education

IABC Employee Communication Conference

Creating and sustaining an engaged workforce

Program

FuLl program

Thursday, 15 September

Friday, 16 September

Please contact Charles Herrick at cherrick@iabc.com or 415-544-4745 for any dietary or special requirements needed at the event.

IABC Employee Communication Conference: Creating and sustaining an engaged workforce

Thursday, 15 September

8:15 – 9:30 a.m.
Innovation@Nielsen: A Case Study in Engagement
Four years ago, Nielsen’s leaders launched a cultural transformation that took our Media Research business to the next level, transformed our culture for quality and revitalized client relationships to epitomize trust and collaboration—all in less than 12 months. What was the key to success? Engagement. Prior to the transformation, many employees were focused only on their individual parts of the process, with no line of sight to the bigger picture and client needs. Although the Media Research business was meeting its strategic targets, clients were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the quality and timeliness of Nielsen’s deliverables. Senior leadership initiated a cultural transformation at a scale never before seen at Nielsen by engaging employees to help improve the client experience. Segment leaders were identified and empowered to take accountability for putting clients at the center. They then set out to understand client needs and ensure that we delivered on our commitments (Say: Do ratio = 100%). These leaders created a culture of engagement by listening to employees and clients; setting a clear line of sight for employee goals and successes; celebrating wins both small and large; and utilizing a structured approach to drive measurable process improvements.

Presenter / Mitchell Habib / USA, is the Chief Operating Officer for Nielsen, where he heads a global organization of 40,000 people in more than 100 countries. Mitchell is responsible for wide-ranging services that provide consumer insights, including statistical methodologies, product engineering, technology, business process reengineering, product leadership, operations and several corporate functions. He works with industry-leading advertising, media and consumer packaged goods companies to deliver innovative technology solutions that provide unparalleled consumer insights. Prior to joining Nielsen, Mitchell held leadership positions at several prominent global firms, including Ernst & Young, General Electric and Citigroup

9:45 – 10:45 a.m.
Ideas Jam: Top 7 critical and new skills for communication leaders
Mobile devices. Texting. Video games. Social media. Communication is changing so rapidly that it’s a challenge just to keep up with the trends, much less build the skills you need for conquering our brave new world. So how do you enhance current skills and develop new ones to succeed in employee communication in the future? Alison Davis will facilitate a highly interactive and energizing “jam” in which participants will collaborate to explore:

• 7 critical trends that are rocking the way we communicate
• How to make the connection between external communication trends and employees’ expectations
• Which existing skills you need to enhance—and which new skills you’ll need going forward
• How to develop skills, especially when time, budget and current responsibilities present obstacles to learning
• How to make the case for approaching your work differently—even if your bosses or internal clients are stuck in the past

Presenters / Alison Davis / New Jersey, USA, is founder and CEO of Davis & Company, the award-winning employee communication firm that helps leading companies—such as BNY Mellon, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, PepsiCo and Rogers Communications—reach, engage and motivate their employees. She is co-author of The Definitive Guide to HR Communication, and Your Attention, Please. She frequently writes for leading business and communication publications, and is a former columnist for The New York Times.

Cheryl Ross / New Jersey, USA, project manager, Ross develops clear, concise employee messaging for clients such as International Fragrances and Flavors and Nextel International. Prior to joining Davis & Company, she spent four years as a communication specialist for a N.J.-based insurance claims adjusting firm.

11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Breakout session 1: The Approachable Leader: Communication Techniques that Bring Out the Best
Are senior leaders at your company strangers to your workforce? Are they spectators at employee recognition events or informal department gatherings? Many leaders distance themselves from associates, particularly during tough times, creating a credibility and communication chasm. President Linda Dulye can introduce you to a winning plan for helping leaders to effectively communicate for relationships and results. This session will give you best practices to adopt and adapt, without a big staff or budget.
Takeaways include:

• A model for coaching leaders’ verbal, visual and vocal dynamics for meaningful 2-way communications
• Guides handling difficult messages and direct feedback
• Practices to sharpen listening and minimize distractions
• Measurement tools, like real-time dashboards and adaptive feedback forms, that generate hard data about personal effectiveness and improvement needs
• Approaches for building leader engagement and ownership of day-to-day communications with his or her workforce

Presenter / Linda Dulye / New York, USA, has helped some of the world's most admired organizations connect, engage and deliver results. A former communication leader for GE and Allied Signal, she founded Dulye & Co. in 1998 with a practical model for improving business performance through a Spectator-Free Workplace™. Her firm has won multiple IABC Gold Quill Awards.

