Communications at DCC: What are we talking about?

You can perhaps forgive Stephanie Ryan, DCC’s Manager of Communications, for smiling when asked to reflect on the different perceptions that she’s encountered over the years on what the work of the communications group is.

“We can’t fix your phone,” Ryan says, “but we can help you communicate your message to the right audience. Making change, informing and educating, building client relationships, those are the results that we want to achieve with our work. There is fun stuff too, like making videos or planning special events. But even the fun stuff has a rationale.”

Ryan has been in her position at DCC for nearly eight years, following jobs at a national magazine publisher and a biotech firm. In her view, Ryan links the role of communications directly to the support that DCC provides to its clients at DND everyday.

A case in point: DCC’s contracting services group wanted to counteract a commonly held view that its processes and requirements are barriers to getting the real work of architecture, engineering and construction done—particularly since this perception exacerbates the group’s already high-pressure work environment and is a factor in employee retention.

Ryan designed and ran messaging sessions with regional service line leaders to address the problem. “We honed in on an image, both internal and external, and asked ‘What do you want these audiences to know about us?’”

The outcome of the sessions was a list of key messages about contracting services, which the group can now present to internal and external colleagues and clients, case studies for training purposes, including role playing, and talking points to help junior staff in particular communicate the role and value of the work contracting services does for DND.

“This initiative worked because we developed substantial end products that people can use.” More to the point, Ryan says, “the director and the senior service line leaders involved were really engaged in the process, they know their business very well and take the communications challenge seriously.”

DCC Communications is a partner with DND in media relations, working together with the public affairs group of ADMIE to get a consistent message out about the building and other projects under way across the country.

DCC’s award-winning Intranet site is also a product of Ryan’s group. The multifaceted site includes tools to help DCC employees provide the best service to DND, including an extensive collection of health and safety information, and an online accident/incident report.

But, is there a place for the fun stuff, like special events or promotional items? Yes, says Ryan, but it’s anything but lightweight. An event like the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign has a large internal communications component behind it. Also, activities surrounding employee engagement and the corporate brand are very important to the business, and for recruiting and retaining the skilled staff DCC needs to continue to serve DND.