Internal Comms Talk: Recent Episodes
Johnna Lacey
It’s time to stop talking about the challenges of internal communication and instead, start focusing on achieving results! Through this podcast, we strive to improve the workplace environment so organizations recognize employee value, improve engagement, boost morale, and encourage innovation through enhanced dialogue and communications methods. More than ever, employees crave to find fulfillment in the workplace and to be treated as an integral part of the organization. Companies desire to build trust and loyalty with their employees by creating value in and enhancing their internal communication. More importantly, they invest in their people. Good leaders seek to be mentors. They are pillars in times of change and crises. They listen to their teams and inspire change. Leaders lead by example and model the values and culture of the business. Leaders and managers also need to balance empathy and compassion with focus to engage their people and grow the business and brand. All three elements – employees, leaders, and the organization – work together to bring the human element back into the workplace with an emphasis on relationships. For executives, leaders, human resources managers, and communications professionals. To find out more, visit jmlacey.com.
Jen Grogono, founder and CEO of uStudio, joins me for this episode of Internal Comms Talk. Jen leads company vision and strategy for a new generation of media technologies for the enterprise transforming employee communications and learning experiences with podcasts, on-demand video, and live streaming.
Organizations are creating mediums to add to their internal communication, including podcasting. Podcasting is one way to quickly reach their employee base who are working from home, on the road, or are global. Should you add podcasting to your communications efforts? What is involved to make it successful? If you have a podcast but it is not garnering much traction, what can you do to make it beneficial to employees?
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Dr.Alaina Szlachta, owner of By Design Development Solutions, joins me for this episode of Internal Comms Talk. A learning experience designer and mission-driven entrepreneur, she helps transform subject matter expertise into consumer learning products.
Organizations are reexamining their learning and development for their employees. Virtual onboarding has created new challenges for companies. Businesses desire to establish better employee experience to strengthen loyalty and employee value and keep retention high. What should organizations understand when it comes to developing effective learning programs? What challenges might they encounter? Why should they factor in the psychology of how people learn when creating learning programs?
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Video conferencing sends a message to our listeners that we can either be trusted and respected, or that we are not professional. Virtual meetings are an opportunity for us to shine as leaders or help us achieve our professional goals if leadership is in our view. What does our audience see when they see us? How do our behaviors affect trust? What messages are we sending people through video?
Stanford University report on Zoom fatigue
Stanford University article
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Many are using video to conduct meetings, make sales calls, and connect with others. With more businesses maintaining the work-from-home model and using video to their financial savings advantage, leaders and employees should fine-tune their professional presence. Video has become a way to connect with others emotionally, and to shine as a leader. Why is professionalism on camera important? And what are some ways to build trust through video?
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Rachel Miller of All Things IC joins me for this episode of Internal Comms Talk. An internationally recognized authority on internal communication, she advises professional communicators as a consultant, through training and mentoring. She is also the host of her podcast, Candid Comms.
As businesses move forward in their goals, communication can become misunderstood and cloudy. Having a communication strategy in place with goals, objectives, and responsibilities is an asset to clearly defining communication. A strategy decreases burnout, keeps the company vision evident, and helps everyone understand their roles. What are other reasons why a company should have a structured communication strategy? What happens to communications without a clear strategy in place? What are the roadblocks to overcome toward building a strategy?
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Elisabeth Wang, executive director of brand building and communications for Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta, Georgia, joins me for this episode of Internal Comms Talk. We talk about how communications have changed over the last year, especially in healthcare, one of the most challenged and tested industries.
Organizations have been thrust into a new way of delivering communications when information changes rapidly, especially when it comes to safety and response. Companies have begun to see the value in their communications teams and employees have learned to adapt and be resilient. How has resilience shaped and strengthened communications’ teams? Why is it important for companies to routinely review their crises communications plans? (Elisabeth's website, Lit and Leisure)
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Sophie Oberstein, author, coach, adjunct professor, and L&OD consultant, joins me for this episode of Internal Comms Talk. She is the author of “Troubleshooting for Trainers” and “10 Steps to Successful Coaching,” which we discuss in today’s episode. How do questions make leaders’ and managers’ roles easier? Leading and managing teams of various personalities presents many challenges. How do you know if your people are on the same page as you when it comes to goals and vision? Are your remote and virtual teams productive or are they showing signs of fatigue? What questions should you be asking to get the answers you need? And what questions should you avoid?
