Cohesion

This episode features an interview with Tina Hawkins, Senior Director of Internal Communications at the NBA. Tina partners with business leaders to enhance employee performance through change management with a focus on workplace experience.

In this episode, Amanda and Tina discuss aligning values externally and internally, keeping communication casual, and how to hold space for employees and leaders to have critical conversations.

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“Don't over emphasize the writing. Things like the wordsmithing, the grammar, et cetera. That's table stakes. It's the strategic thinking that's the most important. What are we trying to achieve with this message or with this initiative or with what we're doing? What's the best way to reach people? How can we do something that'll have the most impact and influence? [...] And then personally, I try to concentrate on the business and connect with business leaders and understand our goals and where we're trying to go and what you want employees to do, what behavior changes we need from employees.” – Tina Hawkins

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:37): Tina’s background

*(03:08): Tina’s role as Senior Director of Internal Communications at the NBA

*(05:35): Segment: Getting Tactical

*(07:34): How Tina aligned the NBA while revamping the mission statement

*(11:21): Segment: Ripped From the Headlines

*(12:59): How the NBA helps leaders and employees have critical conversations

*(22:47): Things to avoid when holding tough conversations

*(28:01): Segment: Asking For a Friend

*(31:29): Tina’s advice for keeping communication casual

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Links:

Connect with Tina on LinkedIn

NBA

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn

www.simpplr.com/podcast

This episode features an interview with Victoria Dew, CEO of Dewpoint Communications. Victoria is a leader of employee experience and future of work, with more than 15 years of global internal communications expertise.    

In this episode, Amanda sits down with Victoria to discuss how the pandemic affected DE&I, what we can learn from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and why to stop waiting for a seat at the table.

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“When we talk about what does the ideal employee experience look like, it's a way that accounts for all the factors that help a human being to thrive in the workplace. And we can think of some of those are feeling valued, feeling safe, feeling seen, respected. And having the opportunity to grow, having the opportunity to contribute, having belief, actually, in the purpose of what we're doing, in our leaders, in our organizations. [...] Communications can come and help us weave all of this together and connect the dots. Because connecting the dots is one of the things that communications professionals can and should be doing often better than other parts of the business. It's kind of one of our superpowers.” – Victoria Dew

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:41): Victoria’s background

*(06:19): Victoria’s role at Dewpoint Communications

*(07:35): Segment: Getting Tactical

*(08:16): The ideal employee experience according to Victoria

*(12:44): How Dewpoint Communications improves employee experience

*(14:49): Mistakes companies make that hurt the employee experience

*(22:04): Segment: Ripped From the Headlines

*(22:50): How DE&I has been impacted by remote work

*(35:57): Segment: Asking for a Friend

*(36:15): Challenges IC will face in the future

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Links:

Connect with Victoria on LinkedIn

Dewpoint Communications

Download Dewpoint Communications Insights Report (Maslow’s graphic on page 9)

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn

www.simpplr.com/podcast

This episode features an interview with Natalie Ridsdale, Director of Internal Communications at Levi Strauss & Co. Natalie has spent the last 21 years refining her communication skills, starting out as a copy editor at newspapers and now managing employee experience at Levi’s. 

In this episode, Amanda and Natalie discuss how internal and external communications can work better together, collecting employee feedback, and how Levi’s is making space for employees to have tough conversations.

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“My number one piece of advice when I talk to people is, don't ask a question if you're not going to act on the answer. People need to know that you're going to take this feedback and do something with it. So, if you're asking something that gives people a sense that you might take steps to address it and you never planned on it, I think you're harming some of that trust in the relationship between you and the people that you're surveying. So make sure that you're asking about things you're actually going to take action on.” – Natalie Ridsdale

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:47): Natalie’s background

*(06:12): Segment: Story Time

*(06:34): How internal and external comms can work better together

*(07:49): Segment: Getting Tactical

*(18:05): Dos and don’ts of employee surveys and feedback

*(21:35): How Levi’s holds tough conversations internally

*(24:27): Segment: Seat at the Table

*(26:57): How Natalie recommends change to leaders

*(28:27): Segment: Asking for a Friend

*(28:44): Natalie’s advice to a first time IC leader

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Links:

Connect with Natalie on LinkedIn

Levi Strauss & Co.

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn

www.simpplr.com/podcast

This episode features an interview with Beth Collier, founder of Beth Collier Consulting.

She has spent 20 years helping people and companies become better, more connected leaders through communication.

In this episode, Amanda sits down with Beth to discuss what pop culture can teach us about communications, the impact of creativity, and how to turn leaders into effective communicators.

