In tough times, don’t forget your secret weapon

May,  18 – BY TAM SANDEMAN – I got a Facebook message last night from an old friend (actually my first London boss) who I was delighted to hear from. Firstly, for the obvious reason – it’s nice when people get in touch – but more so because she’d read my blog (someone other than my mother emailing me about my blog is a rarity).

She’d been living and working in Spain for years until recently. She said with the recession there, her observation was that some large companies have just stopped bothering with employee engagement. A side effect of filling the work force with short terms contractors (less overhead risk) meant management perceived their need for communication to be less and subsequently their desire to invest in engagement went down. They stopped engaging people in the bigger picture.

As someone who is about to return to the UK (impeccable timing) to continue working in this field, I have to say I was slightly disheartened. Mainly because I think it reveals the knowledge still lacking in many organisations – that continuing to engage employees through the tough times, as well as the good can actually drive greater shareholder return. This is not the fluffy stuff. Getting it right can mean the difference between an organisation emerging stronger from the recession or a casualty of tough economic times. Engagement drives productivity and discretionary effort. Fact. Surely this in itself is enough for leaders to consider the advantages of continuing to communicate effectively through a down turn.

My advice to the C suite (and I say this to those in Europe as well as Australia) is yes absolutely, look at spend and be prudent, however don’t ‘cut-back’ on internal communication. It should be front and centre of your organisation during tough times. Your most powerful communication tool lies within your business – your frontline managers. Galvanise this army; equip them with the right skills, accountability and a powerful story, and you’re half way there. Enable them to have powerful conversations. Remember this should not be one way, the best employee communication is top-down, bottom-up AND horizontal, with a focus on informal influencers. Know who those go-to people are and leverage them.

As for my friend… after many years working in large and small organisations, she’s now busy avoiding mountain goats on a pair of skis in the French Alps.

As for me? Watch out UK. I come armed with a big and persuasive mission to fly the employee communication flag wherever I land (sans skis)…

Aussies win award for pimping up IT change

On Friday 30 March, Ogilvy Impact Australia won Campaign Asia Pacific PR Awards’ Employee Communication Campaign of the Year for our All About Me McDonald’s Australia IT major change management program.

The Campaign Asia-Pacific PR Awards have become an unrivalled benchmark for the region’s external and internal communication industry and showcases the industry’s best and brightest strategies that have truly transformed businesses and brands.

Up against the likes of other major agency networks, we successfully beat the competition with a program that enabled McDonald’s Australia’s 600-strong corporate team to continue providing exceptional service and support to 85,000 employees across its restaurants following the introduction of a complex technical IT change.

Productivity levels were maintained throughout the introduction of new technology tools and survey measures identified 100% of employees supported the change and 88% believed IT was making it easier for them to do their jobs.

Using a robust, change management methodology ensured the strategy was tailored to the audience, change impacts and operational challenges. But what set this program apart was the creative genius applied to the messages, brand and execution, taking IT change to new heights.

Surprise, intrigue, experiential and interactive communication lay at the heart of the tactical plan and along with leadership endorsement and a change champion network in full swing, we ensured a highly complex IT change agenda was implemented successfully on time.

A big congratulations and a sesame seed bun to our employee engagement experts – Megan, Sabrina, Lori, Stef and Tam.  Please call us if you’d like to hear more about this program and our change management methodology.

Would you hire Goldman Sachs’ Greg Smith?

March, 16 – BY MEGAN CAULFIELD – Greg Smith’s ‘Why I’m leaving Goldman Sachs’ letter published in the New York Times has sparked debate about the company’s values and culture and thrown the organisation into serious damage control, not least around the way it will now deal with its internal communication.

Goldman has issued a memo to employees disputing the ex-executive’s claims of money taking precedence over clients, or “muppets” as Smith claims some MDs refer to them. They outline the workplace satisfaction levels with 89 per cent of employees believing the firm provides exceptional service to them. And Goldman recognises they face challenges but reinforce they have a culture which encourages openness and transparency.

It’s a well-crafted response as you’d expect. But in all of this hoo-ha, what struck me when reading Greg Smith’s words was his passion and conviction.

Smith’s version of events – his belief in a culture which had revolved previously around teamwork, integrity, a spirit of humility, or his sense of pride in the service he delivered to clients  – demonstrate the qualities which organisations strive to attain. Organisations want to drive employee engagement and desire employees who espouse company values, who care about the work they do and are willing to support and lead those around them.

Much of the commentary over the coming days will focus on a disgruntled Smith having an axe to grind. And for organisations, it will reinforce the importance of a good crisis management plan in an age where public and private boundaries have blurred.

But the question that I’m left with is who would employ Smith after this?

On the one hand he will be seen as someone who can’t be trusted. But he’s also demonstrated a vision for a different world where values and the clients sit at the heart of the organisation.

In the end, it all comes down to where your values lie.

Being on speed really can be the answer

March, 9 – BY TAM SANDEMAN – This week a trusty colleague and I, stopped building our ark to escape Sydney’s fine weather, in favour of attending the annual MNC HR Team Briefing – an annual gathering of HR professionals from multi-national organisations.  The session was great for a number of reasons, not least for two specific reasons for me.  Firstly, I heard some new thought-provoking stuff – always good on a rainy day, and secondly, I finally won one of those business card prize draws (which I’ve always thought were rigged – I take it all back). 

We heard speakers telling tales of the importance of culture when it comes to getting business results from the card people (Hallmark) and the biscuit and snacks people (Campbell Arnotts).  But it was the final speaker, Dr Adam Fraser, who ran a fantastic and insightful session about how high performing organisations can lift performance even higher by getting their people out of what he called ‘grind’ and into a state called ‘flow’ where we perform our best, similar to ‘being in the zone’ for an elite athlete (not unlike myself – ahem).  Clearly an important topic for anyone who works in employee engagement, internal communication or HR. 

Now, logic tells those of us of sound mind that ‘being in the zone’ obviously sounds like the right place to be to perform at work. But, the most interesting insight for me was around the pace we work at.  I know I’m not the only one who has said my biggest challenge is time, and the speed at which I’m expected to deliver, which seems to get faster and faster.  My instinct here is to try to reduce my workload.  Dr Adam’s comments reinforced my thinking, stating that specialists say the solution is to ‘do less’. 