Breakout Session #2:  The People Puzzle: Piecing Together a Communication Strategy in a Merger & Acquisition
As many organizations position themselves for rapid growth, they are paying particularly close attention to the strategic people issues inherent to a deal. Experienced dealmakers know that when the people-side of M&A is overlooked, communications in particular, performance sags, retention suffers, and cultural conflict can undermine deal success before the transaction has concluded.  In this session, we will explore the importance of communications in capturing deal value and achieving future success.

Presenters /  Charles Boesel / Illinois, USA, director, advisory, people and change, PwC, with more than 20 years of experience in corporate, government, and philanthropic sectors. He has expertise in creating and implementing strategic communications and operations plans; advising and coaching CEOs and senior level executives; and building effective change management teams and programs.

Shiloh Roan / Virginia, USA, a manager at PwC from the People and Change practice in McLean, VA. She has skillfully led change management, communications, and learning initiatives for more than 20 Fortune 500 companies and government clients. She has a proven record of successfully coaching senior-level management through significant change helping leaders focus on communication and transparency. She has led stakeholder support activities for worldwide organizational change initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions, and has managed both communications campaigns and teams globally.

1 – 2 p.m.
General Session: Velvet revolution at work; the rise of employee engagement, the fall of command and control
There is much noise around the topic of employee engagement and judging from recent conferences I have spoken at (or been a delegate) there is also much confusion between ‘engaging’ communication and real employee engagement.

• What engages you at work
• What is the relationship between employee engagement and employee communication?
• Bringing it to life via two cases
• What are successful leaders doing to engage their people?

Presenter / John Smythe / UK, is a partner of Engage for Change, a consultancy dedicated to advising on engaging leaders and everyone at work to drive change, transform organizations and raise day to day business performance.

2:15 – 3:30 p.m.
Breakout session 4:  Changing Culture Starting at the Top: Building Internal Communications Strategy from the Ground Up (case–study)
Scores from employee commitment surveys showed a significant need for the leaders at Accor North America, the parent company of the iconic Motel 6/Studio 6 brand, to improve its two-way communication. At the same time, leadership was re-working its company strategy in a big way and needed commitment from its leaders and employees like never before. Learn how one company overhauled its approach to connecting and communicating with employees and the results it gained in just a matter of months. Gain insights into the thoughtful process that won the commitment of Accor’s CEO and executive leadership team to improve how it communicates with each other, its leaders and employees, and to improve the company’s culture. Learn how:

• A tiny team put internal communications on the company map and gained the CEO’s support to make it a top priority (and build a function)
• The CEO and his Top 200 leaders turned around their communications and the proven techniques, training and tools that made it happen
• Employees – even the last hired housekeepers – are having a hand in rolling out the business strategy

Presenters / David Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA / Illinois, USA, is both a student and teacher of effective communication. He is one of America’s foremost authorities on communication inside organizations and is the author of You Can’t Not Communicate and the follow-up, You Can’t Not Communicate 2. He is Founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, an award-winning Chicago-based communications consultancy. His clients include Geisinger, Johnson Controls, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Rockwell Automation, among others.

Sherry Vidal-Brown / is executive vice president human resources (Chief People Officer) of Accor Hospitality, a French based hotel business with over 100,000 employees world-wide supporting over 6 hotel brands from luxury to economy segments. She has developed strategic objectives to support 4 brands and leads internal communications for 20,000 employees.

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.
Breakout session 5: Communicating strategies across global workforce: A case study of Hewlett-Packard
Creating a connection between an employee’s job and an organization’s business strategy is critical to driving employee engagement. Drawing on the experiences of Hewlett-Packard’s Technology Services organization, in this session you will learn how to create a global communication strategy that makes strategy meaningful to employees, and how you can empower your managers to make connections that drive employee engagement.

Presenter / Amanda Arellano / Colorado, USA, has 15 years' experience in employee communications, employee engagement, change management, and learning and development. She is currently the head of employee engagement for HP’s Technology Services organization, a $10 billion annual business with employees in more than 170 countries. Arellano is the recipient of multiple IABC Quill awards; most recently she received an IABC 2011 Gold Quill Award for her work in communicating business strategy.

Presenter / Karen Gaydon / California, USA, is the vice president of human resources for HP’s Technology Services. In this role, she oversees all aspects of strategic human resources, including organizational design and effectiveness, employee engagement, workforce planning, learning and development, talent acquisition, total rewards and strategic business transformation.

