“What was right yesterday is no longer the common thought today,” said Paul Osgood, global head of internal communications at Clifford Chance, at the start of the annual BOC internal comms conference in London. That theme pervaded across two day gathering and awards as internal communicators from Acton to Australia discussed the changing world of internal comms.

He continued by pointing out the value of measurement and understanding the effectiveness of communications as a means of achieving success in a difficult business climate. The best efforts in that respect, in addition to targeted, insight-driven strategies, he says, will lead to better engagement and retention of employees.

The conference also delved into some case studies in internal communications and employee engagement. The first of which was a discussion by Kim Atherton, chief people officer at Ovo Energy. A British supplier of green energy and one of the fastest growing energy suppliers in the country, Ovo had also experienced a massive employee increase in just a few short years. Ovo focused on employee culture. “Our office is a big comms tool to use with our employees,”Atherton says of the treehouse-filled Bristol headquarters. The team also introduced a new intranet system that was at once a recognition, reporting and workflow management tool, revolutionising the culture along the way.

Similarly for Schneider Electric, digital change helped build a stronger team – this time of 13,000 managers operating globally. There was a gap, Simona Radi, business partnership communications director said, between where managers thought they were in terms of communications efficacy and what employees perceived. Focusing on building management skills helped form a network of manager-communicators that has since helped the business be more collaborative and learning-oriented.

The conference continued with discussions from Odeon Cinemas, Essar Group, GSK and others discussing culture change, diversity and inclusion and the challenges facing internal communications today. Following the event, the IC Brilliance Awards were celebrated. The awards recognise those internal communications professionals and teams that have clear focus, creativity and resourcefulness and proven effectiveness.

The BOC team is back on 18 May for the Internal Communications Camp in Barcelona. More details can be found here.

The full list of winners is as follows

Innovative use of internal communication
Winner: Nationwide Building Society and Good Relations
Gold: Nissan Europe
Silver: Robert Bosch GmbH

Brilliance in employee engagement
Winner: Odeon Cinemas Group
Gold: PPG People
Silver: Nissan Europe

IC team of the year
Winner: Schneider Electric
Gold: Infineum
Silver: Socar Turkey

Internal communications campaign
Winner: CYBG plc
Gold: Nationwide Building Society and Good Relations
Silver: Inchcape

IC consultancy of the year
Winner: Sequel Group