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“You've got to be courageous if you want to be creative, because it is hard to put ideas in front of people that by definition, they're going to be new and different. Because even people who say, and I've known leaders like this, who are like, ‘I want new ideas and think outside the box and nothing's off the table. Blah, blah, blah.’ They say that stuff and then when you give them something that is new and different, they're like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. We can't do that here. That's not going to work or we tried that once.’ It's kind of like a newborn baby. You've got to be so gentle and protective of that new idea. And so, when it comes to sharing those ideas, it takes a lot of courage.” – Beth Collier

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:39): Beth’s background

*(04:05): Segment: Story Time

*(04:18): When Beth realized she wanted to advocate for employees

*(13:11): Segment: Getting Tactical

*(13:27): How Beth brings pop culture into communications

*(20:12): Why it's important that communications is creative

*(28:18): Why Beth disagrees that 7% of communication is verbal

*(34:06): Segment: Seat at the Table

*(34:17): How Beth helps make leaders effective communicators

*(37:09): Segment: Asking for a Friend

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Links:

Connect with Beth on LinkedIn

Beth Collier Consulting

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn

www.simpplr.com/podcast

This episode features an interview with Kristin Hancock, Vice President of Community and Engagement at ICology. Kristin’s passion for communications fueled her career at organizations like Ronald McDonald House and Children’s Wish Foundation. Kristin has over a decade of experience connecting humans through meaningful messages. She also has a flair for astrology and offers birth chart readings for people and pets! 

In this episode, Amanda and Kristin discuss how ICology improves culture, how to make connections instead of network, and Kristin reads Amanda’s birth chart.

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“We carry with us experiences from our life, from our personal lives and our professional lives. Knowing those pieces of yourself before you start a role is, I think, the most important part of it so you can be self-aware when you have tendencies to respond in certain ways, for example. I think the other piece is connecting with your industry. Someone has been in your shoes before and someone will be in your shoes in the future. So, getting to know the folks who are in your industry, getting to know the people in your organization and also outside your organization, I think is the other big part of being in this industry.” – Kristin Hancock

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:50): Kristin’s background

*(04:50): Kristin’s role at ICology

*(06:05): Segment: Story Time

*(07:09): Kristin reads Amanda’s birth chart

*(11:04): How astrology impacts Kristin’s view of internal communications

*(12:57): Segment: Getting Tactical

*(14:46): How ICology builds community

*(20:39): Segment: Seat at the Table

*(21:42): The importance of making connections

*(28:27): Segment: Asking for a Friend

*(30:06): Challenges IC professionals are facing

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Links:

Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn

ICology

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn

www.simpplr.com/podcast

This episode features an interview with Michelle Press, Director of Corporate Communications at Envoy Solutions. Michelle has over 25 years of experience leading merger and acquisition communications, community relations, and change management. Previously, Michelle’s leadership roles include KemperLesnik, UL Solutions, and Golin.

In this episode, Amanda and Michelle open their playbooks on mergers and acquisitions. They discuss the dos and don'ts of a communications plan, the channels and tech that help navigate this shift, and what Michelle has learned throughout her career.

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“If you think about it from an acquisition standpoint, the thing that every business wants to know when requiring a company it's, ‘Do no harm and we want everyone to be able to do their job the way they've been doing it as much as possible,’ as change is happening. So if it's the importance of making sure that people feel like they can still do their job, overwhelming them with email is not going to help them because that's usually when people say is, ‘There's so much here, communication here, I can't get to my own work or I can't get to my own job.’ So how do we help facilitate that in a better way?” – Michelle Press

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:42): Michelle’s background

*(03:41): Segment: Story Time

*(04:03): What Michelle learned during her first acquisition

*(06:53): Segment: Seat at the Table 

*(11:50): How IC can be successful without a seat at the table 

*(13:49): Segment: Getting Tactical 

*(14:15): Dos and don'ts of a merger and acquisition communications plans 

*(20:36): How Michelle uses channels and technology to help employees navigate a merger

*(34:00): Segment: Asking for a Friend

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Links:

Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn

Envoy Solutions

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn

www.simpplr.com/podcast

This episode features an interview with Suman Gopalan, Chief HR Officer at Freshworks. Suman has spent her entire professional career in HR, holding positions at publicly traded companies like The Nielsen Company, Dell Technologies, and Whirlpool. At Freshworks, Suman pilots the global people strategy to develop and engage their employees.

In this episode, Amanda and Suman examine diversity in the workplace. They discuss Suman’s passion for women in the workforce, key elements of workplace culture, and why it's better to hire people that add to that culture versus fitting in.

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“There is no one size that fits all. Human experiences at the workplace is all about different moments that matter as an employee throughout your journey. How do you create experiences that can delight your employees? Just like how we talk about customer delight. We have different personas. Whether it's an early career employee, it's an experienced employee, senior executive, women and we try and create experiences for each one of these that are different and that are important to them. And to me, that's what it's all about. It's human experiences at the workplace that create delight.” – Suman Gopalan

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:50): Suman’s career journey

*(03:50): Segment: Story Time

*(04:01): Suman’s passion for women in the workforce

*(08:41): Suman’s definition of employee experience

*(12:06): Segment: Getting Tactical

*(12:31): The key elements of a good workplace culture

*(15:45): Hiring to fit the culture vs adding to the culture

*(19:33): Segment: Ripped from the Headlines

*(23:38): How the pandemic affected women in the workforce 

*(26:25): Freshworks’ pledge for equality

*(33:47): Asking for a Friend

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Links:

Connect with Suman on LinkedIn

Freshworks

Amanda’s LinkedIn

www.simpplr.com/podcast

This episode features an interview with Stephanie Briggs, Director of Employee Experience at ivanti. She has over ten years of experience in digital and social media marketing, where she puts storytelling at the forefront. Stephanie’s passion for storytelling doesn’t stop there. She is also a published horror author of the “Sophia Rey” series, in which the main character goes undercover in a cult.

