The Internal Comms Podcast

Katie’s guest this week is someone who is no stranger to crisis communication.

Amanda Coleman was the Director of Corporate Communication at Greater Manchester Police when, on Monday 22 May 2017, a suicide bomber detonated a homemade bomb inside Manchester Arena. Twenty-three people died and 139 were wounded, more than half of them children.

This was just one of the many tragic incidents Amanda has faced in her 20-year career. She worked alongside police and civic leaders during the Manchester riots in 2011, the murder of two police officers and the untimely death of chief constable, Michael Todd.

She says: “Being in the room, day after day, has taught me an enormous amount about leadership, resilience, character and the value of planning and testing so that communications are as effective as they can be when people and processes are put to the test.”

Amanda talks about these key ideas in her new book, ‘Crisis Communication Strategies’ and gives plenty of practical advice for communicators coping with today’s pandemic and what comes next.

Katie’s guest this week is one of the world’s leading authorities on internal comms and the management of change: Bill Quirke.

As managing director of IC consultancy Synopsis, Bill has helped many global and blue-chip organisations align their leaders, engage their people, and turn strategy into action.

He is also the author of two seminal books ­– Communicating Corporate Change, and Making the Connections – plus numerous tools, strategies and models that have profoundly influenced our profession.

This episode was recorded in those halcyon days back in March 2020, when it was still possible to record face-to-face in AB’s London studio. Katie and Bill’s conversation touches on the pandemic, but they cover so much more ground.

Sit back and enjoy Bill’s tremendous wisdom, perception and many fascinating and funny stories born from a lifetime of hands-on comms experience.

This week Katie speaks to renowned communicator Shel Holtz. As listeners continue to grapple with keeping workforces informed, galvanised and feeling connected during the corona crisis, Shel shares his guidance, advice and good humour to help us all through this difficult time.

Shel’s career began in communications in 1977, more than a decade before the invention of the World Wide Web. In 1994, he came up with the idea of using an intranet, a year before the word was introduced.

Today, he is director of internal communications at Webcor, a commercial construction company, with offices and projects across California.

In episode 27 of the Internal Comms Podcast, he shares practical advice, insight and tangible examples about communicating in what is such a crucial period for IC practitioners.

This episode is recorded as the majority of the UK is in lockdown while the country attempts to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Katie Macaulay’s guest, Rachel Miller, is a prolific blogger, educator and keynote speaker. One of the most respected voices in the internal communications industry, Rachel is a fellow of the Institute of Internal Communication and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

IC expert Rachel has contributed to best-selling books and runs bespoke masterclasses, training over 900 IC professionals since June 2016. While Rachel is best known for her consultancy work, she has also had in-house roles across multiple sectors including transport, finance and pharmaceuticals.

Rachel was the guest speaker on the first ever episode of the Internal Comms podcast, which has had over 3,000 listens in just 12 months. More than a year on, Rachel and Katie speak from Rachel’s new All Things IC Hub in London just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic engulfing the city.

Katie Macaulay recorded this special episode on Friday 20 March 2020 in response to the rapidly developing situation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.

Her guests to talk all things crisis comms are Sarah Pinch and Tamara Littleton.

Social media pioneer Tamara founded The Social Element in 2002, way before the explosion of social media. Today she leads a global team of more than 300, working with some of the world’s biggest brands to deliver consultancy-led social media services. Their aim is to create genuine human connections with consumers, while using social to help solve business challenges.

Tamara is also a co-founder of Polpeo – which helps brands withstand a crisis breaking online through the use of simulation technology.

Sarah is the managing director of Pinch Point Communications, which helps organisations build, maintain and sustain great reputations. She is a past-president of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) here in the UK. She worked as a journalist and TV director for the BBC for 11 years and has worked in senior communications and marketing roles since 2000, winning a CIPR PR director of the year award for her work at the NHS in Bristol. Sarah is also a non-executive director for The Health and Safety Executive.

What’s especially relevant here is that both guests are skilled in reputation management, issues and crisis management.

In this episode of The Internal Comms Podcast, Katie puts her first CEO in the hotseat: Marc Barone.

