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PR WEEK CONFERENCE NOTES - Marketing, Employee and ... · Communications were email-heavy with...
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PR WEEK CONFERENCE NOTES Strategic Internal Comms DECEMBER 2019
Transcript of PR WEEK CONFERENCE NOTES - Marketing, Employee and ... · Communications were email-heavy with...
PR WEEK CONFERENCE NOTES
Strategic Internal CommsDECEMBER 2019
OVERVIEWThis year’s PR Week Strategic Internal Communications Conference wasn’t one to miss. Covering themes from everyday communications to large-scale change programmes, we went along to hear about how top internal communications teams are building trust amongst employees, embracing digital ways of working and telling great stories. Read on for our round-up of the best bits…
THE FUTURE OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS WHAT WILL SUCCESS LOOK LIKE IN 5 YEARS? A PANEL DISCUSSION
PHIL ASKHAMHSBCGLOBAL HEAD OF EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS
JO BLEASDALEGVCDIRECTOR OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
ABBY GUTHKELCHWORKPLACE BY FACEBOOKGLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTIONS LEAD
GABBI CAHANEMULTIPLECHAIRMAN
KEY TAKEAWAYS
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CONNECTED COMPANIES ARE THE FUTURE - GET EVERYONE BOUGHT INTO INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS TO ENSURE ITS SUCCESS
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS SHOULD GO HAND-IN-HAND - TREAT INTERNAL CAMPAIGNS WITH THE SAME CREATIVITY AS EXTERNAL ONES
CREATE AN INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT WHERE PEOPLE FEEL AT HOME AND CAN THRIVE. ALLOW PEOPLE TO BRING THEIR FULL SELVES TO WORK
THINK LIKE A MARKETEER AND USE BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE TO NUDGE PEOPLE’S BEHAVIOUR
THE FUTURE OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONSWHAT WILL SUCCESS LOOK LIKE IN 5 YEARS? A DISCUSSION
THE ART OF STORYTELLINGENGAGING AND EMPOWERING YOUR WORKFORCE VIA YOUR NARRATIVE
JOHN TOWNSENDUNICEF UKHEAD OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
THE ART OF STORYTELLING ENGAGING AND EMPOWERING YOUR WORKFORCE VIA YOUR NARRATIVEJOHN TOWNSEND
All too often organisations can fall into a trap of not talking like humans. Buzzwords and business-speak can be cold and uninviting. We know that powerful stories engage people well and are the most memorable, so it’s important to tell your organisation’s story well.
Maya Angelou famously said
“ people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”
and that rings true in internal communications. Strong narratives should be built into all communications.
BACKGROUND
THE ART OF STORYTELLING ENGAGING AND EMPOWERING YOUR WORKFORCE VIA YOUR NARRATIVEJOHN TOWNSEND
Unicef use stories from colleagues, the CEO and their frontline work to ensure communications are engaging.
Storytelling ambassadors around the organisation convey Unicef’s narrative and purpose to different groups.
TELLING GREAT STORIES
DRIVING ENERGY AND EXCITEMENT FOR CHANGESOVEREIGN HOUSING ASSOCIATION CASE STUDY
RHIANNON STROUDSYNERGY CREATIVEHEAD OF STRATEGY
OLLY WHITMANSYNERGY CREATIVECREATIVE DIRECTOR
DRIVING ENERGY AND EXCITEMENT FOR CHANGESOVEREIGN HOUSING ASSOCIATION CASE STUDYRHIANNON STROUD / OLLY WHITMAN
Our very own Rhiannon and Olly took to the stage to talk about how to use creativity to ensure change communications are exciting and engaging.
According to McKinsey, change programmes are 30% more likely to succeed when employees are invested in the goal, so it’s worth bringing people along on the journey.
MAKING CHANGE STICKWhen Sovereign Housing Association merged with Spectrum Housing Group in 2016, they wanted to ensure their people were at the heart of the change, in their efforts to become a modern, connected business.
