Conference programme

WEDNESDAY 24 JAN 2024 8:30 AM

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT LIVE 2024

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

Time

Description

Speakers

08:30

Registration and breakfast

08:55

Welcome and opening address

Andrew Thomas
Publisher
Communicate magazine

09:00

Transforming tradition: uniting and inspiring the internal audience through a time of brand evolution.

Bird & Bird is an international law firm, with a history that stretches back nearly 200 years. Following a review in 2021, the company needed to take its global workforce on the journey of transforming the brand from a "traditional law firm" into a vibrant, modern entity.

Their innovative hybrid treasure hunt, with clues hidden across 30 offices, utilised a web-based app to captivate and inspire employees about the new brand.

With over 9,500 screen views and 6,600 interactions from 2,000 devices, over two-thirds of employees enthusiastically embraced the campaign. This initiative reached 3,000 employees in 21 countries, earning praise for its impactful strategy and implementation.

This session focuses on uniting internal audience during a time of positive change

Sophie Bowkett
Chief marketing officer
Bird & Bird

Henry Davies
Founder
106 Communications

09:35

Elevating human rights awareness: JTI's gamified e-learning journey unveiled

JTI is one of the world's largest tobacco companies. Headquartered in Geneva it’s active in 70+ countries and has a workforce of 46,000.

In 2022, JTI partnered with Ignis to launch the JTI Human Rights e-Learning Portal. A mobile-first web-app featuring a gamified learning experience allowing employees to engage at their own pace.

From gender equality to modern slavery, this campaign shed light on crucial human rights issues fostering awareness among JTI's employees.

It was translated into 37 languages and accessed via QR codes on digital and print materials. The campaign produced remarkable engagement, boasting nearly 120,900 page views and 10,000 unique visitors during its two-month availability.

This session focuses on gamification, e-learning and digital engagement

Nick Peters
Executive creative director
Ignis

Stephanie Whitaker
Managing director
Ignis

10:10

Communicate roundtable discussions

A dynamic exchange of ideas and perspectives. Engage with industry leaders and fellow attendees in interactive sessions designed to foster deep insights and meaningful conversations on all areas of Internal Comms.

Choose from a range of topics including:

LGBTIQ – Supporting the journey of employee led change

What role can Line Manager’s play in bringing your employee experience to life?

Where can Internal Communicators support ED&I within organisations?

How to communicate and embed a mission, vision, purpose and values with professional authenticity and emotional resonance

10:40

Coffee and networking

11:00

Arriva's transformation – crafting a vision through emotive storytelling

After recent expansion into Europe, Arriva Group needed a more contemporary and relevant positioning. Through extensive employee surveys, they crafted a new and compelling vision: "To help shape a future where passenger transport is the best choice."

Through video, WPA Pinfold helped Arriva narrate Arriva's transformation story. Instead of a traditional top-down approach, their 'moving forward together' film was emotionally captivating, instilling pride and warmth. With a focus on creativity and the importance of setting clear objectives, this session brings to life Arriva's remarkable journey.

Lee Coleman
Head of communications and engagement
Arriva Group

Richard Hurst
Creative director
WPA Pinfold

11:35

Communicate roundtable discussions

A dynamic exchange of ideas and perspectives. Engage with industry leaders and fellow attendees in interactive sessions designed to foster deep insights and meaningful conversations on all areas of Internal Comms.

Choose from a range of topics including:

How is and will AI impact your workplace and communications

Using behavioural science to increase engagement

What does 'best practice' mean in the context of internal communications, and are there universal principles that apply to all organisations?

Why a one brand mentality is the only way to create authentic internal comms

12:05

Lunch and networking

12:50

The power of conversation: how a bold approach inspired behavioural shift at the British Transport Police

With over 5000 staff, the British Transport Police (BTP) is the 11th largest police force in the UK. When Lucy D’Orsi was appointed chief constable in 2021 she inherited an organisation with declining morale, scepticism, unreliable tech, geographic dispersion, information overload, and low leadership confidence.

The organisation looked to transform its strategy and purpose, creating a campaign with H&H to get employees onboard during this time of change that was creative enough to resonate, yet ambitious enough to engage and empower employees to embrace BTP's new direction and strategic pillars.

This session explores how 'A Force on the move' transformed the way strategy was communicated at BTP through dialogue and storytelling. All supported by a plethora of materials and assets – including the award-winning animation that would shift attitudes and galvanise support for the bold new direction. Proving that no matter the culture, people will always be willing to change if they feel they are genuinely involved, heard and valued.

May Holloway
Head of internal communications
British Transport Police

Kelly Blakey
Client director
H&H

13:25

How manager empowerment strategies helped Santander unlock customer-centric success

In response to Covid-19, Santander redefined its priorities, placing the customer at the forefront. They introduced the TEAMS framework, guided by United Culture and co-created with their own staff, emphasising 'Think customer,' 'Embrace change,' 'Act now,' 'Move together,' and 'Speak up.'

Santander's innovative campaign revolved around empowering managers. Utilising experiential learning events, everything was designed to enhance the customer experience.

Paul Diggins
Head of internal communications
Santander

Victoria Lewis-Stephens
Managing director
United Culture

14:00

Communicate roundtable discussions

A dynamic exchange of ideas and perspectives. Engage with industry leaders and fellow attendees in interactive sessions designed to foster deep insights and meaningful conversations on all areas of Internal Comms.

Choose from a range of topics including:

Leaders need to do more to communicate the vision for the organisation. Discuss

Embracing AI - The future of Corporate Communications using AI.

Navigating the increasing demands of the IC profession - where are the pinch points and what tricks have teams picked-up to help with the overwhelm?

14:30

Coffee and networking

14:50

Not change, but revolution: defining a radical structure for consistent inclusive language.

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 81,000 employees on five continents. With the help of Leap Create they undertook a transformative journey towards inclusive and accessible policy communication. Thales revolutionised its approach – from assessing existing documents, redefining the tone of voice and enhancing design and accessibility. Thales went beyond aesthetics, ensuring their communication was visually arresting yet accessible for all, with the innovative redesign of the HR portal and the development of a comms toolkit.

This session shines a spotlight on the continuous results of this ongoing policy revolution, touching on a wide range of vital topics, from gender identity to menopause. Thales improved employee engagement, empowering staff to make informed choices, through its empathy-driven policy transformation.

Chloe Milham
Employee experience partner
Thales UK

Roger Cayless
Group creative director and Partner
LEAP Create

15:25

Utilising behavioural science for transformational change.

Southern Water and Cowry delivered a highly successful behaviour change campaign which drove positive outcomes for both employees and customers.

The objective of this project was to develop an effective strategy to up-skill customer-facing employees in their job roles, using relevant behavioural science techniques. The goal was to drive better interactions and outcomes when dealing with customer complaints, both in written and verbal forms.

This session will talk through the project in more detail, demonstrating how Southern Water’s team were empowered and up-skilled using e-learning, webinars and Q&A sessions. It will show how new techniques were embedded through immersive, hands-on training sessions and how continuous feedback and peer-to-peer learning ensured long-term success.

Rich Milner
Lead behavioural designer
Cowry Consulting

Sarah Murray
Head of behavioural architecture
Cowry Consulting

16:00

Communicate roundtable discussions

A dynamic exchange of ideas and perspectives. Engage with industry leaders and fellow attendees in interactive sessions designed to foster deep insights and meaningful conversations on all areas of Internal Comms.

Choose from a range of topics including:

Communicating through a shared behavioural language

How do internal conversations in an organisation affect the employee experience and how can they be harnessed to create a more positive and productive workplace environment?

How do you drive culture change in your organisation?

16:30