Marc is chief executive for continental Europe at AECOM. This Fortune 500 company is one of the world’s largest professional engineering design firms, employing 57,000 people in more than 120 countries. Its projects are impressive and diverse: the world’s longest cable stayed bridge, disaster recovery programmes, and the tallest tower in the western hemisphere.

A cursory glance at Marc’s LinkedIn or Twitter feed will show you that this chief executive is committed to two-way authentic internal communication. He is very often on the frontline – listening, asking questions, and checking what he calls the vibe of his organisation.

Katie asks about his approach to leadership, what he looks for in his IC manager, how to cut through the noise in his organisation, and how he measures the impact of internal comms.

As you might expect, the conversation touches on a number of meaty issues, not least how the coronavirus is impacting his business, and how major infrastructure projects need to respond to both sustainability issues and the rapid advance of technology.

In this episode of The Internal Comms Podcast Katie talks to one of world’s most qualified communicators, Priya Bates, from Canada.

Priya has an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) and was one of the first Certified Strategic Communication Management Professionals (SCMP). She received a Master Communicator (MC) from the Canadian chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators and was later made an IABC Fellow, a global lifetime achievement award in recognition of her contribution to the profession.

In a comms career spanning more than 20 years, Priya worked for one of Canada’s largest private sector employers, Loblaw, and at HP, Compaq and the Ontario Nurses Association.

Then, at the age of 47, she struck out on her own and set up a consultancy, Inner Strength Communication. Her company’s name is very intentional, as Priya says her passion is driving strong organisational performance from the inside out.

In a wide ranging conversation on the comms profession, Priya and Katie explore the importance of building courage and confidence – both inside organisations and inside ourselves. And with her warm and engaging personality, Priya makes a delightful guest.

State of the Sector is the longest-established and most in-depth survey of the internal communication profession, based on responses from more than 1,000 professionals around the world.

Over the past decade, this annual survey has become a go-to source of information for IC practitioners, helping them see what’s going on across the industry, benchmark their own IC function against competitors and build a business case for investment or development.

This year’s survey report is the biggest yet – covering 45 countries and 33 industries – and its publication is as eagerly anticipated by the comms community as ever.

Shortly before the release of the 2020 report, host Katie Macaulay caught up with two new directors at Gatehouse, the internal communications agency that organises the State of the Sector survey, to discuss some of this year’s key findings.

Client Services Director Kevin McDougall trained as a garden designer before entering the world of IC, while People, Service & Excellence Director Andy Macleod was a talented keyboard player. But having taken the path into IC, the duo now has more than 40 years’ internal and change communications experience between them.

In this episode, they explain the purpose of the State of the Sector survey, their motivation for doing it and what they hope IC teams will gain from reading it.

They guide us through the changing role, priorities, challenges and activities of in-house practitioners around the world. And, as a new decade dawns for our profession, we hear their views on the challenges and opportunities on the horizon.

During Seasons One and Two we covered a lot of ground in IC and beyond. As we begin Season Three, brace yourself for more fascinating insights as we delve into the very heart of communications.

This episode sees Katie chat with the voice of IC himself, Chuck Gose.

Chuck is the founder of ICology, the ground-breaking podcast that, since 2015, has given IC pros a global platform to share experiences and insights.

He’s been in comms for 20 years, including time with Rolls-Royce and General Motors, and he’s certainly learned a lot about himself and the profession in that time. He is now Strategic Advisor at Social Chorus.

Join them as they discuss the digital landscape, what channels and platforms to focus on, what “commsplaining” is and why we should stop it.

Those who have listened to Chuck’s podcasts know his enthusiasm for IC is infectious and during his chat with Katie he spells out why he’s a cheerleader for the industry.

Tune in for some no-nonsense advice that is sure to chime with many communicators.

Since the launch of The Internal Comms Podcast, host Katie Macaulay has interviewed more than 20 fascinating guests from the world of IC and beyond.

Now, as we gear up for Season 3, she takes a look back at the first two seasons.

With so many diverse and entertaining guests, choosing highlights was no easy task. The breadth of topics and issues have provided some real insights into how we can improve the way we communicate at work.

In this special compilation, Katie pulls together her favourite clips from both seasons – recapping conversations that have really resonated as well as those that have provided those all-important lightbulb moments.