving the existing channels.

Internal news as a hub

In October, a new series of “Tips & Tricks” was launched, with an article every two weeks. In addition, Internal news is currently being redesigned as a hub for internal communications. The idea is that all ETH units are able to publish general interest articles on Internal news. Articles will be arranged into categories and it will be clearly visible which organisational unit has published them. The aim is for readers to be able to see straight away whether an article might interest them. In the medium term, it will be possible to subscribe to individual categories in the newsletter in order to be notified of relevant new articles.

Services & Resources now Staffnet

The portal will be renamed to reflect its main audience, i.e. ETH staff. However, Staffnet will remain publicly accessible. From the start of next year, the homepage will show employees the day’s most important information at a glance, including ETH News, which will be published on the ethz homepage. Employees can thus start their workday with Staffnet as their default browser page.

Relaunch of life magazine

The employee magazine “life” will unveil a fresh look next summer. In terms of content, it will make even greater use of its strengths as a print publication and will address the needs of readers more specifically. Synergies will also continue to be sought with topics in the online channels. With the new positioning, life will add real value to the online communications.

Detailed information about the changes will follow on this channel when they are introduced.