Breakout session 6: On the line: How AT&T reaches and engages frontline employees
With a large, difficult-to-reach workforce, what is the best way to effectively communicate corporate priorities and create open dialogue? Find out how AT&T is working to educate, engage and motivate frontline employees by using new tactics and transformational platforms. The ultimate goal: to enhance the company’s performance, reputation and brand.

Presenter / Joanne Stockwell / California, USA, is a director of employee communication at AT&T. She has more than 10 years of corporate experience as an innovative communication counselor and program manager.

Friday, 16 September

8 – 9:30 a.m.
Unpanel forum: How do leaders establish a culture of trust and belief?

Communication leaders from news/media, US Government Printing Office, and financial

Moderator / John Clemons, ABC, APR/ Virginia, USA, is corporate director of community relations at Raytheon Company in Dulles, VA. He is responsible for the development and execution of a Raytheon community involvement strategy for the greater Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia region, as well corporate outreach initiatives. John’s career has also included leading all areas of professional communications for several FORTUNE 500 companies, as well as newspaper journalism and magazine writing and editing. Additionally, John is a former chairman of IABC, 2001-2002.

Panelist / Jeffrey Brooke, ABC / Washington D.C., USA, since 2004 he has been director of employee communications for the US Government Printing Office and has managed internal communication and change-related programs for 20 years. He has led centralized and decentralized communications programs that align employee behaviors with organizational transformations.

Jack Goodmann / New York, USA, as global head, human resources communications, Goodman is responsible for internal communications to support Thompson Reuters “people agenda” and its key initiatives around talent, rewards, organizational development, employee engagement and supporting technology.  From 2008-2010, as VP, Employee Communication, he led internal communications for two groups within the Markets division.

Karen Horn / New York, USA, is a global organizational communication professional with 25+ years experience in several Fortune 100 companies in multiple industries. She joined MetLife in January 2010 where she is responsible for leading the transformation of internal communication into a global system. In 2009, she founded Horn Communication LLC, a management and communication consulting firm that works with several global clients in a variety of industries.

9:45 – 10:45 a.m.
Breakout session 7: Create inclusion and diversity through your communication
During this session, you’ll learn and discuss techniques about how to integrate Diversity & Inclusion as part of your organization’s overall brand and everyday business rhythm including:  

• Developing integrated messaging
• Empowering leaders to champion Diversity & Inclusion
• Leveraging employees to help tell your Diversity & Inclusion story

Presenter / Kelly Buckingham / Maryland, USA, is senior manager, new media, for Lockheed Martin Corporation, a global security company. In her current role, she is responsible for developing and executing strategy to position Lockheed Martin at the forefront of new media, assuring ongoing, positive online communications with key audiences and stakeholders. In addition, she also was selected to lead a cross-Corporate team in developing an integrated communications plan for Diversity & Inclusion.

Breakout session 8: Internal Branding: Making the vision a reality
Clients, media, shareholders and other key stakeholders in your business will never understand the brand of a company if employees themselves don’t believe and understand the brand first. Drawing on the experiences of the journey that Bank of America has gone through, especially during the events surrounding the financial crisis, you will learn in this session about creating a strategy to help your employees embrace your brand.

• Understanding the employee mindset first so you can meet them where they are.
• Defining your end goal.
• Bringing the vision to life.

Presenters / Colleen Arons / Massachusetts, USA, is a senior vice president for brand strategy and management in Bank of America’s Global Marketing & Corporate Affairs team. Colleen leads internal brand development, enterprise brand research, and strategic planning. Prior to joining Bank of America, Colleen held marketing roles at Target, 3M and L’Oreal USA.  She earned her MBA and BA at Georgetown University.

Jillian Sullivan / Massachusetts, USA, is an employee engagement executive in Bank of America’s Global Marketing & Corporate Affairs team. After several years on Bank of America’s trading floor, she left her client facing role to follow her passion for employee engagement, communications and events. Sullivan now leads the employee engagement programs and content team helping to create communication strategies for nearly 300,000 employees worldwide.

11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Closing keynote: Re–connecting with employees after the storm
General Motors celebrated its 100th anniversary in September 2008, but the coming months would bring unprecedented challenges. Soaring gas prices, the collapse of Wall Street credit markets and a growing recession threatened the viability of the world’s largest automaker. This session will provide an insider’s view of the communication strategies that kept employees informed during this period. The session will also explore the company’s return to profitability; its successful launch of the world’s largest IPO; and efforts like the Vehicle Advocate Program and Project Outreach, which have re-engaged employees in the new General Motors.

Presenters / Katie Maple McBride / Michigan, USA, is executive director, GM Communications, responsible for global internal, retiree, labor and manufacturing, grassroots and regional communications.