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Many people are trying to navigate a different work environment while making decisions that affect how they move forward. Caught in the middle, employees hold back asking for help. What are some ways employees can approach their manager for help? When asking for a raise or change, how can they ensure the meeting is effective? How can you have a successful conversation with your boss to help you move forward?
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Victoria Dew, founder and CEO of Dewpoint Communications, joins me for this episode of Internal Comms Talk. We delve into her “Insights Report: The New Rules of Employee Experience and Communications in Late 2020 and Beyond.”
Leaders need to shift their focus toward the human element to make better decisions. As the boundary between personal and professional worlds shifts, what do companies, leaders and managers have to consider to improve employee experience? What needs to be understood when it comes to the communications mediums? And what are the biggest challenges to these factors?
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Kara Goldin, founder and CEO of Hint Inc., joins me for this episode of Internal Comms Talk. Kara’s first book, “Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters,” was released this past October. She also hosts the podcast: The Kara Goldin Show. Leaders set the example in company culture, work atmosphere, trust and communication. Practicing emotional intelligence is a way to be effective communicators and build and strengthen loyalty within the organization. Company leaders who desire growth and impactful change need resilient, creative teams and organizations. How can leaders develop a trustful workplace environment? How does emotional intelligence help them through periods of disruption? And why is showing employees their value important to the organization?
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Today’s Internal Comms Talk episode is a conversation with Sally Helgesen, premier expert on women’s leadership; best-selling author; and international speaker, and author of, “How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion or Job." There exists a language barrier between men and women in communications which causes us to build a wall to block success. How do we break it down? How important is it to build relationships, especially in the virtual remote working office, to effectively lead teams? And why is balance in communications essential for a leader?
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Companies desire high-performing teams. Leaders and managers who communicate effectively have teams who outperform competitors and help organizations achieve their bottom line. The heart of effective communication is the ability to lead with emotional intelligence. What is emotional intelligence? How does it tie into communication? And why should company leaders desire better emotional intelligence?
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This year has impacted the level of trust within organizations and businesses, and among leaders, managers and teams to a great degree. Covid has brought a lot of issues to light that many businesses probably didn’t realize they had. Why is trust so important? How does trust impact the bottom line? How does listening and taking risks contribute to building trust? This episode is a conversation with Ron Harvey, vice president of operations and chief operating officer of Global Core Strategies and Consulting.
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Communications are important within organizations. During crises, it’s more important to communicate clearly and consistently with every person. How can internal communications be managed effectively? What can leaders and management do to strengthen communications? And what challenges to onboarding new employees need to be addressed in this remote working environment? Join me for my conversation with David Zalesne, president of Owen Steel Company. We also talked about safety and culture in manufacturing in our Covid era.
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Leaders have faced new challenges with coronavirus upsetting all operations of the business in 2020. Working from home is now part of work environments and leaders have to manage employees virtually. What challenges have they had to overcome with what results? And how are leaders managing their teams in a virtual world? This week’s podcast episode is with Ann Melinger, CEO of Brilliant Ink.
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Leaders are navigating rough waters and making tough decisions during this era of change. And when they lead a company that requires them to be engaging with people while social distancing is emphasized, their innovation and creativity are challenged. What are some tough decisions they have had to make? How has this affected their role as a leader? This week’s conversation is with Henry Rischitelli, president and CEO of Next Marketing, Inc, and co-founder of TourHealth.
