We’ll open up the day with an overview, announcements and reminders before digging into the excellent insights and takeaways from our esteemed speakers.

When it comes to the employee journey, HR pros and internal communicators have different aims and focuses. However, both must come together to reach and engage employees in a meaningful way and support their journeys as well as internal campaigns to forward organizational goals. In this fireside chat with Nicole Haddenham, Managing Director of Employee Experience and HR Product Management at Charles Schwab, Tia Mason Howard, Internal Communications Director at  MedStar Health, and Leigh Ann Christovich, Assistant Vice President of Internal Communications at Ochsner Health System, you’ll glean ideas for bridging the gap between internal communications and HR while overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of positive employee experiences and journeys.

You’ll learn:

• Ways to break down barriers that prevent effective information flow when launching campaigns and more
• How to focus and deliver on employee needs and behaviors
• The importance of company culture—and who should be responsible for it within your organization
• How to alert colleagues across departments of upcoming initiatives and expectations ahead of time, to ensure everyone is fully prepared

Still reeling from COVID-19 and its economic aftershocks, organizations are now grappling with how to address their own entrenched, pervasive racial inequality brought into sharp focus by the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. Many companies have good intentions on this issue, but statements of support and social media posts clearly aren’t enough. Organizations have to become the change they’re advocating—and communicators should be in the middle of those efforts. Kim Clark, Change Management and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consultant for Ragan Consulting Group, will cover the basics of how to gather the right data to guide your organization in making necessary changes towards a more inclusive, diverse and equitable workplace.

You’ll learn:

• Why every organization should be performing a DE&I IQ assessment
• How to use the results of your DE&I IQ to persuadeleaders to act (hint: it’s all about the data)
• The importance of measuring employee sentiment through focus groups and sentiment analysis
• The right questions to ask in your employee survey so you can segment the results based on racial demographics
• How to collaborate with HR to review your organization’s employment data and policies in a meaningful way

Effectively communicating strategy shifts, organizational changes and even everyday business decisions in a way that make employees comfortable and actively involved is a tall task, made more difficult in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. How can you balance crucial business decisions, while also driving a workforce culture that reflect as well as your brand’s mission and values intact? Katharine Crallé, Director at Brunswick Group, will share how to effectively communicating business decisions while considering employees’ needs and compassionately leading them through this time of uncertainty.

You’ll learn:

• How you can best relay necessary structural changes transparently and with empathy
• Ways to address layoffs and more while maintaining crucial workplace processes—especially with remote and hybrid teams
• How you can still complete critical work such as performance reviews and drive a positive culture during a global pandemic

Organizations have been grappling to make their company makeup more diverse and workforce cultures inclusive to all, and the pressure has only increased after the shooting of Jacob Blake and deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others. Employees aren’t just looking for more diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, either. Especially as younger employees enter the workforce, they’re looking to align themselves with organizations that align with their own values—and provide ways they can work together to make a difference. In this joint session with Lucy Abreu, Senior Vice President at Syneos Health Communications, and Sean Greenwood, Grand Poobah of PR for Ben & Jerry’s, you’ll learn the growing importance of turning to social justice opportunities, how Ben & Jerry’s outstanding activism work has strengthened its brand, and ideas for “walking the talk” internally as well as externally by authentically leading the way in standing for social change.

You’ll learn:

• The business case for social justice inside your organization (Hint: It’s not enough for just DE&I)
• How to invite and ensure employees are connected to your organization’s mission and values
• Ways to go beyond an individual hire and create an inclusive and diverse culture where POC employees want to work
• The importance of developing the right KPIs for measuring success with social justice initiatives—and why you should incorporate employee feedback as well

• How a robust digital workplace allows your employees to connect to tools, people and information they need
• Ways to use your digital workplace to define and promote a connected culture
• Steps for getting started and keeping employees actively involved

Effective internal communications and employee engagement efforts require you to understand the members of your workforce and use these insights to home in on strategies that align with organizational goals and campaigns that best reach and motivate employees. Laura Hammett, Head of Employee Measurement and Insights at BP, will show you how the company’s “continuous listening” model helps measure change and track what’s resonating with employees—including the introduction of a new CEO, COVID-19, redundancies and other major workforce shifts. Shee’ll also highlight the important elements of employee insights and how you can use them to inform more effective strategies that help support your bottom line as well as the employee experience.

You’ll learn:

• How employee insights can power both internal communications and HR strategies
• Ways to effectively use employee listening and other feedback tools in ways that inform, not overwhelm
• How to report trends and next steps to colleagues and the C-suite to affect meaningful change
• Tips for establishing the proper narrative from the data you gather

crowded media landscape, so too must internal communications and employee engagement, to truly strengthen employee experiences. In this closing session, Jonathan Jordan, Senior Vice President, Employee Experience & Business Transformation for Edelman, will share top takeaways and trends to watch out for now and on the horizon, so you can help enhance the employee journey and ultimately strengthen employee loyalty.

You’ll learn:

• Tools and trends to incorporate within your employee and internal communications campaigns
• How to better implement feedback and data to power your initiatives
• How the workforce and employee behavior is shifting—and ways you can adjust with those changes
• What the future looks like for remote and hybrid workplaces