FIR Podcast Network

For Immediate Release: Podcasts for Communicators

EPISODE #59: OUR BEST IC EXPERT ADVICE FROM FROM 2021

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Whew – what year 2021 was for internal communications. You were overworked but overdelivered – and you did it all (most of the time) with passion and enthusiasm. We hope all of you are getting some well-deserved rest and peace as we wind down these final few weeks.

We leave all of you with a final EE Voice gift — one podcast with the best IC ideas and advice from our 2021 guests, in just 20 minutes. Here are highlights of the best insights from the year’s conversations:  

  • David Murray on the evolving challenges of communications, heightened expectations faced  by leaders in times of crisis and the highest purpose of internal communications.
  • Roger D’Aprix – often called “the father of internal communications” – who spoke to guest host David Murray on the future of communication and the goal to help employees “understand the whole range of change that has gone on, and that will certainly continue to go on.”
  • Tamara Rodman on how to use storytelling to increase vaccinations by building trust with employees.
  • Victoria Dew on how employee experience and expectations are changing as a result of Covid.
  • Andy Gilman on using communications to overcome vaccine hesitancy, drive compliance, and for senior leadership to show employees that they care.
  • George Sutcliffe on how to begin building a communications measurement strategy.
  • Kristen Garvey on how to take a measurement-focused approach when it’s time to bring employees back to the workplace.

Sharon and I wish all of our listeners happy holidays!

 
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Episode #58 – David Murray urges comms pros to stop messaging, start listening in an “Effort to Understand”

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In this episode, I’m joined by author,  communications expert and dear friend David Murray, who recently released his book, An Effort to Understand: Hearing One Another (and Ourselves) in a Nation Cracked in Half. David has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly and The Chicago Tribune and published several other books. He also leads the global Professional Speechwriters Association and the Executive Communication Council (ECC) and pens the daily blog “Writing Boots.”

In our conversation, we discuss how effective internal communications can foster empathy in oftentimes divided workplaces, as well as:

  • Why the book is dedicated to communicators: “This is the distillation of all the wisdom I’ve gotten from hanging around with [communicators] in bar rooms and out of bar rooms and at work in a hundred different ways,” he said. “So, this feels like it’s not my book, but really our book.” 
  • The criticality of internal communications: “There’s endless stuff for an internal communication group to be doing to help employees understand more profoundly what they’re doing in the world and what their organization is doing in the world,” David said. “And what an important thing to do to make people feel like full citizens of their country and of their corporation.” 
  • How an increased understanding of each other —  and willingness to listen — can help us best navigate differing opinions and find commonality despite individual social and political leanings: “To the extent that we can understand our fellow human beings, we can communicate with them better,” he said. “Or, we could at least understand their behavior better and deal with it.” 
  • What makes communications “scary”: “You don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s what makes it exciting.” 
  • The best path forward for internal and executive communications: “That’s how organizations communicate: Take things in, spit it back out and react to the humanity inside the organizations.”

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Episode #57 – Tips from a Pro: Strategies to Boost Your IC Measurement

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As we strive to foster communities of collaboration and transparency between company executives and their employees, one question persists: How do we make our findings measurable and actionable? 

“I think communications in general is hard to measure. It’s not as cut and dry as the sales of a product or the financials of a company… it’s pretty hard across the board,” says our most recent guest, George Sutcliffe, Global Communications Insights & Analytics Lead at Raytheon Technologies. 

A former lawyer, librarian and writer, George uses his keen attention to detail to drive measurement strategy and uncover insights that impact business outcomes. In our conversation, George touches on a variety of subjects that all point back to one of Sharon and my favorite topics: How to marry quantitative and qualitative employee feedback, put it to use, and show your employees (and your executives) that their feedback is being put to use. 
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EPISODE #56 – KRISTEN GARVEY ON TRANSITIONING EMPLOYEES TO THE OFFICE

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This week, Sharon and I welcome Kristen Garvey, vice president of corporate communication at Waters Corporation, a specialty measurement company focused on improving human health and well-being through the application of high-value analytical technologies and scientific expertise.

In our conversation, Kristen expresses gratitude she feels for her team and notes that she has never received more emails of thanks for the transparency Waters achieved than she did over the past year and a half — so we are incredibly fortunate to have her perspective as we all strive for transparency and trust through this next phase of the pandemic.
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SPECIAL EPISODE #55: DAVID MURRAY & ROGER D’APRIX ON THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF INTERNAL COMMS

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In this special episode, Sharon and I join you as listeners to a far-reaching conversation between two communication powerhouses on the evolution of employee comms – and the hard road ahead.