However, his research has proven some of the best, happiest people are those who are living at pace.  People who are working at speed.  That speed is OK.  It’s just about being in the right frame of mind while you’re going at that pace.  It struck me that those of us looking at internal engagement initiatives in organisations must work to help people get into the state of ‘flow’, which, as he put, is where we are truly and authentically happy.  I loved his idea of looking deeper than the sheer volume of tasks we have on our agenda, and then started to draw parallels from our good internal communication practice.

Some of his points when questioning ourselves were:

1. Do we have clarity of purpose? – this is akin to having a vision – a common goal – something everyone can pull behind. 
2. How about our environment?  Can we control this to minimise distractions?  similar to decluttering communication in an organisation. 
3. Are we present? – This is about active listening – really focusing on what’s in hand.  In the internal comms world, this is about two way communication – it’s got to be a conversation, not just one way
4. Are you positive when you ‘show up’? – being positive has such a good ripple effect on everyone.  Dr Adam said, positive emotion encourages different parts of the brain to wake up and so leads to more positivity, more creativity and a culture of innovation – all these can only be good for business

His final point was again something we all know – just how important this behaviour is for leaders.  For people to perform at their best, it’s leaders who can make this happen.  Our suggestion is that internal communicators / anyone working in employee engagement start looking at these areas as if we get people in this state – this will make the true difference between being good, being great or being a company who is talked about.

How many leaders does it take to change a light bulb?

Jan, 11 – BY SHALINI GONSALVES – How many leaders does it take to change a light bulb in your workplace? Chances are, they’ll delegate it.

But you can’t delegate leadership. In fact, especially in 2012, you shouldn’t be running a business where leaders deflect responsibility.

It’s impossible to plan for 2012 – there’s game changing carbon legislation in July, dangerous surf conditions for our manufacturing and retail sectors and the wild rodeo ride of mining. And yet, everything hinges of China and Europe behaving well.

Wherever you are in Australia’s two-speed economy, your leaders need to be ready to engage employees to improve productivity and deliver exceptional customer service in the face of disappointing business results, or ready to reward and retain employees in strong performing industries. The Australian Financial Review (6 January 2012) reported recently that leadership is moving from the old concept of command and control to more intelligent leadership. Leaders need to learn and exhibit skills that include:

• Conflict in the workplace
• Cross-cultural communication
• Presentation and plain language communication
• Managing through change and uncertainty
• Working with a global, dispersed workforce
• Communicating with employees in a digital world

From our experience in employee engagement consulting and advice over the years, we sense that more than half of those in middle management and senior leadership positions are exceptional business managers, and have been promoted for those skills – rather than the inspirational and important employee engagement and internal communication skills required at that level to engage employees to be advocates, strive for performance and retain the best performers. So more than half your leaders are not fulfilling the basic requirements of their role – and you, and they, may not even know it.

All it takes is three steps to turn this around:

1. Benchmark what your people think about their leaders’ communication competency; how well they articulate and contextualise company goals and strategy; how they give and receive feedback that changes business outcomes
2. Determine the gaps between your leaders’ competency and ideal leadership skills
3. Invest in leadership communication skills training

Ogilvy Impact is McCelebrating

Nov, 4 – We are very excited to announce that Ogilvy Impact Australia won two awards at Ogilvy PR’s own internal Professional Achievement Awards (PAA) this week.

The PAA’s are Ogilvy PR’s worldwide awards which give teams the opportunity to share accomplishments and recognise great work across the globe. The awards were hosted in New York, which meant a small team stayed back to represent Australia in the early hours of the morning (getting into the spirit fully and embracing the time difference by donning the latest in midnight fashion – dressing gowns and cuddly toys).

This year, it was our work for McDonald’s Australia which caught the judges attention. And even better, not only did we scoop the internal communication category, but we were also named number 1 in the Corporate category, beating off competition from our Ogilvy PR Beijing, Moscow, Taipei and San Francisco offices. The ‘All About ME: Super-Sizing IT change’ change management program turned complex technical IT change into a creative engagement piece, driving early adoption of new technology tools from all employees and lifting the culture of the organisation at the same time.

The Impact team is McCelebrating!

Ogilvy PR Australia was in total shortlisted for eight awards, and Impact was not the only one with a win. Our wonderful friends in the Ogilvy PR Melbourne team won the Social Marketing category with their ‘Organ and Tissue Authority: DonateLife Week’ campaign. Big well dones to them too.

The art of creating conversation

Oct, 24 – BY TAM SANDEMAN – Not long ago I blogged about Australia’s PR industry dialing up its interest in the power of employees as brand ambassadors. So it was with great delight that I accepted the invitation from the PRIA (Public Relations Institute of Australia) to speak on employee communication at its annual conference yesterday – PR Directions 2011.

While it was clearly a positive move to see internal communication on the agenda – for me what was even more exciting was the title of the session – Cool watercooler conversations in your organisation: Effective internal communication – highlighting the industry’s understanding that we deliver so much more than newsletters, CEO blogs and mousemats with the company strategy on it.

Driving conversation and dialogue is absolutely what it’s all about – and to be fair, in our view, always should have been. Long gone are the days when a charismatic (and unfortunately sometimes the opposite) CEO’s town hall speech at the start of the year was enough to rally the troops. Today, more than ever it’s simply not enough. Employees are more comfortable to ask questions after hearing from the CEO and actively demand more transparency around company decisions. We say leaders are at their most powerful when they don’t really think they’re communicating – in the corridor after the big meeting, on the way to the car park, in the bathroom (not ideal) – but it is these informal interactions during which more authentic, genuine communication takes place that really counts – because they’re believable and tailored to the individual.

I was asked to give 10 minutes of insight from our rather enviable position of having a bird’s eye view into the employee engagement and internal communication of many of Australia’s top organisations. Here were the four points (there would have been more, but 10 minutes goes fast) I believe all organisations need to consider when it comes to driving conversation:

1. The introduction of social media has meant ‘water cooler’ conversation now has a new channel – with informal conversations enabled online as well as face to face.  Companies taking social media seriously as an external channel but not for their own people do so at their own peril.
2. Avoid MMM (Middle Manager Madness) – Time poor leaders and diverse workforces mean that many organisations are simply not giving communication the time it deserves. But who is it that needs to be skilled up on the art of conversation with the right content? Not just the senior leaders. It’s the middle or frontline managers who are key to succcess – they have the opportunity to converse with the frontline every day – so it’s clear – THEY are the ones who need to be invested in and at the moment they are clearly forgotten.
3. Great conversations don’t just happen. Well, they do sometimes – but they need help. Providing managers with the right tools to stimulate conversation is key. Be creative. Provide them with stuff they actually want to talk about – something they see the point in. Journey maps and conversation guides are just two of the tools flying off our shelves at the moment. What’s better is… when measured – they really do work.
4. And finally…  be culture and demographically appropriate with your tactics. If you want to drive a culture of conversationists – it’s got to come from the top. Don’t choose something crazy and out there if you have a cynical workforce. This may come in time – road test anything you’re not sure about. Nothing worse than getting it wrong – this could do more harm than doing nothing.

