District Communications Protocol

Subpages
Related Pages
Links
Files
Photo Albums
 

To ensure effective and stream-lined communications from District personnel to the various Club Officers it is important that we have a Communication policy and procedure in place.

Email communications

  • When wishing to communicate with clubs:
    • Consider whether the email should be sent ONLY to the E-News & Web Editor for inclusion in the next E-News and published on the website.
    • If the communication is addressed to Presidents, the email should be sent only to the Assistant Governors to pass on to their Zone Presidents
  • The above steps should minimise the number of emails in Presidents’ inboxes.
  • Best practice – don’t send bulk emails; make it personal with a personal salutation (Dear John,) using Word’s mail merge facility
  • Only send communications when necessary. Sending a lot of emails devalues their importance. Consider if E-News will serve the purpose
  • When sending communications – LESS content is often better. Remember, Rotarians will not read large amounts of information.
  • All Rotary business sent by email SHOULD include the word 'Rotary' in its subject.  Failure to do this may result in important messages being treated as SPAM by screening programs.
  • Subject – make it relevant and  and include the word ‘Rotary’ (see above dot point)
  • When sending a communication – THINK – does this need to be sent to others. e.g. The Club Secretary.
  • If you must bulk email (see Best Practice above), send the email to yourself as the TO address and Blind Copy (BCC) all recipients. This lets you see what was received.
  • Don't fall for the missed attachment error. Attach an attachment as soon as you key (see attached) and enter the TO address as the last step in case you inadvertently hit the send button before the email has been finished, spell checked and reviewed. Open the attachment and check before sending.
  • The email list is to be maintained by the person responsible for that area of service. e.g. The District Secretary will maintain the Club Secretaries email list, the Community Service Adviser will maintain the Community Service Directors email list, etc. It is the responsibility of that person to keep their email list current and up-to-date. Any bounce backs should be researched and advised to the applicable list manager.
  • If you wish to send a copy of an email to another group, you send it to the person responsible for that group and ask that they send it to their group.
  • Content – don’t forward emails, start a new one. If you do forward an email, be aware of what is in the email and delete most of it.
  • Word documents can retain all the changes that have been made to the document but hidden from view until switched on by a recipient (Tracking). If you wish to ensure confidentiality either; cut and paste the entire document to a New document or issue it as a PDF.
  • Ensure all communications are professional! Check spelling, and remember:  What, When, Where, Why, How, Action!

Mail Outs to Clubs:

  • E-News and the website are the preferred media for ALL communications, and those media should be encouraged both internally and externally. However, there may be times when it is better to send hard copy information. In that case, distribution via the District Office* to AG’s for the clubs should be arranged by the relevant Director.
  • If other organisations or companies wish to have any material distributed to the Clubs in our District, the procedure is as follows:
    • Approval needs to be sought to distribute any material.
    • To seek approval, the organisation sends a sample of what they wish to be sent to the Information Director and/or the District Web Editor.
    • The request is approved or rejected.
    • If approved, E-News and the website are to be recommended as our preferred media, but if hard copy is the chosen media:
      • For distribution at Presidents/Zone meetings as appropriate, the organisation needs to send 90 copies of the material to the District Office.
      • For material to be posted by mail, the organisation provides 90 copies of the material to the District Office in envelopes and stamped with the correct postage. Following receipt, the District Office will affix labels with each Club’s mailing address and post the information to the Clubs.
    • Under NO circumstances, are the mailing addresses of our clubs or members to be given to outsiders without their approval. Failure to comply with this directive is a gross breach of privacy.
    • With the exception of the District Governor, the District Web Editor has final say on whether material is distributed via the website and/or E-News, and the Information Director has final say on whether hard copy material is distributed.

Download the protocol