Better Connected: with the Employee Voice

2017

Better connected: With the employee voice.

The Studio, Leeds – Thursday 15 June 2017 2 Better Connected | 2017 Jennifer Sproul, ChiefExecutive, IoIC helping themto be thebestthey canbe–today and inthefuture. to develop ouractivitiesanddeliver toourmembers, more support Andy Holt, Regional Director, IoICNorth communication excellence here intheNorth! Leeds on15June andyou canplay inbuildingacentre your of part passion ofourpeople. communication driven by thetalent, knowledge, expertise, skilland what we allknow isanimpressive –thattheNorth powerhouse of 250 peopleattending, notonly was itonehellofaparty, ithighlighted York, was alandmarkevent thatreally putourregion onthemap. With Central andNorth Awards, hostedattheNationalRailway Museumin our region. network further. The future lookseven brighter for communicators across pleased tonow addHumberside andMerseyside tothelist –growing our and thesehave proved very popularinLeeds, and Manchester York. I’m original ambition. Following BetterConnected, we setupcityhubs communications work we produce intheNorth, hasdelivered onour a platform tohighlightthewealth oftalentandgreat internal Our aimtoconnectinternalcommunication professionals, provide Welcome HelloHere you tosupport I lookforward toseeingyou there. Let’s keep thatpassionalive –joiningusatBetterConnected in As mentioned, it’s alsoaboutcelebration andrecognition. This year’s grown significantly. sustainable network across ourregion has sharing knowledge andbuildinga City, Salford, theappetitefor celebrating, reignition atBetterConnected inMedia strength tostrength. Sincelastyear’s It’s great going toseeIoICNorth from to updateyou onourprogress aswe continue I amreally lookingforward tojoiningyou all event withgreat aline-up ofspeakers. And thisyear issettobeanotherfantastic a series ofevents across allofournew hubs. members who have worked sohard todeliver to thefantastic work ofallourcommittee region,ignition ofournorthern withthanks year, we have seengreat strides andareal ofBetterConnectedSince thelaunch last Last year, Ioutlinedourplansfor IoICand What’s happening Booking andcost Timetable 6 Speakers 4 & & 7 5

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keep colleagues and theemployeeWith voice. With the employee voice. people you know informed #ioicbetterconnected Better connected: Better connected:

Better Connected | 2017

8 3 Speakers

Sean Costello, Chartered Marketer. Army Media & Communications at Army HQ. Sean has developed award-winning employee engagement programmes, winning the CIPR President’s award for the best internal communication campaign in the UK in 2007. He has advised and coached business leaders to effectively reach their key audiences. Sean is now an adviser to the Executive Command Board of the British Army, as part of the Jennie Flower, Business Development Director, Minerva Engagement. army’s engagement group, conducting specialist and enhanced employee engagement. Jennie has a background as an Account Director/New Business Director in through-the-line He works with the Ministry of Defence’s occupational psychologists to ensure consistency advertising agencies, developing and implementing marketing strategies for global brands of feedback to the Army Board, and recently assisted Cranfield School of Management in a such as Unilever, Johnson & Johnson and Burger King. She ran her own business development research project on employee engagement. consultancy for over a decade, implementing growth strategies for SMEs, and has lectured in Advertising at Bucks Uni. Jennie now heads up Business Development for Minerva Engagement, specialists in culture change and engagement. Jennie recently co-presented a session on managing the impact of major change at the IoIC’s Insight Seminar based on research led by Minerva Engagement into the effects of the EU Susan Walker, leading expert in communication and engagement research. referendum within the workplace. Susan is author of the book ‘Employee Communication and Engagement Research’. Her career began in the internal communication industry, after which she joined the research firm MORI to head its communication and HR research practice. She now has her own business, working with blue-chip and not for profit organisations such as Aon, Aldermore Bank, Open University and EDF Energy. On June 22 she will be running an IoIC course entitled Introduction to Katherine Simpkins, Internal Communications Manager for Mercedes-Benz in the UK. Measurement and Evaluation for those wanting to carry out their own research or work more effectively with their external research suppliers. Katherine Simpkins is Internal Communications Manager for Mercedes-Benz in the UK. She has responsibility for the internal communication function across Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, which includes more than 1,800 colleagues. Her focus is on delivering a comprehensive internal communication service, partnering teams to translate the Mercedes-Benz business strategy into content that’s clear and engaging. Vanessa Unwin, Head of Internal Communication at Hitachi Rail. On top of operational updates, the new channels that Katherine has launched are helping to grow colleague culture, celebrate the brand and ignite conversation. It’s an approach Vanessa, who is based in London, is part of a communications team supporting a new that means internal communication plays a key role in enabling the business to focus on its ambitious sales and growth strategy to deliver a global change programme. With 12 years of priorities, while inspiring and empowering the people at the heart of the brand. internal communication experience, her specialisms include employee engagement, change management, leadership communications, video and events. Vanessa previously held internal communication roles in the UK transport sector with Virgin Trains, and in global finance with Aviva.

