Engaging Internal Comms Series 4

In this podcast episode, I'm joined by Jen O'Ryan, an expert in diversity and inclusion. Together, we delve into the topic of diversity and inclusion from a human perspective, shedding light on the significance of language in fostering an inclusive working environment. They go beyond mere compliance and explore how organisations can genuinely embrace diversity and inclusion. The role of both internal and external communications is discussed, emphasising the power of inclusive language in shaping branding and policies.

As employee engagement and internal communicators, we already comprehend the significance of engagement. We know that engaged employees are healthier, happier, and more productive. However, here lies the challenge - how do we construct a compelling business case for it? How do we establish an employee engagement programme for those who do not have one, or strengthen existing programmes? That is precisely what we will explore in this episode.

Craig and his guest, Jim Gitney, discuss the importance of aligning organisational strategy and activities, as well as the challenges of communicating strategies throughout the organisation. They explore the concept of the most important goal and the need for clear communication. Jim introduces the Business Hierarchy of Needs, a framework for successful strategy implementation. They also discuss involving middle-level leaders in the strategic planning process and the importance of aligning business strategies with the most important goal.

In this episode, we explore six critical approaches to turning around underperforming or crisis-stricken organisations, all starting with the letter C. The episode focuses on the first two approaches, context and connection, and how they can be explained to employees to help them understand their role in contributing to the organisation's bigger picture. We emphasise the importance of improving business literacy within organisations and exploring how organisational developers, employee engagers, and internal communicators can play a role in improving context and connection within their organisations.

A voice that we've rarely heard is that of early career internal communications employees. Often it's quite difficult to find people who are new to an internal comms role, who are willing to step forward and talk on a show like this. However, I was recently approached by today's guest who came forward who did want to talk about that their experiences, mostly positive, in fact, mainly positive in terms of their role and their new role within internal communications, but also someone who's got a lot of drive and passion and commitment for other causes outside of their professional role and someone who's clearly very keen to learn and to try new experiences. What I did today in today's episode is we have an interview with someone who's new to the profession.

In the 100th episode of the podcast, we discuss how internal communicators can become change makers within their organisations. The episode covers topics such as non-verbal communication, storytelling, and building deeper connections to drive meaningful change. The guest speaker shares insights on how to deliver internal communications with authenticity and purpose, and how to build a positive legacy. The episode is informative and engaging for those interested in internal communications and organisational development, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How do we help our people connect our overall mission, purpose, vision, and values, and the bottom line results that we deliver? There often seems to be two separate conversations going on in many organisations. Our purpose, our mission, our vision, our values should not be something that's abstract and distant. On a day to day basis, people are being driven by KPIs, scorecards and other metrics and there somehow seems no connection between these and our mission related goals.

In this episode of the Engaging Internal Comms podcast, host Craig Smith and guest Lena Scullard, an interactive keynote speaker and trainer, discuss the difference between responsive and reactive communications and how cognitive behavioural psychology can be used to create positive cultures and employee engagement within organisations. Lena shares her background in theatre arts and corporate training and emphasises the importance of mindset shifts before behaviour shifts. The episode also touches on the importance of measuring and gamifying internal communications, catering to different communication preferences and personality types, and using resources like the DISC model to improve internal communications.

In this episode, we look at the 'business case' for creating psychological safety, particularly when we look at it from a mental wellbeing perspective. Psychological safety has been very more openly talked about since the pandemic, but is there a business case increasing psychological safety in our organisations? We also look at the tools and techniques are available to us on an individual, team and organisational level. Finally, we look at the impact of remote and virtual working and the impact that that's had on psychological safety.

Our guests in this episode are going to be telling us all about the science behind why we don't finish what we start. They will explain how this is related to much more fundamental issues within our organisations when it comes to employee engagement and our willingness to see things through both in our personal lives but also in our work. We're going to be finding out all about this phenomenon known as 'Swipe', which is what their book is called.