October highlights

Big Yak unconference

The Big Yak unconference returned on Saturday 9 October bringing communicators across the UK together to discuss hot topics in the internal comms space. From employee experience, diversity and hybrid working to leadership comms, channel strategy and measurement, in-house practitioners were able to learn, network and share their thoughts on the best practice in IC.

IC Crowd announces closure

The IC Crowd announced its plans to close on 17 December after nearly a decade of connections, conversations and collaborations in the internal comms space. 

 

 

Internal podcomms

The Internal Comms Podcast with Katie Macaulay S6 E3

In this episode, Katie Macaulay invited Jane Mitchell to share insight from her career in communications and live TV broadcasting at the BBC. The discussion focused on why organisations often fail to live up to its values, and the role of organisational purpose in managing risk and reputation.  

“All organisations are different, but the reasons for failure are quite common."

"There is a misguided view that the short-term is what will drive sustained success. I fundamentally believe it will not. Unless we have a real sense of purpose as to why we’re here, doing what we’re doing, which is based on long-term success, then you will forever be on a hamster wheel where people are trying to catch up with themselves.”

 

 

Calm Edged Rebels - Build confidence, beat imposter syndrome S4 E7

In this episode of the weekly Calm Edged Rebels podcast, internal comms trio: Jenni Field, Trudy Lewis and Advita Patel, discuss how to build confidence and beat imposter syndrome.

Jenni says, “People always say I'm quite a confidence person and I am. But, there was a definite imposter moment. I don't feel in any of those situations it is the responsibility of the people in that space to make me feel comfortable. That is my own vulnerability and courage coming through, and that's down to me as a human being to lean into the uncomfortableness, and have the courage to step forwards into that space."

Trudy says, "If I'm among people that portray themselves to be highly educated or better than me in some way, that can make me suddenly start to feel like I'm a bit of a fraud. However, a lot of that is my own perception of myself, and it has very little to do with the people around me. It's really important to try and reframe things with imposter syndrome."

Advita says, "Comparison is a thief of joy. When we're so focused on other people's success and progression, it can really knock our self belief and self esteem." 

 

Redefining Defining Communications with Jenni Field - Chaos to Calm: Leadership Behaviours  S1 E1

In the first episode of her new podcast series, Jenni talks about the impact of hybrid working on organisations and how they can deal with the chaos that comes with it. Each episode is around 15 minutes long and tackles a different issue by applying the Field Model to 'understand, diagnose and fix,' providing listeners with concise actionable take aways each listen.

"We have to change our focus from locations, to a focus on culture. We have to stop asking people what they want without a hypothesis or an idea about what that might look like."

"Think about freedom in a framework. We're talking about changing how we work to make things more flexible, so therefore we can't have strict rules around things because it goes against exactly what we're trying to do. If we're trying to create some kind of framework, that provides a guide for ways of working across the organisation. We all have individual needs so trying to create a solution that works for everyone is just impossible."

 

IC insight 

Read the full feature here.

 

Cierra Dobson, strategy director at design tech agency Rufus Leonard, explores how internal comms specialists should define and embed culture to attract and keep the best talent.

“The key to not sacrificing authenticity when defining a more aspirational culture is to ask a representative set of employees to be co-architects of the new definition. It’s a natural way to help employees feel ownership over the narrative and become engaged advocates for the long term."

“Employees themselves are the ones who ultimately control the culture in your organisation, effective leaders recognise and leverage that power.”

“It helps to get specific about the ways in which diverse individuals, perspectives and abilities connect to your organisation’s purpose. That means drawing on concrete examples from the day-to-day work and articulating their contribution to overall strategic objectives in a way your employees will recognise.”

 

Reading & resources

Better Internal Communication by Lesley Allman

This practical handbook has been designed by together to build the knowledge to deliver the most engaging and effective internal comms, with guidance on how to be more strategic and develop your career.

Influential Internal Communication by Jenni Field

In this book, comms expert Jenni Field, aims to prove just how influential internal communications is and the measurable impact it has on an organisation's growth. Using clear, adaptable methodology this book helps readers to understand and fix their own comms challenges.

 

Upcoming events

The Public Sector Internal Communications Conference – 03 November

This virtual conference is aimed at heads of communications teams across a range of specialisms. It will look at how businesses can establish an agile, authentic and inclusive approach to deliver efficient internal communications. The guest speakers will reflect on the past six months of internal comms in not-for-profits and public sector.  

All Things IC Effective Internal Communication Masterclass - 17 November

This Internal Communications Masterclass was designed by Rachel Miller to help boost the knowledge and understanding of IC for communicators that are new in a role or after a refresher course.

PR Week Strategic Internal Communications conference – 24-25 November

This conference will provide a space for internal or corporate communications professionals to discuss current challenges and long-term trends, with a specific focus on new ways of working post Covid-19.

Internal Communications and Engagement Awards