As we say – it’s not rocket science, but we are all different creatures and there’s an absolute art to getting it right. Thank you to the filled room at the Hilton today – it’s great to know so many PR professionals are interested in this side of communication. I hope to meet you all at a water cooler some day…

Don’t reach for the stars

Sep, 9 – BY MEGAN CAULFIELD – The goal was simple. Spell the words correctly and the gold star was mine. Get it right the next week and I’d be looking at two stars.

Being slightly competitive I underwent a strict training regime. Work was taken home for evening review. Flash cards were created and poured over in alphabetical order. Invitations were repeatedly offered to test my spelling prowess.

You may think this rather excessive behaviour all for a simple sticker. But a recent HBR study reported in this week’s New York Times made me reflect on whether the goal of my primary school spelling bees was really a star or something more.

Research conducted by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, authors of “The Progress Principle”, asked 669 managers from companies around the world to rank five employee motivators in terms of importance. They ranked “supporting progress” last. But recognising progress in meaningful work was identified in the study as the primary motivator amongst employees. Even more than incentives like raises and bonuses.

In working with organisations on their Employee Value Propositions (EVPs), we often hear of new and improved formal recognition programs. Of course it’s critical to have the right processes in place to recognise employees going above and beyond. But it’s not awards or incentives that will mobilise the efforts of all employees in a sustainable way.

In the end it comes down to employee engagement and how good managers are at having the day-to-day conversations with their people. It’s about knowing the right questions to ask. It’s about listening, finding out what a person is working on and talking through any challenges. It’s sometimes as simple as saying hello and asking the person how they’re feeling.

Pretty simple stuff. But for many managers such behaviour may not come naturally. Or other things take priority and time becomes the excuse.

In my experience, there’s an opportunity for organisations to do more. It doesn’t have to be formal manager training as such. Highlight through your internal communication channels the business benefit of happy, motivated employees; reinforce their responsibilities in supporting their team and outline different things they can do to show their people they care.

In the end, no matter how old we are, we all want to be noticed for doing a good job. For me, as a ten year old there was nothing better than seeing my parents’ faces when I showed off my stars. That’s the driver. Not the stars.

Apple: simplicity at the core

Sept, 2 – BY TAM SANDEMAN – Last weekend I’m sure I was not the only one shocked to see the pictures of a frail Steve Jobs after what will no doubt become a historic shift in leadership for one of the world’s most impressive and much envied organisations. Handing the reins to Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook can have been no easy task for the man who has defined so much of the technology lifestyle innovation so many of us take for granted.

This change however does present an interesting challenge from an employee engagement and a leadership perspective. How does a successor to someone who ‘is’ the brand, someone who is known the world over, someone who is admired by employees and consumers alike, ensure that they come out of the starting blocks the right way. How do they build on the legacy as the same time as carve the right leadership niche for themselves and the company.

Admittedly in this instance, Tim Cook is an insider – he’s been with the business for 13 years, but despite the familiarity, it’s still a challenge.

My observation comes from the email sent to Apple employees (see below) immediately after this announcement from Tim Cook. The message is strong and clear and therefore very powerful. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure being Apple, this note will have had rigour behind it in its crafting – really making sure the tone hit the spot would have been critical. But it’s simple.

Simple. Passionate. Authentic. Focused on recognising the past, but also recognising what could be. With a strong call to action.

Clearly this can not exist in isolation. The incoming CEO needs to maintain momentum, demonstrate he’s listening, keep up the visibility and continue to inspire people in Apple’s vision and drive a clear strategy in which everyone can see how they play their part. However, if all new leaders take a few lessons from this simple email and ensure their communication ticks these boxes when they take over big roles – no matter how big – they too could capture some of that Apple factor that has clearly contributed to making them what they are today.

Something to think about.

Team:

I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. Joining Apple was the best decision I’ve ever made and it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years. I share Steve’s optimism for Apple’s bright future.

Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees. We are really looking forward to Steve’s ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman.

I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple’s unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that—it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.

I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the Board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.

Tim

(Source: mashable.com)

Aligned Incentives and Engaged Employees Improve Triple Bottom Line Performance

August, 16 – BY TAM SANDEMAN – We thought people might be interested in this recent article (August 2011) on CSR Wire which clearly outlines why organisations need to look at engaging their employees around their sustainability efforts.  Something our OgilvyEarth team has known since our first environmental behaviour change program back in 2004.

It shows that having an engaged workforce can positive influence the key components of ‘Triple Bottom Line’ performance: people, planet and profit.   An engaged workforce not only contributes to a company’s bottom line, but also improves the organisation’s social and environmental sustainability impacts too.

http://csrwire.visibli.com/share/bXnYAY

Over the years our OgilvyEarth team has combined its sustainability expertise with Ogilvy Impact’s rich understanding of employee behaviour change to run internal sustainability programs for some of the largest companies in Australia.

Our message is simple. It’s one thing to enhance corporate reputation and attract talent with great sustainability commitments. It’s quite another to ensure you’ve galvanised all your internal troops behind these goals. Achieving engagement around your sustainability initiatives does not happen through osmosis. Like all good internal communication, you’ve got to work at it. Invest the time to make it happen. Make it engaging and really drive true ownership and behaviour change at all levels of the business.

The author cites many of the key components of great internal communication, but most importantly, companies should take heed.  Business communication does not need to be bland. Making it creative and engaging will give you a better chance of making it work and getting the sustainability results you’re looking for.

Employees recognised as critical channel in new Australian research

August, 5 – BY TAM SANDEMAN – Last week I was fortunate enough to be on a panel discussing and debating the findings of some fantastic new research, out this week from Ogilvy PR Australia and the IABC, looking at the future of the communication/PR industry in 2021. The good news for us who work in the internal communication fraternity – and for business in general – is that 79 per cent of respondents agreed that employees would emerge as the most critical channel for an organization in the next decade. At last I say. But I also say – given the respondents were communication professionals, I can’t help but be disappointed this was not closer to 100 per cent. This is by 2021 we’re talking.

