Educo has different internal communication channels to facilitate the exchange of information across the entire organisation, thus contributing to improving efficiency in their work and encouraging staff to present their feedback and complaints to management.

 

The 2012 employee satisfaction survey conducted with staff in the head office and the other delegations in Spain revealed that internal communication was one of the priority areas for improvement. As such, in 2013 the organisation prioritised several internal communication actions to strengthen this aspect. These included: working groups (2013: 7 active groups: 2012: 3 active groups); corporate conferences (2013: 5 conferences; 2012: 2 conferences); surveys (2013: 4 surveys; 2012: 3 surveys); and interdepartmental meetings (not carried out in 2012).

 

Forums for participation and internal communication

 

Here is Educo’s list of forums for participation and internal communication:

 

• Regional conferences:

 

In 2013 the organisation initiated annual regional conferences, which gathered representatives from the region’s delegations and the head office, as well as representatives from local partner organisations and local administrations. The aim of these meetings was to foster a sense of team spirit, align strategies and methods, agree upon effective management policies and share good practices. Two conferences were held in 2013: one in Cambodia, for the Asian delegations; and another in Senegal, for the African delegations.

 

• Focus groups:

 

Interdisciplinary groups have been created to address cross-cutting strategic issues.

 

• Surveys:

 

The team has had the opportunity to offer its opinion regarding specific issues, such as the survey carried out regarding the new brand. The results of these surveys helped the decision-making processes.

 

• Intranet:

 

Educo Space is an intranet space intended for the exchange of information.

 

• Internal emails are sent to circulate information which is relevant for the organisation’s day-to-day functioning, to maximise transparency with respect to institutional information, and to give visibility to the work being undertaken across the entire organisation.

 

• Corporate conferences:

 

To disseminate the organisation’s strategic guidelines and celebrate special events or holidays in the different delegations, in the interest of fostering participation, commitment and internal cohesion. (…)

 

• Periodic interdepartmental meetings in the head office:

 

To obtain a global vision of the organisation through the sharing of relevant information from each department.

 

Reengineering process

 

In September 2013, the organisation initiated an institution-wide internal reengineering process. The two main objectives of the process are: to respond to the requests of staff themselves and to address the Foundation’s situation following the structural changes made in recent years in terms of simplifying internal processes and decentralising functions; and to establish priorities for action with respect to internal policies, systems and procedures that will facilitate this process.

 

The process is being undertaken by a task force of representatives from the different divisions of the head office and the country delegations. Subgroups have been created to address particular issues. The design of the process will be completed in September 2014, and the final changes are set to be implemented in 2014 and during 2015. Many of the policies and actions detailed in this report will stem from this.