A compelling narrative, ”On Our Way” engaged all colleagues in the transformation, whilst recognising that it was a journey that they were all on together
Putting managers first - managers were empowered to support colleagues through the change, with workshops to work out their needs followed by a toolkit for managing change
Sharing great stories - making information simple, engaging and fun helped to spark people’s interest. A Gogglebox-style TV show, ‘Sofa, so good’, featuring Sovereign employees on a sofa talking about the changes and how they felt about them captured the hearts and minds of employees. The show is now into its fourth series and has been built upon using employee input
Role modelling change was vital
PRINCIPLES FOR CHANGEUSING FOUR KEY PRINCIPLES, THEY MADE SURE THAT ALL EMPLOYEES FELT INVOLVED AND EXCITED ABOUT THE CHANGE:
DRIVING ENERGY AND EXCITEMENT FOR CHANGESOVEREIGN HOUSING ASSOCIATION CASE STUDYRHIANNON STROUD / OLLY WHITMAN
RESULTS
92%OF EMPLOYEES UNDERSTOOD
THE VISION
60%OF PEOPLE WERE EXCITED ABOUT
THE FUTURE
83%OF EMPLOYEES
SAW RESIDENTS AS CUSTOMERS
57%OF COLLEAGUES FELT INFORMED
DRIVING ENERGY AND EXCITEMENT FOR CHANGESOVEREIGN HOUSING ASSOCIATION CASE STUDYRHIANNON STROUD / OLLY WHITMAN
BREAKTHROUGH MOMENTS HOW I GOT THROUGH TO MY SENIOR LEADERSHIP TO DRIVE THE IC AGENDA
MAX PULLERSODEXOEMPLOYEE AND CHANGE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
STUART WILLIAMSONNATIONWIDE BUILDING SOCIETYDIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
ADAM CLATWORTHYSAP UK & IRELANDINTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS SENIOR SPECIALIST
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1BUILD AND INVEST IN YOUR INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK 4TAKE YOUR SHARE
OF THE SPOTLIGHT
2DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHALLENGE LEADERSHIP WHEN IT’S NEEDED 5EQUIP AND EMPOWER
LEADERS TO DRIVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS FORWARD
3DARE TO INNOVATE AND KEEP EVOLVING 6DEMONSTRATE THE
VALUE OF YOUR IC EFFORTS
BREAKTHROUGH MOMENTS: HOW I GOT THROUGH TO MY SENIOR LEADERSHIP TO DRIVE THE IC AGENDA MAX PULLER / STUART WILLIAMSON / ADAM CLATWORTHY
THE POWER OF POSITIONWHERE DOES INTERNAL COMMS BELONG?
SUSIE LLEWELLYN-JONESLINKLATERS LLPHEAD OF STRATEGIC INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
THE POSITION OF POWER WHERE DOES INTERNAL COMMS BELONG?JOHN TOWNSEND
Linklaters LLP is a law firm made up of 5,000 employees across 30 countries. There was a lack of engagement with internal communications and many saw it as an unnecessary function.
BACKGROUNDSUSIE LLEWELLYN-JONES CAME IN AND IMPLEMENTED A 3-POINT PLAN:
Ensured the internal comms was seen as a strategic function in the business
Restructured the internal comms team
Established clear team objectives and clarified each person’s role within the team
INVIGORATING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ON A BUDGET
ZOE VAFADARITALKTALKDIRECTOR OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT
INVIGORATING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ON A BUDGET ZOE VAFADARI
In the past year, TalkTalk have relocated 500 London-based colleagues to join the rest of the organisation in Manchester in an effort to make things more affordable and consolidated.
A BIG RELOCATIONAs a result of the move, engagement scores went down - the internal comms team had to decide how to look after London colleagues whilst protecting and engaging employees in other locations too.
INVIGORATING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ON A BUDGET ZOE VAFADARI
They spoke to people about their options as soon as the relocation was announced, taking colleagues on a tour of the North West as potential residents, giving them help and information on housing, schools and other issues that arise when someone moves cities.
SUPPORTING COLLEAGUES THROUGH CHANGEOnce the move had been successfully completed, TalkTalk threw The Great Big London Thank You Party - to celebrate and thank everyone who relocated and stayed loyal to the company.
INVIGORATING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ON A BUDGET ZOE VAFADARI
They clarified what TalkTalk stood for as an employer, four pillars to help colleagues across the business and potential new colleagues understand what the business stood for:
We’re for everyone
We’re fast and focused
We create opportunities
We stand for something
ESTABLISHING VALUESTOP TIPS:
Optimise channels that already exist
Do things online and offline to appeal to as many colleagues as possible
Use existing partners and networks
Make the most of internal teams/skills and role models
Give colleagues positive talking points internally and externally
MARK TITTLEJUST EATHEAD OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
BUILDING VALUE, DRIVING ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY
BUILDING VALUE, DRIVING ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY MARK TITTLE
Just Eat is a FTSE 100 company with 3,600 employees, 112,000 restaurant partners, 100+ cuisine types and over 27 million customers. As the business grows through acquisition they’re under increasing scrutiny from external stakeholders.
BACKGROUNDPreviously, the internal comms team was very under-resourced, seen as a side task for marketing, with no dedicated internal comms employees.