Organisations should have realised this already. In fact, those we are working with who put their employees first are creating powerful armies of brand ambassadors who now, thanks to the internet and prolific use of social media, are delivering an extremely authentic and believable voice. They are able to exert influence about a brand in a far greater way than advertising, and perhaps more than PR. But can they? That is the question?

When will organisations learn to loosen the hold they have on what employees can and can’t say online? When it boils down to it, it’s a trust issue.

Many organisations simply don’t trust their people to do the right thing. And this therefore becomes a culture issue. If organisations want to make this work they have to let go, empower their people to say the right stuff online, not stop them from saying anything. Most companies spend more time telling their people what they can’t say rather than helping them with what they can.

We’ve been saying for years that until people see internal – i.e. their people – as part of the external solution, we will stay still. As all employee communication professionals know – a mighty untapped resource lays dormant in many organisations and we’re still trying to wake the giant. But we can’t do it alone.

For employees to be great brand ambassadors – and I mean really great brand ambassadors – we must equip them in being able to tell a good story.  As we know, people remember stories not facts.  There’s nothing more powerful. However, if genuine and compelling storytelling is at the heart of what we do, then why did only 56% of respondents in the survey say that by 2021 equipping employees on message delivery would be a core discipline? That’s nearly half of respondents who said it wouldn’t be. And this is from communication professionals.

So, to our crystal balls – what will the future hold for our industry? Looking forward, we will see internal communication as a core competency of all leaders and middle managers and a significant rise in training in this regard; storytelling for all employees; KPIs around communication.

Finally, marketing teams who are starting to look at their internal audience strategically, a word of warning: mugs, mousemats and posters will not achieve behaviour change. Only authentic engagement and empowerment with trust at the centre will suffice…

In times of crisis, don’t leave your people hacked off

July, 28 – BY TAM SANDEMAN – I, like everyone, have been continuing to watch drama unfold in Blighty around the News of the World hacking scandal. Fascinating for many reasons.

But I can’t help to wonder how those employees not allegedly involved in these terrible practices are feeling.  How they were communicated to?  How the leaders of News International will now look to rebuild the trust within their organisation globally. What would also be interesting to know, particularly given the fact that this story was going to blow will have been known for some time, what role internal communication has played in their crisis plan.

Many organisations face this internal challenge when they are dealing with a crisis – ‘what and when do we tell our people’. But it really shouldn’t even be a question. You should tell them first, or at the least simultaneously. An organisation’s people can be one of the most powerful assets a company has when it comes to delivering an authentic voice to the outside world, and are often overlooked with many companies choosing (wrongly) to worry about the outside first. We tend to find ourselves focusing on ’statements to the media’, but the same focus should be given to employees too.

My advice for businesses to be one step ahead in this regard is to:

R - emember your cascade plan – make sure you’re engaging your middle managers in the process

U – pdate your crisis plan – have a look and check that talking to your people is a key part of the process

P – eople -  remember they are a powerful communication channel – use them

E – mail – BANISH this in times of crisis – face to face communication is critical

R – educe – restrictions on social media – your people can be a powerful force online for you – trust them

T – imeliness – communicate in a timely manner – take the inside out approach – not the other way round

In most cases, your people want to help – so manage it and let them.

Think inside the box

July, 14 – BY SABRINA HERBRIK – Are the noticeboards at your office overflowing? Do messages get hidden and lost amongst the mess? Competing with other campaigns and initiatives for poster space on your office walls?

If you really want to get your message out there to a captive audience, consider that small boxed in area that you find in (hopefully) all workplaces – yes, the toilet cubicle. More specifically, the back of the toilet door.

Think about it. In most cases, this is an empty space. All of your employees will be in there at some point. It’s a captive audience.

By using this space effectively, you suddenly have one more internal communication channel available to you. One more opportunity to create awareness, inform and educate employees. One more way to get your message out there.

Utilising those toilet doors can really pay off but keep a few things in mind:

• Rotate your posters regularly – there’s not much worse than seeing the same thing week after week
• Consider the layout of the posters – keep the text short, make them bright and provide ways to find out more information
• Ensure bathroom posters are used as part of an overarching communication strategy and plan – reinforcing messages received through other channels

So next time you want to ensure your communication gets seen – try the toilet door!

A roaring success for Impact

July, 7 – By Maha Obeid for Marcoms News

An integrated brand campaign with Ogilvy & Mather in Hong Kong has seen Impact take home a prestigious Bronze PR Lion from last month’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Chaired by Dave Senay, President & CEO of Fleishman-Hillard, the PR category entered its third year in 2011 with 819 entries, a 43 per cent increase on 2010.

Impact scored one of 15 bronze lions for its work on the ‘Inside Out” campaign (below, pictured)​ for Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, taking the stage with other bronze-winning campaigns including Greenpeace’s ‘A New Warrior’.

With the Impact team dusting off the trophy this week, Megan Caulfield, Impact’s Associate Director (pictured), said the campaign’s success came from working with Shangri-La’s employees.

“Our involvement extended from running training sessions through to the development of support materials that helped leaders not just ‘tell the story’ but to engage in real conversations about what the brand means for employees day to day,” she said. “In targeting employees first we could ensure the brand promise was delivered to customers successfully.”

The campaign centred on delivering the Shangri-La brand promise of treating guests not as king, but as kin.

“From the outset we recognised that for the Shangri-La brand proposition to inspire employees, it needed to be credible, consistent and relevant. Therefore our strategy focused on gaining leadership buy-in and encouraging discussions about the behaviours that underpin Shangri-La’s family philosophy,” Caulfield explained.

Caulfied said the team was proud to bring home the award, at the same time as bringing home Shangri-La’s message.

“It’s extremely gratifying to see the great results of the campaign, which is testament to the critical role of employee engagement as part of a broader brand strategy. It’s also exciting to then be recognised with a Bronze PR Lion, which the entire team feels very proud of.”

Cannes Lion Win

July, 4 – The team at Impact is very proud to announce the latest addition to our trophy cabinet with a Bronze PR Lion from the recent Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Recognised for our work with Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts as part of a joint campaign with our Ogilvy & Mather colleagues in Hong Kong, the award is testament to the critical role of employee engagement as part of broader brand campaigns.

‘Inside out’ was the result of an integrated brand campaign that focused on building the brand from the inside out, ensuring employees had a genuine understanding of the values and behaviours needed to deliver the Shangri-La brand promise – treating guests not as king, but as kin.

