The new engagement channel is enhancing the app's relevance and usefulness by providing fresh insights and varied content for different users.

Suzie Kirrane
Digital Experience Strategist, Digital Solutions Portfolio Manager‌UCSF IT

How can we expand our content to a new opt-in channel? It felt like the right opportunity to take advantage of mobile potential.

Terri Hunter-Davis
Digital Content Strategist ‌UCSF Human Resources

Suzie and Terri Channel Engagement 

Did you know there is a new staff engagement channel on the UCSF mobile app? The app currently has 45,000 users, with growing app adoption and high retention rates. Hunter Gilliam, UCSF’s director of organizational effectiveness, said, “What’s unique about the app is that I use it every day as a shuttle user. I have to open the app, and I can see the engagement alert and reminder. It reaches so many of us.” We talked with Suzie Kirrane and Terri Hunter-Davis about what went on behind the scenes to create this new channel.

Tell us about your roles. 

Terri: I strategize for the digital channels for Human Resources; primarily, but not exclusively, our website. We have email newsletters. We're starting to branch into more communications via Teams and, of course, the engagement channel, among other things. My job is to develop strategies to utilize those channels to our best advantage.

‌Suzie: I help turn our goals and user needs into practical digital strategies, guiding how we use our digital channels. For me, it's really optimizing, evolving or expanding those enterprise channels.

How do you work together? 

Terri: I think the big difference between my work and Suzie’s is that I'm starting with content and optimizing the channels to make the most of the content. I'm content first.

‌‌Suzie: We're the technical solution and the technical support. But we work hand in hand.

How did the idea of adding an engagement channel to the UCSF mobile app come about?

Terri: Hunter and I are partnering on a yearlong communications plan focused on engagement and how to weave engagement into everything we do here at UCSF. Engagement is not just taking the survey every year. It's what you can do to support yourself in your career. It's about how we can invest in ourselves. ‌

‌As we worked on an engagement communications plan, I thought about how to take this beyond the HR community. The mobile app immediately came to mind, largely because Suzie and I have been talking about doing something along these lines since I was working in the School of Dentistry. How can we expand our content to a new opt-in channel? It felt like the right opportunity to take advantage of mobile potential. We're relishing the opportunities. 

‌Suzie: The new engagement channel is enhancing the app's relevance and usefulness by providing fresh insights and varied content for different users. 

‌We know users have very different preferences in how they want to receive their information. The opt-in channel is truly opt-in. Users can choose to join the channel and set their preferences for how they’d like to receive messages in their app settings.

FAVORITE COOKIE JAR TREAT 

Suzie: Lavender sea salt shortbread 

‌Terri: Pain au raisin (aka "raisin snails")

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