Internal Communications

The internal communications team works to deliver your message to your specific on-campus audience efficiently and effectively. 

  • For general internal communications needs associated with routine projects or those with small, highly targeted audiences, we provide an online collection of best practice, tools, and resources for use by all OIST staff. 
  • For key, OIST-wide projects that require a precise execution, we provide copy assistance, channel assistance, and other communications management services to ensure a successful launch.

We always want to hear from you. Email internal-communications@oist.jp to submit your feedback about OIST internal communications.

 

Internal Communications Channels - Best Practice

Choosing the right channel is essential for the success of your communications. Consistent channels with consistent content therein deliver the most effective communication. OIST staff do not need to search to find a specific type of content when it is always found on the same channel, and through the use of analytics the Internal Communications Team can ensure that all channels are meeting OIST staff where they already are—be it an emailed newsletter, an infoscreen, or social media. 

Below you will find a list of all OIST internal communications channels along with a guide for what content they host and how to use them. Please refer to these best practice guidelines each time you send any communications content within OIST.

Channel It's for It's not for How to use it
Announcements Broadcasting work-related news (e.g. deadlines, service changes, volunteer requests) to all OIST employees  Advertising events, sharing human-interest stories, or providing recommendations

TIDA > ADD CONTENT > POST AN ANNOUNCEMENT

All information must be within your text—attached images are only for additional information as they are not included in the email sent out to announcement subscribers
TIDA Stories Brief stories (200 words or less) about OIST staff and notable guests⁠—focusing primarily on their work and accomplishments Advertising events, service changes, or other workplace information Contact internal-communications@oist.jp
Events Research, administrative, and other campus events Externally hosted events Add an event to your Groups page using these steps: https://groups.oist.jp/manual/add-event-web-calendar
Social Events Events with a date, time, and place—primarily focusing on OIST club activities and campus social gatherings Research, administrative, or official campus events (e.g., Open Campus and the CDC Art Show) TIDA > ADD CONTENT > ADD A NEW SOCIAL EVENT
Recommendations Tips and info for community members with no set date or time—such as good restaurants and tutoring businesses Events or classes that will expire after they are completed TIDA > ADD CONTENT > MAKE A RECOMMENDATION
Channel It's for It's not for How to use it
Groups Website Hosting content for OIST work, study projects, or clubs as approved by CPR or Recreation Services Hosting personal or non-OIST affiliated websites 

Request a groups website: https://groups.oist.jp/manual/request-groups-website

Learn how to set up your groups website: https://groups.oist.jp/manual/groups-website-editing
Groups Forms Providing a fixed website where internal and external users can send files or text to a specified email address Surveys and confidential information storage Learn how to create a webform: https://groups.oist.jp/manual/webforms
Channel It's for It's not for How to use it
OIST Essentials Providing an essential weekly update to specific segments of OIST staff—this includes OIST strategy updates along with notable events and staff news. Sharing long-form OIST news or cataloging every OIST event Contact internal-communications@oist.jp
Other Internal Newsletters The organization creating the newsletter to decide at its own discretion The organization creating the newsletter to decide at its own discretion The best tools for use with Outlook include typing within Outlook itself, attaching a Word or Publisher file as text into your emails, or using Dreamweaver. Contact internal-communications@oist.jp if you need more guidance.
Channel It's for It's not for How to use it
General Email Primarily sending email for work purposes—incidental personal use of OIST email and online messaging tools is permitted so long as such use does not interfere or conflict with the employee's work responsibilities or other obligations to the University, and does not generate additional direct cost to the University Sending any emails that do not align with the OIST PRP, Respectful Workplace Policy, Information Security Acceptable Use Policy, and Email and Online Code of Practice Make sure you are familiar with the OIST Email & Online Communication Code of Practice, PRP 17.3.17, and all other associated policies

Email Distribution List

Broadcasting messages to a group of people from your own OIST email address

IT KB Article

 Sending emails from a group email address Request using Service Now
Shared Inbox

Allowing a group of people to monitor and send email from a common email address, like your-group@oist.jp, with a central repository of emails to which multiple people can access, reply, flag, and organize

IT KB Article

 Simply sending emails to a set group of people from your own OIST email address Request using Service Now
Research-all Reserved for PIs, executives, and delegates to send important announcements that are uniformly relevant to the entire OIST research staff Access is restricted beyond this scope  
Admin-all Reserved for use by executives to send important announcements that are uniformly relevant to the entire OIST administrative staff Access is restricted beyond this scope  
OIST-all Reserved for use by executives to send important announcements that are uniformly relevant to the entire OIST staff Access is restricted beyond this scope  
Channel It's for It's not for How to use it
Info Screens Promoting OIST research events and broadcasting major institutional announcements Promoting non-research events or events not hosted by OIST For your research event, while creating it on your groups website, set the visibility to include info screens: https://groups.oist.jp/manual/add-event-web-calendar
Channel It's for It's not for How to use it