In its 58th year, the Cannes Lions Festival is recognised as the most prestigious international awards celebrating creativity in communication, with more than 24,000 entries from across the globe.

NEW RESEARCH RELEASED TODAY

May, 18 – Less than 50 percent of Australian business leaders believe enough resources are allocated to training middle and front-line management, resulting in a significant lag behind senior leadership in communication skills of these lynchpin team members, according to a report launched today.

The report, Australia’s Commsoscopy, is the second independent report[1] commissioned by leading employee communications consultancy, Impact Employee Communications examining the effectiveness of medium to large organisations in communicating the employment ‘deal’, or Employee Value Proposition (EVP), to Australian workers.

According to Impact’s Managing Director, Tam Sandeman: “We know that clearly communicating the employment ‘deal’ – what employees get for what they give – is one of the main ways employees are attracted, engaged and retained by organisations.  This is ever critical given the talent shortage.

“However, our study found there are some significant gaps in its delivery, particularly in terms of communication frequency and the ongoing role of an organisation’s leadership team throughout an employee’s tenure with an organisation,” she said.

The study also found that while most organisations recognise the importance of communicating the ‘deal’ and believe they have the right communications abilities within their senior teams to deliver this message, they often fall short as they are failing to put the right tools or resources in place.

“Given the vital role people managers play in retaining employees and improving their performance, the resistance from organisations to introduce communications skills for middle or front-line managers is an unnecessary and damaging compromise,” she added.

Social media was also found to be an increasingly used tool in making a difference in the effectiveness of communicating and demonstrating most of the EVP attributes.

“We found organisations that embrace social media perceive themselves as better communicators of their employment deal than those that don’t. This included allocating more support resources for middle and front line management,” said Sandeman.

“Currently, only 29% of Australian organisations are using social media for employee communication. Respondents cited that the slow growth has been due to a range of barriers (46% s believing that it poses too many legal and other risks).

“Considering and including elements of social media as part of internal communication strategies is now a must-have. It can not only engage employees but be used to identify knowledge, ambassadors and talent. It also ensures businesses look as though they’re keeping up with the fast-paced external media world we all experience outside work,” she explained.

These findings aim to help organisations identify some of the gaps in communication and ultimately assist in building this approach. By doing this, they are able to ensure the employment story improves relations between the organisation and employee but importantly, delivers a tangible impact on retention and engagement.

“Organisations need a strong, strategic internal communications plan, and it’s got to be more than a newsletter, the odd roadshow or the company strategy on a mouse-mat,” said Sandeman. “It was surprising to see only 38% of organisations with 500-599 employees had an internal communication approach in place. They’re missing an opportunity.  We know companies who are communicating effectively are delivering greater returns to shareholders than those which are not. So it’s a costly oversight.[2]”

The 18 page report can be downloaded here: Impact Employee Communications, Australia’s Commsoscopy

Impact Employee Communications is Australia’s leading employee communication consultancy and is part of Ogilvy PR, the largest and most awarded public relations agency in Australia.  Ogilvy PR Australia is a joint venture between Ogilvy PR Worldwide and STW Group, Australia’s leading marketing content and communications services group.

For further information:

Tessa Sexton

STW Group

Ph: +61 421 098 674

The power of the corridor conversation

May, 13 – BY TAM SANDEMAN – A mad old lady who lived in the village where I grew up (no not you mother) in the sunny climes of deepest Sussex in the UK was known as ‘Have A Chat’ for obvious reasons. Bear with me…this IS relevant to what we do.

Fast forward to today, I’ve just come out of an internal communication planning session with the CEO of a large Australian organisation. We discussed many things. How to truly engage employees in the company’s exciting new vision and company direction; what should launch look like; how could he tell the best and most powerful story to his people. One that would really resonate. The list went on.

The CEO had one clear light-bulb moment during that conversation. I repeated something very powerful once said to me:  “Leaders are at their most powerful when they don’t think they’re communicating”.

It’s those casual conversations which take place in the corridor, after a meeting, in the car park, in the canteen queue (and heaven forbid in the bathroom) which are more authentic, more believable, less rehearsed.

It’s precisely those moments leaders need to embrace and respond to which are so powerful. Not only embrace, but actively create opportunities for them to happen. Now while this is rare, I know tales of one CEO who won’t come out of his office even to get a sandwich, who will go out of his way to avoid conversation. It has made his people challenge his authenticity when he is delivering messages about people.

As internal communicators we must remind our leaders of the strategic value of those moments.  Whether it be about change management communication or regular organisational messages, the informal communication channels are just as, if not more important than those which are formal.  And as Rose Kennedy said: “Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments”.

It’s cost effective and it’s powerful.  For those leaders looking to provide more authenticity in their communication, it’s a no brainer really.  In my book it’s better to be known as willing to ‘Have A Chat’, than only able to ‘Have A Corporate Chat’.

…but beware…  Mrs Have A Chat would be over 110 years if she were still alive today, but if you see someone sporting a blue rinse and Dame Edna style glasses at about 5ft tall… run the other way, FAST.

Young professionals demand an internal change of focus

April, 18 – BY EMMA LEVINE – Like many employees in the communication industry, I undertook an internship while still at university. My four weeks with Impact proved to be invaluable as I gained contacts, advice and most importantly, my first real taste of the industry. However, as it was not covered in my bachelor of communication degree, it took me the longest time to completely understand what ‘internal communication’ was exactly, and I still don’t think I’ve nailed it!

As a public relations major I understood the part PR played in a company’s success, but didn’t see the reason for internal communication management – not because I disagreed with it, but because there simply wasn’t enough about it on my course.  I’m learning, this lack of understanding about just how powerful galvanising employee support through great internal communication can be, exists across many organisations.

It soon became clear as I better understood what Impact does, just how powerful what we do can be in driving organisational success.  Companies who invest in employee engagement are shown to have a higher rate of productivity and lower turnover. Employee communication ensures that the correct messages flow between all levels of management and that two way communication is facilitated. In short, it is crucial!

More and more companies are discovering the advantages of internal communication and it is becoming a growing industry in Australia. I really feel that it is time for all Australian universities to include an internal communication unit in their core communication degree requirements. By skimming the surface it is impossible to understand the significance of employee communication and the influence it can have on the smooth internal and external operations of an organisation.

Luckily I have an entire team of internal comms professionals surrounding me at Impact who are helping me to work out my EVPs from my ELTs. It may take me a while, but slowly I’m piecing everything together. Ask me again in another few months and hopefully I’ll be better able to explain ‘what is internal communication’.