Roisin Currie, Group People Director, Greggs. After leaving university, Roisin joined Asda and embarked on their graduate training Roland Burton, Senior Employee Communications Manager, Marks and Spencer (M&S). programme, gaining a thorough grounding in operational retail roles. She then moved into various HR roles before taking on the role of Divisional People Manager, looking after 70 Roland is Senior Employee Communications Manager at retailer M&S. An experienced creative stores. and passionate communications professional, he’s developed and executed communication strategies for M&S, as well as some of the UK’s best-known companies such as BT Global In 2002, Roisin was appointed Head of Reward at Asda. After three years in this role, she Services and Sainsbury’s. moved on to become Retail People Director and two years later became Distribution People Director. With 14 years’ employee communication and engagement experience in high profile, blue-chip businesses, he has advised board-level directors on internal communication strategy to deliver Roisin joined Greggs as Group People Director in January 2010. She is responsible for all of business goals. He established and led an internal communication function from scratch, the traditional HR areas of expertise and is about to combine this with the role of Retail introducing new channels and technology including a business-wide mobile intranet, enterprise Operations Director. social media, and two-way leadership communication.

4 Better Connected | 2017 Better Connected | 2017 5 Timetable Time Speaker Theme Overview

13.25 - 13.45 Sean Costello Why engagement and Sean offers a unique perspective on communications. A window into data trends matter in the the world of the British Army and the significance placed on internal Chartered Marketer. British Army. communication by the Army’s Executive Board to engage with troops and, Army Media & most importantly, give them a voice to the top. Communications at Better Connected: With the employee voice. Army HQ. “It’s all in the data trends. The more we can gather and share with the Executive Board, the more we can understand what’s important to our Since the humble beginnings of the employee opinion survey, organisations have long recognised the merits troops. Our commitment to regular face-to-face conversations, through of giving employees a voice – but how has this evolved and what types of rewards are we reaping? Join our well-travelled Briefing Team, ensures we can make the right decisions quickly and provide support when it’s needed and where it matters.” us at Better Connected 2017 as we explore more about what we mean by ‘employee voice’, its impact on engagement and how, as organisations, we are delivering in reality. These subjects are presented through a series 13.45 - 14.00 Sarah Hakewill and Industry skill sets required The landscape of internal communication continues to change at pace. of compelling case studies and focused conversations designed to get under the skin of current principles and Andrew Harvey to deliver self-published As more organisations look to embrace social media and digital, and and employee-led audience preferences move away from top-down to self-published practice. And ultimately we ask: is there more we can do to give our employees a voice? VMA Group. communication. information and employee-led communication, what does this mean for the skill sets required in our industry? Time Based on their latest Inside Insight report on the internal communication industry, Sarah and Andrew share findings to help answer some of these challenging questions. 09.45 - 10.15 Arrive, registration, tea/coffee 14.00 - 14.20 Vanessa Unwin Balancing the voices of If, like us, you thought Hitachi just made TVs, think again! internal and external Head of Internal customers. According to their website, Hitachi Rail offers ‘a total railway system Welcome and introductions Communication at supplier offering rolling stock, traction equipment, signalling, traffic Hitachi Rail. management systems, and maintenance depots’. 10.15 - 10.30 • Andy Holt – introduction (10 mins) • Jennifer Sproul – welcome (5 mins) Vanessa tells the captivating story of how Hitachi Rail ventured for the first time outside Japan and came to prominence across Europe. She shares the challenges of building trust and strong relationships between internal and external customers and how the Global Communication 10.30 - 10.40 Ice breaker - Andy Holt team has structured around these challenges to ensure both groups have a voice.

