Porter Novelli’s internal podcasts engage employees

A podcast component adds a rich multimedia layer to Porter Novelli’s employee newsletter As public relations giant Porter Novelli grew larger and larger, it became more interdependent with both its global offices and clients. “We needed to create a channel of internal communications that would span offices,” says Matthew Snodgrass, vice president of creative services. The internal communications department started with a bimonthly e-newsletter, which is sent to all employees worldwide. A few years ago, they added an audio component.

“Adding the podcast audio feature to the newsletter was initially done as an experiment in new technology to enhance the internal communications program,” says Snodgrass, also secretary and one of the founding members of the Association for Downloadable Media, an industry organization aimed at standardizing reporting methodology in the podosphere. Many months later, that experiment seems to be succeeding. “In general, employees have responded favorably to the podcast recordings, although we do not currently have detailed tracking in place,” Snodgrass says. “This is something we are looking into for the future.”