But then again, don’t be surprised if I’m still completely overwhelmed!

Connecting with the frontline: no disguise needed

April, 7 – BY TAM SANDEMAN – It’s not often a business blog entry is inspired by reality TV – but here goes…

Countless CEOs encounter some of the same conundrums on a daily basis – how do I really know what’s going on in the depths of our organisation?  How can I get more in touch with our people?  How do I become more authentic? 

Although pitched as a mainstream TV show, Channel 9’s Undercover Boss, tackles just this. It follows CEOs from large companies as they head off ‘undercover’ into their own businesses.  With a splash of hair dye, addition or subtraction of facial hair, and a fresh perspective, they arrive at the coalface under the guise of someone wanting to return to the workforce and being tested across a range of different frontline roles. 

The show contains all the elements that today’s reality TV viewer loves.  A dash of deception; the ‘Big Guy’ being made to look foolish by the ‘Little Guy’; warm and sometimes heart-breaking tales from unsung employee heros about life struggles; the suspense of the ‘reveal’ as the CEOs disclose their identities, and finally, reward – usually financial – recognising their efforts for the company.  It’s dramatic, funny and heart-warming and unsurprisingly its format has been syndicated across the world.

It does however, from a leadership perspective, highlight a very important initiative that can help find answers to the questions raised at the start of this post.

Back in the UK, I worked for eight years with one of the UK’s largest pub, restaurant and hotel retailers.  Across that time, saw a raft of people initiatives introduced across what was a 52,000 disparate workforce.

None however so powerful as their senior leaders having to spend a mandatory week a year working out in the field.  Serving customers, checking deliveries, stock-checking, etc.  The success factor?  How the company then ensured they talked about their experiences through both formal and informal internal communication channels.

Fact.  We have a reduced talent pool in Australia, so focusing on ways to retain employees is critical.  A demonstration of leadership empathy and connection with the frontline MUST be a part of this.

Nothing is so powerful, in portraying authentic empathy with employees, than having real stories from the frontline.  Truly understanding the tough stuff employees put up with everyday can clearly close the gap that currently exists between the frontline and senior leaders.

My advice:

• Implement a simple ‘ride-along’ program for senior executives, or the top 10% of the business (across all roles).  No matter your industry, you can make it work
• Just Do It  (as the good people at Nike say) – ensure appropriate processes are in place to ensure accountability
• Make changes – ensure improvements are made based on what leaders experience
• Talk it Up!  – share stories, recognise the great (people) and the not so great (systems and processes).  

 It’s an inexpensive and powerful way of driving true connection and understanding with the frontline.

And the better news?  Unless your PR team advises you otherwise, you don’t have to do it on national TV.

Don’t be an April fool

April, 1 – BY LORIE HELLIWELL – So midday April 1 has come and gone and the opportunity to play a prank on friends and colleagues has passed for another year. Hopefully you escaped – unlike Sabrina in the office here, who found her desk wrapped in cling film like a long-haul suitcase. To explain why would take too long… when what’s important, is to remember opportunities like April 1^st and all the “special” days around the world provide employee/internal communication professionals with great opportunities to pep up our communications with employees.

Why not have an out of the ordinary special ‘4^th of July’ message  from the CEO for example, or ‘Carnival’ celebration theme to recognise employees as part of your engagement program? The opportunities to reiterate corporate messaging  while being  creative are endless. Just think what you could do to celebrate your national, cultural or ceremonial festivals, and then plan in advance a calendar of communication “events” throughout the year that mark progress, engage employees and celebrate success. And importantly have fun.

Who said employee communication has to be dull?

OgilvyEarth supports Earth Hour

March, 24 – Earth  Hour is just around the corner and whilst Facilities Managers will be on top of the big ticket items for office buildings, we as communicators can help encourage and engage  work colleagues to do their bit and contribute personally. So why not take ten minutes to communicate Earth Hour in your employee news channels today. Even though the environment is a serious subject, doing something positive doesn’t have to be.  Make your internal communication fun and engaging; perhaps set an employee challenge, a reminder screensaver or a light hearted call to action from a leader.

To be part of Earth Hour, when you’re leaving the office this Friday – hopefully you are not working in the office on Saturday night… but if you are then it must be really important, so you are excused – shut down and pull the plug on your computer, mobile phone chargers and any other items not in use. Where there is a switch, at least turning equipment off at the wall. And while you’re at it, why not engage your employees to get involved in Earth Hour at home too.

Whilst Earth Hour is a once a year campaign and ideally you exercise these behaviours all the time, getting involved in it helps you to think about what you can do to reduce energy use. The campaign has been very successful in raising awareness globally, so great to support the cause.

When I first had a go at switching appliances off at the wall at home and turning off unnecessary lights etc for Earth Hour a few years ago, I continued it as standard practice (I forgot occasionally to start with, but persistence paid off) and managed to save $30 a quarter on my electricity bill. Better than a kick in the pants and made a couple of very nice bottles of wine taste even better.

So spread the word!

Also check out this fun YouTube clip to share with colleagues, friends and family in the lead up to Earth Hour:

For more information on how you can support Earth Hour go to http://www.earthhour.org

Robbie Brown, Sustainability Strategist, OgilvyEarth

Three New International Faces For Impact

Fresh off the plane from a change management communication role in Switzerland, Lorie Helliwell joins Impact as a new Director. Her extensive internal communication experience stretches across telecommunications, cable TV, IT and procurement industries. With her experience of translating strategy into operational results and her complement of skills across events, programme management, transformational change communications, channel and campaign development Lorie already proving is a great addition to the Impact team.

A second new face, also from the northern hemisphere, joins the team this month in the form of Steven White.  Joining us as a strategist, Steve brings 15 years experience from client and agency side within internal communication, B2B and B2C marcomms and advertising disciplines. He owned and ran a successful creative communications agency in the UK between 2003 and 2010 and developed long term relationships with large UK corporates, primarily in the financial and real estate sectors.  Bolstering the creative side of our work will be a key role for Steve at Impact.

Last but definitely by no means least, our design studio is joined by Stef Neuhaus. Designer Stef’s previous work has covered FMCG, building and engineering, kitchenware and medical industries and ranged from developing corporate and brand identities, advertisements, brochures, magazines, packaging design to exhibit design.

Bringing a fresh new international flavour to our work means 2011 is going to be another great year for Impact.

