Purpose

In line with company expansion, this policy has been designed to outline and implement core communication strategies for dealing with day-to-day issues and provide pathways for team members to communicate issues with the correct responsible party through the correct channels.

Policy Details:

• All staff members (including management) will be referred to as “team members” in this policy.
• All communication between team members is to be initiated via Skype and Trello.
• To ensure you are using Trello effectively and accurately, please refer to the Trello usages guideline policy. It can be located here Z:\Australian Waste Management\Quality Management System\Human Resources\Policy Documents\096_Trello Usage Policy.docx.
• Skype is currently installed (and logged in) on all company iPads and pc’s. If your device is ever logged out, please contact the office via phone and the details to log in will be provided.
• For ease of use, team members are more than welcome to have skype installed on their mobile phone and/or personal device as an additional device using their personal username, however, the company device must always remain logged in at all times using only the company username and password designated to that device.
• To have your personal account added to your skype group chat, please provide the office with your username or email address.
• All skype and programs used for company purposes (including on personal devices) are to have the alert feature activated to ensure that messages are displayed on the screen until seen and responded to. This feature can be found in different places and under different names on different devices, but it must be located and enabled immediately upon installation. This feature is not to be turned off under any circumstances.
• Appropriate team chats have been set up which include all team members relevant to the chat title. Where team members are members of multiple chat groups, messages must be posted in the chat that they relate to only.

Requirements:

• Every team member is required to upload a clear and descent profile picture of their face, it's good for team building and creating empathy between teammates.
• At the start of their shift, all team members must ensure they are logged into skype and check for any messages that may have been received in their absence.
• By 3:00 pm each day drivers will be notified of their run for the evening/following day in their group chat. If they have not received their run by this time, they must follow the communications procedure below. The onus will be on the driver to ensure they have received and acknowledged their run each day.
• Messages that are aimed at a specific team member, but are posted in group chats must be directed to that team member by typing the “AT” symbol (@) and their name first. I.e. accounts/payment questions should start with "@Karen,” etc
• Should you need to contact a specific person directly about any issues that you feel should not be broadcast in a group chat, please request in the group chat that the person establishes a private chat with you when they can. If the person you need to speak to is not part of your group chat, please post your request to speak to the person in your group chat and a message will be passed on to them to call you, or, if it is an emergency, call the office and ask to be put through to them.

Non-response:

If any team member is non-responsive to a Skype message within 5 minutes, please post another message asking them to “Please confirm”.

If they remain non-responsive after another 5 minutes, or the matter is urgent, please press the “Call” button in your Skype group chat, wait 10 seconds then hang up. This will get the attention of everyone that monitors the group chat and the first available person will respond to you in the chat.

If there is no response, a call must be placed from or to the office to obtain an acknowledgment of the Skype message. If outside of our standard business hours or if you are unable to connect to the office, please call Les on 0424332144 as a last resort. This is to ensure no message goes unnoticed and all team members can move on with their tasks as soon as possible.

(For drivers:

The expectation is that as soon as a driver receives a message (that should appear on their ipad screen and stay there until cleared) they should pull over as soon as safe and convenient, and respond to the message.

If they receive a call, it means the message is more urgent, and they need to find somewhere safe to pull over asap and respond to the message. This applies when you don't have a jockey that should respond while you are driving.)

All outcomes of any calls are to be posted in the relevant Skype chat so that all team members are aware of the discussion and the outcome and if anything more is required by anyone. This is to be done in the following format:

“@David, thanks for taking my call. As discussed, we have managed to fix the problem with the sweep on the truck by turning the power off and back on again. As the problem appears to be intermittent, please make note of it and have it checked when possible.”

Conclusion:

All team members are to actively check skype messages and respond accordingly. Failure to do so will result in points being deducted through the bonus structure.

Should you experience any technical difficulties with Skype you must notify the office by phone immediately on (03) 9734 7415 for further instructions.

Please note: No calls or texts to mobile phones will be responded to unless it is an emergency. Instead, the first available person will respond back to your group chat on Skype.