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The manufacturing industry has met with challenges since not everyone can work remotely. How has this industry addressed safety, health and well-being? What changes have they made in communicating with their employees? And how have they been able to engage their employees to keep operations moving forward? I talked with John Kramer, CEO and owner of Cambridge Air Solutions, and Meg Brown, vice president of human resources, about what they've been doing to keep employees safe and communicate effectively with them. (Justin's chair video mentioned in podcast: https://youtu.be/MFLodFJukqA)
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Organizations want the best communications methods to engage and inform employees and leaders. Internal company newsletters are a powerful, effective communications tool to motivate and educate employees. Consider your goals and objectives to make this piece a valuable asset to your communications. (Report: A simple, cost-effective tool to boost employee morale - and the 9 steps you can do to make it work and Article: Why companies should have an internal newsletter staff)
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Communicating with employees during a crisis is imperative to earn their trust. Whether dealing with a global pandemic, economic downturns, or safety concerns, organizations should strive to unify their executives and leaders to communicate clearly with their employees. How can you produce a solid communication plan to allay employee fears? And why should you incorporate strategy days into the process? (Articles mentioned in episode: Negative communications: How they should be delivered and the effect on employees http://bit.ly/2kBYDMp and "Crisis and emergency risk communication, Psychology of a crisis" from the CDC https://bit.ly/3hhb8ou)
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Asking why is critical to motivating ourselves and others. We have to be convinced that what we communicate is important in order to move others to take action. Here are several “whys” to ask to boost productivity.
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Standardizing internal communication measurements has been a challenge. Internal communicators have to create their own standards and their approach to measure the effectiveness of communications. Our special guest, Sean Williams, Assistant Professor of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University (https://bit.ly/2DMPidV), shares with us the importance of measuring internal communication. Delphi Study mentioned in podcast (http://bit.ly/Icmeasures)
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As employees continue to learn how to manage their time and meet deadlines working from a remote office, executives and managers lead the way to keep employees engaged and help them avoid burnout. What are some best practices leaders are using to manage their team and keep up productivity? And what can employees do when working remotely? (See also: Five ways to maintain professional etiquette when video conferencing https://bit.ly/2CvkrSN)
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With a variety of people in the workplace, and the different roles they’re in, all of them are using distinct methods of communications. So how do you reach them all with crucial information? For one global company, getting back to the basics is what works for them. Our special guest, Sunny Yu, Senior Director of Global Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility for Alorica, Inc., joins us for this episode.
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Remote work is a new avenue for many businesses. And a lot of them found themselves in the situation overnight where essentially their employees had to set up home offices rather quickly. These changes have been a shock to employees, to the organizations they work for, and to their supervisors and leaders. Among the many challenges that has surfaced in this new way of working, is micromanaging. This greatly affects productivity, innovation, and morale. We’re going to look at the negative effects of micromanaging, including its damage to trust. We’re going to talk about why micromanaging is unnecessary. And we’re going to explore ways that leaders can be more engaging with their employees and their teams without micromanaging. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/internalcomms)
Managing remote workers and the work has become a new challenge for many organizations. With little time to prepare for the sudden change in the work environment, business, operations and employee processes altered. As we move forward and companies review how they will operate both externally and internally, remote work will remain the norm for many. In today's episode, we’re going to focus on managing the work with two types of employees: self-disciplined and disorganized. What can leaders and organizations do to manage the remote work with their remote workers? And why does micro-managing lead to burnout?
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To effectively lead teams, leaders need to display compassion and empathy. They also need to be forward thinkers. But none of this is possible without being a good listener. What does being a good listener entail? And why does listening contribute to good leadership?
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Leaders are the pillars of the organizations they represent. Employees look to them to lead them through challenging times as well as the quieter, creative times. If leaders are not present, employees become lost without direction. To lead a thriving business and teams, leaders need to have a consistent, visible, physical presence to encourage and inspire others.
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Internal Comms Talk, a new podcast with the purpose of improving relationships between leaders and employees by bringing the human element back into internal communication. It's time to stop talking about internal communications challenges and start focusing on achieving results! For executives, leaders, human resources managers, and communications professionals.
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