Tuesday, 23 September 2008

One of the issues that is raised with me periodically is the 'Australian-centric' way we communicate with our Fellows and trainees. This is a problem in a College with is 'Australian & New Zealand' based.

Our perceived 'Australian-centric' attitude takes a variety of forms and it's a tendency that we're all unwittingly guilty of from time to time - including me - but it's one we need to address and take steps to eliminate from how we operate.

One of the simple examples that has been pointed out to me is the way ANZCA staff represent their phone numbers on their email signature block: e.g., 03, 9510 6299. The assumption in that form is that everyone is calling from within Australia and only needs the Australian area code. The correct form is: +61 3 9510 6299.

I've made a change to my email signature block to adopt that form, and I suggest all staff do the same. This is a small example but, beyond that, we must recognise that we are an international organisation and we must be conscious of that in all that we do.