BUILDING VALUE, DRIVING ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY MARK TITTLE
Communications were email-heavy with different people using unconnected platforms in a variety of different ways. Anyone could send any email to the whole company if they wanted to: A 9am strategic announcement from CEO could easily be followed by a 9.01am email from reception about a broken toilet. Things desperately needed to be consolidated.
CONSOLIDATIONIN NUMBERS:
10 news platforms
25 regular newsletters
1500+ intranet pages
And only 5% of information was landing, up to date and relevant
BUILDING VALUE, DRIVING ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY MARK TITTLE
Just Eat didn’t want to lose the fun company they were but needed to bring all of the comms together. They needed to focus on purpose to drive engagement so they put an internal comms function in place.
A SENSE OF PURPOSETHE APPROACH:
Inform, involve and inspire people
Help people to understand the company purpose and teach them which platforms to use to find that information
Bring people together and make connections across the business
Create brand advocates
Consider what action should come as a result of each communication. If there’s no action, let’s question if it’s necessary
BUILDING VALUE, DRIVING ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY MARK TITTLE
THE CHANNEL STRATEGY Daily new stories posted to intranet
Weekly catch up newsletter for updates
Monthly all-hands meetings to update everyone - streamed live to as many people across the world as possible
Global email pointing to intranet kept only for big corporate comms
Chatbot
Annual world party bringing together all staff from around the world for a celebration
Fortnightly CEO vlog
Experiential activities to launch big partnerships - they put a beach in the office for the launch of their Love Island partnership
BUILDING VALUE, DRIVING ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY MARK TITTLE
Internal communications content should start with great stories that people want to read. At Just Eat, they make sure that every employee sees something relevant to them on all channels regularly, considering context, community and culture.
RELEVANT COMMUNICATIONSKEY LEARNING:Measurement is key!
Impressions, comments and likes on their enterprise social network
Event attendance
Communications champions give feedback on how comms are landing on the ground
Employee survey and quarterly IC survey to gather insights
RESULTS
79%POSITIVITY RATING FOR
COMMS CHANNELS
80%TRUSTWORTHY
86%UNDERSTAND
THE VISION (UP FROM 54%)
46,000 MONTHLY HITS ON INTRANET
BUILDING VALUE, DRIVING ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY MARK TITTLE
REACHING A REMOTE WORKFORCE WITH WORKPLACEA PANEL DISCUSSION
CYRUS AKRAMIWORKPLACE BY FACEBOOKHEAD OF EMEA MARKETING
DANIEL DAVISHONEST BURGERSENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION MANAGER
CALEB CHISHOLMRBSWORKPLACE ADOPTION LEAD
REACHING A REMOTE WORKFORCE WITH WORKPLACE A PANEL DISCUSSION CYRUS AKRAMI / DANIEL DAVIS / CALEB CHISHOLM
Honest Burgers are a burger restaurant who are trying to disrupt the casual dining industry. With their own butchery and chips made fresh on-site everyday, they want employees to feel engaged in the company’s purpose and mission.
BACKGROUNDRBS are looking to become a bank of the future, moving towards agile ways of working and bringing employees along on that journey with them.
REACHING A REMOTE WORKFORCE WITH WORKPLACE A PANEL DISCUSSION CYRUS AKRAMI / DANIEL DAVIS / CALEB CHISHOLM
Honest: remote workers are most important client in business - they’re the ones having conversations with customers, representing the brand. They’re putting restaurant workers first in engagement.
ENGAGING REMOTE WORKERSRBS: a similar approach for branch staff - it’s important that they feel engaged and connected to the overall brand, despite not being office-based. They’re ensuring communications are tailored to all branch staff, making it short and snappy enough for people to read in their breaks.
REACHING A REMOTE WORKFORCE WITH WORKPLACE A PANEL DISCUSSION CYRUS AKRAMI / DANIEL DAVIS / CALEB CHISHOLM
Honest: Honest face the challenge of maintaining the culture the founders created when they started out now that there are 38 restaurants.
They brought Workplace in to spread and celebrate that culture, and as a result, it’s started to come from the bottom up.
INTRODUCING WORKPLACERBS: Caleb spoke of the importance of ‘beating the scroll’ to make information land. The format of news teams are putting out is consistent to try and help it stand out. Quick bitesize content works well to help people engage whether they’re office-based, remote or in-branch.
SO THERE WE HAVE ITThe last conference of the decade did not disappoint. If you’re looking for more tips and hints on how to lead change and engage employees, get in touch.
