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Employee communications barely resembles what it was 25 years ago when employees relied on internal communication to find out what was going on in their organizations. With access to all the same content sources used by the media, investors, and other stakeholders — as well as employee-to-employee resources like Slack and Glassdoor — employees are able to keep up with the company in a variety of ways.

Yet an effective internal communication department is vital for building cultures, improving the employee experience, influencing engagement, and a host of other outcomes, while working with other communication functions to make sure the company doesn’t suffer the consequences of a lack of coordination.

In this month’s Circle of Fellows episode, FIR host Shel Holtz joins four of his IABC Fellow colleagues — Priya Bates, Kellie Garrett, John Clemons, and Sheri Rosen — to explore the evolving role of employee communications.

About the panel

Priya Bates is a senior communication executive who provides strategic internal communication counsel in order to ensure leaders, managers, and employees understand the strategy, believe in the vision, act in accordance to the values, and contribute to business results. She is president of Inner Strength Communications in Toronto, and previously served as senior director of Internal Communications at Loblaw Companies Limited.

Kellie Garrett, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Kellie is a speaker, coach, and strategist, as well as an associate professor at Royal Roads Univesity. Before launching her own business, Kellie was Senior VP of Strategy, Knowledge, and Reputation for Farm Credit Canada.

John G. Clemons, an independent communications consultant based in North Carolina, has held senior executive and consultant roles over the course of his career in corporate and organizational communications. He has special expertise providing strategic counsel and support for top executives and corporate offices of Fortune 500 companies. John has served as chair of IABC, and holds accreditations from both IABC and PRSA. In addition to his most recent  position with Newell Rubbermaid, John has worked with Walmart, Raytheon and Marriott (among others).

Sheri Rosen is vice president of Employee Communication at Frost Bank in San Antonio, Texas. Before assuming that role, Sheri spent 14 years as president of Rosen Communication Group. For 10 years before that, she was assistant vice president of Employee Communications for USAA, the financial services company. She is accredited by IABC.

About Shel Holtz

Shel Holtz, ABC (Accredited Business Communicator), is director of Internal Communications at Webcor, a commercial general contractor headquartered in San Francisco. Before joining Webcor, Shel spent 21 years as principal of Holtz Communication + Technology. In addition to integrating technology into communications strategies, his expertise includes strategic communications planning, change management, organizational culture, business initiatives and communications research. Full bio