Facebook

OIST@Work

OIST@Work - Sharing workplace news, events, and announcements focusing on engagement and human interest content

OIST@Work - Sharing external research news (reserved for OIST Media channels) or community news and events (reserved for OIST@Home)

 Submit your content: https://groups.oist.jp/cpr/internal-communications-social-media-content-proposal

Twitter

OIST@Work

 OIST@Work - Sharing workplace news, events, and announcements focusing on engagement and human interest content OIST@Work - Sharing external research news (reserved for OIST Media channels) or community news and events Submit your content: https://groups.oist.jp/cpr/internal-communications-social-media-content-proposal

Line

OIST@Work

 OIST@Work - Sharing workplace news, events, and announcements focusing on engagement and human interest content OIST@Work - Sharing external research news (reserved for OIST Media channels) or community news and events Submit your content: https://groups.oist.jp/cpr/internal-communications-social-media-content-proposal
Channel It's for It's not for How to use it
MS Teams Anyone with an OIST account for any purpose within OIST’s acceptable use guidelines (per PRP 17) can create Teams and Office 365 Groups via self-service Creating a team for a purpose outside of OIST's acceptable use guidelines (PRP 17) Refer to this IT KB Article for information on what MS Teams is and how to use it
Channel It's for It's not for How to use it
Posters Raising awareness of OIST events and services Advertising external events that have no affiliation with OIST

You may use your own design software or an online service like Canva 

For major OIST-wide campaigns, posters are made by CPR

Please remember to remove your posters when the information is no longer relevant
Flyers and Table Toppers Raising awareness of OIST events and services Advertising external events that have no affiliation with OIST

You may use your own design software or an online service like Canva. 

For major OIST-wide campaigns, all materials are made by CPR

Please remember to remove your flyers and table toppers when the information is no longer relevant
Channel It's for It's not for How to use it
Town Halls Providing OIST-wide strategy and policy updates and encouraging formal discussion to engage all staff in these key issues and their development Presenting information that only applies to a small subset of OIST staff Town Halls are organized by Internal Communications
Tea Time Presenting information to OIST staff in a more informal and conversational setting Reliably disseminating important information to a majority of OIST staff—there is no guarantee of audience attendance or participation as this is a drop-in-style event Contact internal-communications@oist.jp
Channel It's for It's not for How to use it
Focus Groups Encouraging informal feedback and the generation of new ideas through small, work-related discussions Gathering focused feedback that is easily quantified and quickly reported Contact internal-communications@oist.jp if you would like help setting up your next focus group
Surveys Gathering specific, measurable, work-related feedback from a set audience within OIST for a limited amount of time Requesting open-ended or repetitive feedback, feedback without a specific timeframe, or feedback that does not directly guide your employment tasks

First, make sure your survey complies with OIST Survey Guidelines and OIST Information Classification and that you receive the required approval

Then, use Microsoft Forms to create your survey.

If Miscrosoft Forms will not work for your project, you may request a SurveyMonkey account.

All OIST-affiliated surveys must use either Microsoft Forms or SurveyMonkey

 

OIST Essentials - The OIST Internal Newsletter

OIST publishes two weekly newsletters aimed at our administrative and research audiences. If you have any questions or feedback, or would like to request that your content is included in these newsletters, email internal-communications@oist.jp. 

Visit our OIST Essentials archive to view past content from these newsletters. 

 

Additional Resources

OIST Identity Guidelines

Planning Your Large Communications Projects

 

Meet the Team

Virginia Houk

Internal Communications Lead
Email: virginia.houk@oist.jp
Phone: 098 966 1536

Member of the International Association of Business Communicators

A well-crafted message takes a great deal of thought and planning—especially within an international environment like OIST. Virginia Houk cemented this opinion while living in Eastern Canada and completing a BA and an MA in English literature, rhetoric, and prose in tandem with identity and culture studies. In 2015 she came OIST. After working in a variety of roles at OIST and getting to know the community, her work in the Communication and Public Relations Division now focuses on delivering thoughtful and effective OIST-wide messaging. She also provides OIST staff with the tools and strategies necessary to best support the communication needs of their internal-facing projects.

Virginia Houk

 

Pei Chen King

Communication Assistant
Email: peichen.king@oist.jp
Phone: 098 966 1587

Pei Chen came to OIST from Taiwan, where she edited in English and provided Chinese to English translations for academic organizations and national universities. She also proofread for graduate students and professors in various capacities while living in the US, Israel and China. She specialized in linguistics, English literature and literary and cultural studies before teaching English academic reading and writing in the US and Taiwan. As a member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, she is regularly trained and updated in the leading practices of written communications.

Pei Chen King

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