Lorie Helliwell

Director

Lorie is a senior communications executive with extensive communications experience in the telecommunications, cable TV, IT and procurement industries. She has worked in close strategic partnership with leadership teams to drive effective internal communications and change initiatives. As a result she is creative and innovative and has highly developed strategic vision and future-focus.

She approaches challenges with energy, implementing and shaping creative solutions to deliver strategic goals with value added, measurable results. Before joining Impact, Lorie established the communications function for Trinity, SABMiller’s procurement company. (SABMiller is the second largest brewer in the world). Before that, she was responsible for communications at BT’s (British Telecommunications) IT division. She is an accomplished professional having designed and delivered internal and external communications for high-impact, large, complex change programmes internationally. Her deep understanding of the challenges leadership face in communicating and engaging with employees has enabled her to deliver communications that connect with stakeholders. With her  experience of translating strategy into operational results and her complement of skills across events,  programme management, transformational change communications,  channel and campaign development Lorie is a great addition to the Impact team.

Lorie has BSc from University College London and an MBA from the University of Bath, England.

Drive the most out of your celebrity endorsements

February, 16 – BY TAM SANDEMAN – This month saw the appointment of Australia’s golden boy of tarmac, Formula 1™ hero, Mark Webber, as official ambassador for Qantas, as the airline broadens its activities beyond the Melbourne Grand Prix itself.

It got me thinking – are companies that are making what I’m sure is a significant dollar investment, really truly leveraging the value of the ‘tool’ they have at their fingertips?  Yes of course, all organisations don’t miss a trick when it comes to offering prizes in the form to tickets to sporting events, but are internal communicators missing a trick when it comes to their role in trying to communicate messages which inspire greater effort and engagement amongst the workforce.

Individuals in the public eye, renowned for success and working hard to be ‘above average’ provide a fantastic, and cost effective method (vs. the thousands, sometimes millions spent on celebrity endorsement) to tell stories and inspire people to operate at their best in the workplace.  Especially organisations undergoing major change.

So where to start?  Given these decisions (and the associated dollars) usually come out of a marketing or brand function reinforces the need for the internal communications team to have strong relationships with senior marketeers.  We must educate them gently on the power of internal storytelling.  We should remind them about the importance of negotiating some simple internal communication activities as a fundamental in their contracts.  We have to reiterate its not about internal ‘marketing’ – that posters and DVDs aren’t enough – its about stories.  Analogies from stories which will inspire our people to be their best, to be on brand, to help deliver the company goals.

Imagine getting the opportunity to hear first hand from Mark Webber himself:

• About the pressure he is under – how he copes, how he picks himself up, how he learns from mistakes;
• About the importance of teamwork - How F1 is clearly not just a one-man game – while drivers get all the limelight, it remains a team sport. Every piece of an F1 car must be exactly right to enable the machine, and its driver, to operate at its best – much like a well-oiled organization
• How every pit-stop needs to be a perfectly timed, millimetre perfect piece of choreography.  A far cry from the chaotic disorganized pit-stops of the 1970s, this parallels the importance of executional excellence for many organisations – and just how strategy is turned into business success
• The need to be flexible – the variables thrown into F1 by the weather – the need to change tyres to suit wet or dry weather patterns – translating into the need to adapt, not to expect the norm

It’s easy to see the analogies are endless – but relevant.  Very relevant to today’s operating environment in many industries

Storytelling is still one of the most powerful ways to communicate a message.  People remember stories, they don’t remember facts.  They like stories so they can learn from other people’s experiences.

If done the right way, utilising the power of storytelling by our marketing properties really can help inspire performance, drive collaboration and encourage people to innovate and move outside their comfort zones – but only if you use them properly.

I’ve witnessed just this business success when a large FMCG partnered with Aussie legend Steve Waugh when facing some major organisational change.  Capturing hearts and minds was going to be the key to overcome significant change resistance, and they did this carefully and credibly using the power of the analogy.  The business change (which was a major technology change over 23 sites in Australia) was cited as fastest in its world globally – and significant weight put on the way the internal communication and the change management was carried out.  It’s simple.  It works.

So, as a reminder, to get the most out of a major association, remember to consider the following:

• If you haven’t spoken to the marketing team for a while – go and have a chat
• Ensure internal engagement activities are written into contracts – as a must have not a nice to have – talent is usually happy to do them
• Get to know your ambassadors, understand where the true value lies in their own storytelling.  You have to understand your own organisation’s stories first – then and only then can the power of the analogy work at its best
• Give as many people as possible in the organisation an opportunity to hear them first hand.  Don’t let it just become a poster campaign

Even better will be if Mark Webber wins in Melbourne… now that really would be a dream come true.

More awards for Impact

Dec, 21 – Impact has had a month of success, winning award after award at the recent Asia-Pacific PR Awards and the Ogilvy PR Professional Achievement Awards.

The Asia-Pacific PR Awards recognise the best work in the communications industry. Now in their 10^th year of competition, the awards are dedicated to celebrating outstanding work and across the region. We’re thrilled to announce our win:

Employee Communications Campaign of the Year, Impact & OgilvyEarth – Bayer Australia

The Ogilvy PR Professional Achievement Awards, internal to Ogilvy, were broadcast live to approximately 70 Ogilvy PR offices around the world to celebrate the year’s best client work. A very excited group held down the fort from 1.30 to 3.15am to represent the Australia team.  Australia has a strong track record in these highly sought after internal awards and 2010 was no exception. Impact cleaned up, winning awards in two categories:

• Crisis Management – Ford Australia: Driving a great result for Australia – Ogilvy PR Australia
• Internal Communications – Bayer Australia and New Zealand: “Small Changes = Big Change” – Impact Employee Communications

At these awards global CEO, Chris Graves, announced a new award category in honour of David Ogilvy. The Giant Award is for people of any level worldwide who made a giant contribution to our company this year, exhibits and lives the giant characteristics David Ogilvy looked for, and someone who is decent to their colleagues and gives back to the Ogilvy community and society. There are only four of these awards and one of them went to our very own Tam Sandeman, Managing Director of Impact Employee Communcations.

Congratulations to Tam and all the teams involved in the winning campaigns.

More sustainable success

Sept, 24 – We’re delighted to announce that more environmentally friendly news came our way last night as the winners at the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA)’s NSW Golden Target awards were announced.  Impact and Bayer Australia and New Zealand’s B-Green project, which drove and achieved measurable behaviour change across its Australian and New Zealand workforce around sustainability, was announced the overall winner of the Internal Communication category.