Guest Host David Murray heads up the global Professional Speechwriters Association and the Executive Communication Council and writes the popular daily blog “Writing Boots.” An award-winning journalist, he’s just published his must-read book, An Effort to Understand: Hearing One Another (and Ourselves) in a Nation Cracked in Half.

Roger D’Aprix, often called “the father of internal communications,” has served on ROI Communication’s Board of Advisors since 2005, is an internationally known consultant, lecturer and author, an IABC Fellow and recipient of the 2014 President’s Award from the Communication Leadership Exchange. He is a best-selling author whose most recent book is Bosses: True Stories of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

This probing interview covers the realities that leaders in the workplace face, as David notes they have “barely just begun to explain all the stuff that needs to get across” despite believing they’ve talked it all out.
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Episode #54 – Tamara Rodman on the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer

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2021 Edelman Trust Survey Demands Communicators’ Focus, CEO Action

According to the recently released 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, societies around the globe are facing an epidemic of misinformation and widespread mistrust.  For more than 20 years, the Edelman Trust Barometer has measured trust in businesses, government, NGOs and the media. According to Executive Vice President Tamara Rodman, who leads Edelman’s Employee Experience Team, this year’s report is an urgent call for communicators to work with business leaders on maintaining and rebuilding trust.

Tamara is a frequent and favorite guest of EE Voice, bringing 20 years of experience in organizational communications, culture, leadership development and employee engagement across a broad swath of industries. She points out that this moment in time presents an opportunity for executives and business leaders ― one that will require the deft and proactive guidance of internal communications professionals.
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EPISODE #53 – DEFINING AND EMBRACING THE NEW EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE IN A POST-COVID WORLD

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Over the past year, we’ve experienced a seismic shift in the way we work. Being in the midst of those changes can make them harder to see and understand. In this podcast, Victoria Dew, SCMP, Founder and CEO of Dewpoint Communications, walks us through these shifts while illustrating how communicators can reflect them in their strategic communications in the months ahead.

Victoria’s global business background includes 15 years as a trusted advisor to dozens of CEOs and executives. She tapped that network and beyond in her research into how we communicate and create experiences for people in the post-pandemic workplace.

Victoria joins us to discuss issues from the normalization of employees as messy, complicated humans to what can happen when we stop treating employees as robots. She emphasizes the high stakes involved, as the potential consequences of burnout can cost companies up to 34% of an employee’s salary.
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EPISODE #52 – Crisis expert Andy Gilman: Your next big step – taking on the vaccine

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One of EE Voice’s most-played ― and most important ― past episodes featured crisis management expert Andy Gilman discussing communications in the face of COVID-19. Now, Andy joins the podcast to help listeners navigate the latest developments in our current COVID reality, using communications to overcome vaccine hesitancy and compliance. His team recently launched RESTART to help organizations navigate COVID-19 recovery, increase vaccine compliance and support public health.

These are complicated issues. But Andy explains how company leadership can view this challenge as an opportunity to strengthen company culture, improve morale and build trust.

Have a listen to learn more about confronting these challenges, and learn more about Andy’s team and work at CommCore Consulting.
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EPISODE #51: OUR BEST IC EXPERT ADVICE FROM 2020

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What a crazy year! For those working in internal comms, it’s been nothing short of a rollercoaster, personally and professionally. Yet, we had some silver linings – and for Sharon and me, it was about tapping into experts to guide us through these trying times.

At the end of every EE Voice podcast, we always ask our guests for their one piece of advice to leave with listeners. Here, we gather them all in one place, in less than 15 minutes.
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Episode #50 (!): M&A comms masterclass with Louis de Schorlemer

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As we close out a year marked by upheaval, experts predict more disruption ahead―including an uptick in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). For our 50th (!) EE Voice podcast, we welcome Louis de Schorlemer of Corporate Diplomat, an agency dedicated to managing M&A, diverstitures or reorganizations. Louis is an international leader in managing M&A communications. He brings a valuable perspective on the importance of centering people in the processes around these transactions.

Louis discusses the sensitive nature of M&A activities, such as when a cash-rich business buys a struggling company, and he doesn’t look away from the discomfort but instead guides clients on how to communicate through it in a mindful way.  He lays out strategies for analytical mapping and putting people in the right mindset. And he asks challenging questions about transparency and preparedness―and shares the “Four Ps” he’s found to be instrumental for success.

If you’ve never supported M&A before — and even if you have — Louis offers a masterclass on communications strategy and execution. Listen in, and let us know what you think.
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