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The best communicators are versatile; they proactively seek out opportunities to meet audiences and develop creative ways to deliver messages. Some of our greatest successes come when we recognize that one-size may not fit-all, leading us to develop new methods to reach unique sets of stakeholders.

Few understand these challenges more than Kristi Munno, who leads a full slate of communications initiatives for Ozinga, a fifth-generation family-owned company in the construction materials industry. Here’s how Kristi and team transformed their Town Hall meetings to be sure that each of Ozinga’s employees had the chance to participate — and how her team helped showcase frontline operations.

The challenge: More than half of Ozinga’s nearly 2,000 employees are considered frontline workers and do not have access to a company email addresses, creating obstacles when it comes to distributing internal communications.

The tactics: Kristi and team to shift Ozinga’s traditional, on-site Town Hall meetings to video – a livestream accompanied by some pre-recorded content – allowing workers from multiple locations to view and submit questions. The aim was to further develop a culture of learning – one of the company’s core values – by showcasing different business units and making it easier for employees in different locations and time zones to join.

The results: Their efforts were recognized by the Standard of Excellence ’23: The Best of the Inaugural Executive Communication Awards, as they took home the award for Executive Town Hall Series – an honor that paired nicely with record engagement from Ozinga  employees.

“People were so excited to see the authenticity – to see individuals and their personalities across locations – and they really let us know that we were on the right path,” Kristi told us. “It’s always a learning experience. We never feel comfortable, just sitting still where we are; we’re always pushing the boundaries and trying new things and, at times, it works in our favor.”

For more from Kristi, reach out to her on LinkedIn. You can read more about Ozinga, its employees and its mission here.

About Sharon McIntosh

Sharon is president of And Then Communications. With more than two decades of communications experience, she has a passion for creating and executing new ideas to drive employee engagement at companies both large and small. Most recently Sharon served as PepsiCo’s vice president of Global Internal Communications, overseeing the company’s efforts to connect with its more than 274,000 employees worldwide.

About Sharon Phillips

Sharon Phillips is principal of Sharon Phillips Communications, which focuses on employee engagement and corporate communications strategy and support. Prior to relaunching her consultancy in 2014, she served as director of Global Internal Communications at PepsiCo.