In this episode, Amanda and Stephanie discuss who owns employee experience in an org and how storytelling makes for powerful communications.

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“Employee experience, overall, either you’ll have a subset of employees who are highly engaged and it really comes down to the level of passion that they have to not just do their day-to-day and collect a paycheck. But it’s really about having that passion, coming each day, and really feeling that impact that you’re making as an employee. And that’s a tough one because as employee engagement professionals, it’s really in our areas to help with getting employees to that point of ensuring that they understand and they’re feeling the impact that they make overall. And that’s not an easy thing to do.” – Stephanie Briggs

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:45): Stephanie’s background 

*(03:37): Stephanie’s role at ivanti 

*(04:58): Segment: Storytime

*(05:37): Why Stephanie loves to tell stories 

*(08:11): Stephanie breaks down her Sophia Rey book series

*(13:59: Segment: Getting Tactical 

*(17:10): How Stephanie supports leaders 

*(18:20): How Stephanie worked across her organization on an intranet revamp

*(24:31): How ivanti maintains a global employee experience

*(30:40): What’s the ideal org for employee experience?

*(33:36): Segment: Asking for a Friend 

*(38:48): Biggest challenges employee experience professionals will face in the future

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Links:

Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn

ivanti

Amanda’s LinkedIn

www.simpplr.com/podcast

This episode features an interview with Mary Poppen, Chief Strategy and Customer Officer at involve.ai. With over 2 decades of experience in customer success, executive leadership, and business consulting, Mary is dedicated to advancing the next generation of CX leaders.

In this episode, Amanda sits down with Mary to discuss how a great customer experience can lead to happy employees and how to measure employee and customer satisfaction.

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“Early in my career, I realized that our most happy customers had a really strong relationship with an employee or employees in our organization. Whether it was sales services, exec relationships, it didn’t really matter they just had a strong bond. And the least happy customers were those that really saw us as a vendor. Those of you listening that do know me, know I hate the v-word. If you can be called a partner, a strategic advisor, that’s much better. But, I realized that those customers who were unhappy were the ones that saw us as a vendor. Just a transactional, reactionary solution. So, that’s what struck me as a differentiator where relationships and therefore, engaged and happy employees, really do make a difference in building a connection and providing value to customers. So, when you have happy engaged employees and happy engaged customers, there’s this crazy contagious enthusiasm that exists. And then the company benefits because what results is growth, expansion of customers, and referenceability. Talent out there wants to work for your company. So it’s just a lot of goodness that I call the ‘All In Zone’.” – Mary Poppen

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:44): Mary’s background

*(04:22): Segment: Story Time 

*(06:41): The link between employee experience and customer satisfaction 

*(09:32): Segment: Getting Tactical

*(11:19): ROI when connecting employee and customer experience

*(19:13): Best practices for tracking employee and customer satisfaction

*(21:46): What involve.ai is doing to keep employees and customers happy 

*(24:22): Segment: Asking for a Friend 

*(27:48): Biggest challenges of connecting the customer and employee experience

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Links:

Connect with Mary on LinkedIn

involve.ai

Amanda’s LinkedIn

www.simpplr.com/podcast

This episode features an interview with Debbie Gunning, Vice President of People at Human Interest. Debbie has spent the last 24 years building powerful business teams through talent acquisition, employee relations, and workplace culture.

In this episode, Amanda and Debbie dive into employee onboarding. They discuss the relationship between onboarding and employee retention, the importance of culture during this time, and how Debbie’s team transitioned to a virtual onboarding experience.

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“If you are a first-time HR leader entering into this, my takeaways from the last three years of having this huge scope that I’ve been covering, and part of it was very new to me, is just get ready for the ride of your life and don’t take things personally. There’s always going to be a critic. Critics are loud. And don’t worry about it because people are always going to have different feelings and let them have them, and get super comfortable being uncomfortable. Because, being an HR professional in today’s climate, every day there is going to be something that comes up that you’re like, ‘Hmm, didn’t see this coming. Don’t really know how to handle this. It’s uncomfortable, but I'm going to figure it out.’ So just get comfortable living with the discomfort and you’ll just continue to grow and thrive.” – Debbie Gunning

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:44): Debbie’s background

*(04:14): Segment: Story Time 

*(04:37): How Human Interest is tackling the pandemic world

*(06:12): Segment: Getting Tactical 

*(07:24): How a good onboarding experience leads to employee retention

*(12:34): How Human Interest switched to virtual onboarding

*(22:47): Don’ts of employee onboarding

*(25:52): How Debbie is bringing culture into onboarding

*(29:31): Segment: Asking for a Friend

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Links:

Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn

Human Interest

Amanda’s LinkedIn

www.simpplr.com/podcast