The project, created and executed by Impact’s specialist sustainability and CSR Ogilvy Earth team led to a raft of energy, recycling and other initiatives in the company.  The program has already won an international gold quill of excellence and was also recently awarded the best internal communications program for all Bayer companies worldwide.

Better news is that it now goes forward to a national stage where it will compete against other state awards for the overall national prize.

Two other Ogilvy PR agencies were recognised with Pulse Communications scooping two of the consumer marketing prizes and Howorth winning a high commendation for its work on the Telstra Productivity Index.

Melcrum Social Media Conference for Internal Communications – Day Two

June, 30 – BY ALISON PIGNON – The standard of the content, presentations and debate on the second day of Melcrum’s Social Media conference for Internal Communications was very high overall. I was madly scribbling notes all the way through. Meanwhile, others were tweeting madly to share the gems they were picking up, with a prize being given to the person who tweeted the most throughout the day.

The conference was opened by international keynote speaker Euan Semple, with his entertaining mixture of dry Scottish wit and insightful observations. These included the need for organisations, and particularly leaders, to think less in terms of justifying ROI when it comes to social media and more in terms of justifying COI, i.e. Cost of Inaction – that is, not allowing it to happen.

The first case study was from a high profile professional services firm who is using social media to successfully encourage innovation and sharing of ideas by employees through an ‘Idea Zone’ on their internal website. It also turns out that this organisation has the largest Yammer community worldwide with 3,000 employee members. Their governance approach includes a social media steering committee and also a social media response team.

Next we heard from Robin Crumby, Managing Director of Melcrum who flew in from the UK to speak. He took us through some of the key findings of Melcrum’s 2010 global research into social media adoption internally by large corporations. It was interesting to hear that half of the 2,600 respondents (19% from the Asia-Pacific region) feel that the business case for social media is clear while the other half feel it is not clear. It seems the business world is still completely divided on this point. The research revealed what communicators believe to be the three most effective uses of social media internally:

1. Getting employees to talk, share information and collaborate
2. Building communities
3. Connecting to and learning from Generation Y employees.

After lunch, Lizzy Geremia, Brand Strategy Manager at NAB talked us through a very interesting case study on the use of online event technology to engage employees in the Personal Banking part of the business in the new brand promise. Using an easy to navigate and visually interesting online conference platform, employees were able to listen and watch a recording of the business head talking in an auditorium about the brand promise and then wander through to other booths to listen to other leaders’ ‘talking heads’. Employees were able to put questions to leaders via chat functionality, as well as talk to each other, and also provide online feedback. The results were great with the event reaching nearly 50% of the population and 95% of those who completed the feedback saying they had a better understanding of NAB’s brand focus as a result.

A final highlight of the day was the case study presented by a large banking, insurance and investing services organisation. I particularly liked how they measured the levels of employee engagement with social media tools and were able to group them into champions, advisors, members or just ‘missing’. The organisation identified the need to be more collaborative and grouped their communication tools under four groupings:

Connect – online portal

Share – video channel for employees to use

Discuss – Yammer and Microsoft Office Communicator

Innovate – Magazine

A lively panel debate closed what has been an interesting and engaging conference. Perhaps the next one will take place in a virtual setting?

Cath Lawrence

Senior Strategist

Cath Lawrence is an experienced change management and communication consultant with over 20 years business experience working both nationally and internationally.  Her work has covered a number of industries including financial services, manufacturing, transport, FMCG, professional services, pharmaceuticals, local government and health and beauty.

During this time, Cath has worked alongside senior managers throughout many change situations including mergers and acquisitions, cultural change, business re-engineering, organisational redesign, crisis management, team development and downsizing. Through this experience, she has been able to relate to a wide range of business and personal challenges that people face and therefore provide a deep level of understanding, knowledge and guidance during change.

Cath’s enviable experience provides a strategic backbone for the change team, and as such she has developed and implemented campaigns for Pfizer, Heatcraft and Woolworths. Cath’s experience enables her to understand the organisational change challenges and the journey employees experience as change happens. She is able to facilitate the change process and work with the client to build meaningful change and communication strategies.

She has a BA in Business Studies from Sheffield University in the UK. She’s  a Certified Master Coach, a Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), and a member of the International Association of Facilitators.

Outside work, Cath enjoys taking her clubs out and hitting a small ball whilst out for a long and pleasant walk. Her enjoyment of teeing off is closely followed by watching a good game of rugby or a trip to the theatre.

Jessica Ogilvie

Account Manager, Ogilvy Impact, Singapore

With over five years experience in employee communication, Jessica applies her skills in strategic planning, writing, key message development and project management across a number of Impact’s core capabilities.

Her experience extends from employee research and strategic communication planning, to restructures, mergers and acquisitions, learning and development programmes, social media engagement, internal brand engagement and sustainability communication.

While at Impact Jessica’s clients have included Nestlé,  Woolworths, Novartis, Ernst & Young, Caltex, St George Bank and Sensis.

In particular, Jessica has worked extensively with Nestlé Australia, playing a key role in projects across a variety of business divisions. Highlights include the award winning Nestlé Power of One and Nestlé Personal Best Sales Conferences, change communication for a divisional off-shoring project, an employee wide vision and values campaign and the rollout of a new reward and recognition program.

Based in Singapore, Jessica forms part of the regional Impact team, working with clients in South East Asia and supporting the Australian team as needed.

Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Organisational Communication from Charles Sturt University, Bathurst.

Jacqueline Teurlings

Consultant

Jacqueline Teurlings is a Consultant at Impact Employee Communications. She joined the team in March 2010 and she works on a variety of strategic communication projects, from change management to internal communication audits.

Working with clients including BP, Coca-Cola Amatil, Leighton Contractors, Department of Defence, Inghams and large FMCG companies (e.g. Nestlé), Jacqui has supported projects related to sustainability communication, employee events, safety communication and social media.

Originally from the Netherlands, Jacqui previously gained in-house experience in her role of project manager at the Communications & Corporate Identity department at the head office of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

In South Africa, at one of the world’s biggest gold mining companies, she conducted post-graduate research related to employee engagement and internal communication as part of her Master’s degree.

Jacqui holds a Master of Science degree in Communication Studies from the University of Twente, The Netherlands.

In her spare time, Jacqui is all about engagement, but this time with her tennis racket which she uses with fantastic prowess and we are happy to loan her out to compete with any clients!

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