The County Court of Victoria represents the intermediate tier of the Victorian court hierarchy. It handles serious criminal cases like drug, sex, and firearms offenses, as well as civil claims related to personal injury, municipal councils, and accidents. The court has 66 judges, 140 judicial staff members, and over 70 additional registry, administrative, and support staff. Internal communications are important for employee engagement, recruitment, performance management, and fostering organizational culture and values. External communications promote the court's brand, achievements, and future plans to stakeholders, the public, and media. Ensuring internal and external messaging is consistent is essential, as employees receive information both within and outside the organization.

1. External communication for internal communication Anna Bolger

2. About the County Court The County Court of Victoria (CCV) represents the intermediate tier of the Victorian court hierarchy. The County Court is the busiest trial court in Victoria. The County Court sits in Melbourne CBD and at 13 regional locations in Victoria Jurisdiction (criminal): Serious offences such as drug offences, sex offences, driving offences, firearms offences Jurisdiction (civil): claims for personal injuries; claims against municipal councils for loss or injury sustained while upon or using roads, land, buildings etc, under the control of the council; actions brought under the Accident Compensation Act, Property Act, Sale of Land Act Staff 66 judges, 140 judicial staff, 48 Registry staff, 25 administrative staff

3. External communication public face of the brand; to tell the brand story directed at external stakeholders, customers, competitors, media, public Internal communication recruitment, performance, wellbeing organisation culture, employee engagement

4. Internal communications Within the organisation Most important audience are employees Understand and endorse mission, vision and goals of the organisation Should be organisation/brand champions inside and outside the organisation Employees have influence beyond the workplace

5. consideration should be given to all the ways in which the employees interact with each other, customers/suppliers, contacts and public employees expect to find out about their organisation’s strategy and future intentions from within the organisation but they also gather information directly/indirectly from sources outside the company

6. External communications Tendency to treat as more critical, bigger impact, more risk, greater benefit, enduring Used to promote key personnel, organisation, brand, products, achievements, future direction of organisation And control, nullify, reduce impact of detrimental events

7. Communication synchronicity Why is this important? Employee’s experience of their workplace should mirror company public image and desired public experience of the organisation Question: Is the internal message consistent with external statements about company objectives, achievements, vision ‘employer of choice’?

8. Function of internal and external communications is to articulate, deliver, promote the organisation’s message/agenda to range of audiences Employees have access to external information sources at work and at home And starting the conversation themselves

9. The worst case scenario The surprise: employees find out something critical to their organisation from a 3rd party

10. Essential that internal and external communication teams work together Clear, consistent, well-timed Messages attuned to each audience but consistent to primary message driving the campaign

11. What’s wrong with this heading? “publisher enters partnership with global media organisation” “global media organisation buys 75% of publisher”

12. Internal and external communication alignment Planning well ahead of announcement Consider all touch points of the organisation The key message: how does this relate, what is the relevance to each group; does it resonate? Statements, interviews, website carry the same message despite differences in delivery method Audience must be left with the key message and not be confused no matter where the message What is happening? Why is it happening? What will be the outcome? For staff, business partners, consumers Created an exhaustive list of scenarios, and questions and answers As well as a detailed time table

13. Considerations Commercial in confidence Not suggesting that staff need to be privy to all management deliberations; when staff are informed that this consistent with the message given to media and external stakeholders.

14. Benefits Informed and engaged employees Embrace the organisations values and goals, drives performance, how they feel about the workplace/the job and the message they give to those outside the coy in their interactions with outsiders employee engagement within the organisation plays an important role in the internal health of the organisation and success of external communication

15. Thank you.