14.20 - 14.40 Katherine Simpkins Our journey from top- Katherine shares a fascinating insight into how new ways of down to employee-led communicating through the voice of colleagues at Mercedes-Benz is Time Speaker Theme Overview Mercedes Benz communication. breathing new life into the organisation, shaping culture and enhancing Internal Communications 10.40 - 11.20 Roisin Currie Lessons learnt from When faced with communicating change-related news which has an the use of digital. Manager. communicating about impact on employees’ roles, the importance of giving a voice to those “We’re still in the early stages, and already our communications are Group People Director, reorganisation and affected is magnified. We know that if you are seen to do the right thing feeling more authentic. We are enjoying giving our colleagues an Greggs. change. through honesty, integrity and putting people first, despite challenging opportunity to share the stories that matter to them. Moving away from messages, trust can be established and the business has the best chance Jen Majeed a top-down approach, and towards colleague-led communications, is of coming out the other side stronger. Director of Client helping us to create stories that reflect our culture – because our stories Roland Burton Roisin and Roland offer two different insights into recent change activity Operations, are about our people, talking about what’s important to them.” Marks & Spencer in their respective businesses that impacted on structure and jobs Words&Pictures. Senior Employee (Greggs and Marks & Spencer). 14.40 – 15.25 Focused conversation An opportunity to do some blue-sky thinking on our tables and explore Communications Manager. more innovative and even unconventional ideas around how we can give employees a voice in our organisations.

11.20 – 12.05 Focused conversation An opportunity for a round-the-table discussion to explore lessons we 15.25 - 15.40 BREAK can learn from insights presented by Roisin and Roland and consider further ideas and best practice around giving employees a voice pre, 15.40 – 16.00 Susan Walker How the employee voice We hear much about the employee ‘voice’ so why does research reveal during and post change. can be heard through that many employees feel ignored? And who can bridge this gap to give Leading expert in research. them a real voice? communication and 12.05 – 12.25 Jennie Fowler I’m a genius, why won’t Have you ever felt frustrated by others’ inability to see the genius of your engagement research. Communicators have a unique role in their organisation to be that bridge anyone believe me? idea? Or baffled that having apparently presented a compelling case to and be a spokesperson for employees. Here, Susan shares some ways you Business Development all the right people and those people making all the right noises, your can listen to, interpret and pass on their views, ideas and suggestions to Director, Minerva idea still didn’t quite get off the ground? contribute to business success and tell the organisational story. Engagement. This session provides insights to enable the employee voice to be heard. How to communicate ideas effectively, to identify who is most likely to champion an idea and how to get them on board. Crucially, it also helps 16.00 – 16.40 Q&A with presenters to identify who and what is most likely to derail an initiative and tips to help manage that. 16.40 – 17.00 Wrap up

12.25 – 13.25 LUNCH 17.00 Close

6 Better Connected | 2017 Better Connected | 2017 7 Booking and fees Travel information The cost covers the whole day and includes refreshments and lunch. www.studiovenues.co.uk/ venues/leeds/directions/ £115 plus VAT for members of the IoIC and £125 plus VAT for non-members.

To book your place email [email protected]

Date:15 June 2017.

Venue: The Studio, Riverside West, Whitehall Road, Leeds, LS1 4AW.

About the IoIC The Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) supports internal communication practitioners in their careers, promotes high professional standards within the sector and raises awareness of the value of internal communication. It is the only professional – and independent – institute in the UK dedicated to furthering internal communication knowledge and practice. www.ioic.org.uk

Better connected: With the employee voice.

8 Better Connected | 2017