Jump-start your conference experience by attending these interactive and practical workshops. These information-packed sessions are a great opportunity to network with fellow attendees while taking a hands-on, common-sense approach to mastering strategic internal communications strategies that will enhance your understanding of the informative, case study presentations throughout the entire conference.

Choose ALL FOUR for Maximum Value and Learning

Strategic Internal Communications: Using Language To Dramatically Improve Your Organizations Effectiveness

Language - we use it everyday. Most of the time, we just open our mouths and words come out. Many of us approach language like we approach breathing -- we don't even think about it we just do it. While breath gives us life, the words that come out of our mouths create the life we live, the organizations we lead and work in, and as a result, profoundly impact their effectiveness and quality. If we want to improve our organizations and the way we communicate within them, we must change the language we use.

• To use language effectively to communicate a vision and strategic priorities
• What you say means more than any strategic plan or document
• Language and communications can reenergize and enliven organizations or send them spiraling into defeatism and negativity

• How to analyze various communication styles
• Understanding that how people within your organization communicate impacts the organizations overall effectiveness
• Learning simple steps to transform the way you and your organizations communicates
• An understanding of techniques for connecting people to what really matters in terms of communication

WORKSHOP LEADERS: Alan Pentz is the Co-Founder of Corner Alliance, Inc. with extensive experience in public policy and public safety issues. He has overseen engagement with a variety of federal agencies, state and local government clients, and commercial sector clients, specializing in strategy development implementation and outreach and communications.

Sarah Agan is the Director of Organizational Development at Corner Alliance, Inc. She is passionate, opinionated and brings a wide range of experience to back it up. From Web 2.0 technology expertise to a deep understanding of the public safety space.

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Afternoon break/lunch on your own

1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
PRE-CONFERENCE AFTERNOON WORKSHOP B

How To Use Collaborative Social Media Tools To Reinvent Your Internal Communications: Developing Policies, Setting Metrics & Engaging Employees

Public perception of government entities is impacted, negatively and positively, by the impression they take away from interactions they have had. Increasingly, citizens are expecting these interactions to occur online and within the realm of social media. At the same time, government employees, being citizens themselves, are adopting the use of social media in their private lives. The lines between personal use of social media and official agency communications are blurring for employees. Are you prepared as an organization to not only deal with, but leverage this evolution? Hint: the answer isn’t to run out and setup a Twitter account or rush out a draconian employee social media policy from the general counsel’s office.

You need to model your agency’s online “behavior” to be consistent for all online interactions that citizens will seek out and engage the agency and its employees in. This process, called Digital Behavior Modeling, will provide you with a framework to ensure that your internal communications support your external communications goals.

This workshop will provide you with a process to understand what are the most important online conversations and social media channels related to your agency’s mission and how to ensure employees, social media tools, policies and content development align with them.

At the conclusion of the workshop, you will be able to:

• Create a Conversation Map of web and social media activity most relevant to your agency’s mission and communication goals
• Develop a Performance Scorecard that defines success through attainment of key metrics for internal stakeholders in areas of Activity, Reach and Engagement
• Develop a social media policy that protects the agency by proactively addressing current and future engagement concerns
• Create a social media orientation and support program that provides instruction to employees before they engage in online conversations and just-in-time help when they are engaging, including the grooming of agency ambassadors
• Create an internal community site to keep employees engaged with the use freely available open source tools already in use at other government agencies
• Develop presences on government-friendly social media sites and networks that have been used by your counterparts that provide privacy and “terms of service” elements your legal department requires

WORKSHOP LEADER: Barry Reicherter is Senior Vice President – Digital Strategy & Ideas at Widmeyer Communications. Widmeyer Communications’ clients include: the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Pfizer, Nestle, and Pearson.

Creating An Action Plan To Reinvent The Role Of Internal Communications In Your Government Organization: What To Do When You Get Back To The Office

Too often, people attend conferences all “jazzed up” and don’t follow through to implement concepts or ideas gained during the sessions and/or garner support to effectively implement the concepts in a way that makes a difference. It’s not that you don’t want to; it’s more of not knowing where to start. We will discuss how government agencies have refined their strategic internal communications to assist in implementing major change initiatives and discuss what has worked and hasn’t in implementing these efforts.

• Review best practices within small groups
• Brainstorm practical and tactical solutions to help deal with challenges of implementing specific communication strategies
• Discuss specific techniques to incorporate these communication strategies into daily work
• Have an opportunity to ask questions specific to your organizational issues

• eNewsletters/Promotional Packages
• Strategic visual maps of strategy
• Online portals
• Social media tools

• An action plan for prioritizing ideas and concepts learned during the conference
• A specific structure for ensuring personal accountability for implementing specific communication strategies as a follow-up to the conference
• Three great questions to ask to check on your progress
• Five ideas to help you measure the impact of specific communication strategies

WORKSHOP LEADER: Ken Boxer is the Founder and President of Strategic Partners, Inc. (SPI), a coaching, consulting, and training firm. Ken is well known throughout the consulting industry as a forward thinker and a leader in providing integrated solutions to address clients coaching, consulting and training needs. As a published expert, Ken regularly consults with senior managers on the implementation of business plans and major change initiatives. Ken has worked with over 50 Federal Agencies.

12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Afternoon break/lunch on your own

How To Engage Government Employees And Drive Performance During Change, While Maximizing Enthusiasm, Productivity & Results

Poor organizational communication kills change. Formal and informal messages about why the change matters leaves employees unenthused. Leaders try to push benefits to get employees to move past negativity and resistance. It doesn't work. The result: employees hide under their desk waiting for change to pass.

There are simple approaches leaders can use to improve communication and drive performance. In this workshop, you will learn key concepts and skills on how to do exactly that, by:

• Balancing the 3 central elements of change communication to engage the mind, heart and hands of employees. Together, we will practice upgrading your change messages to be more impactful using these key elements.
• Following the 4 rules to engaging change announcements. Change announcements are not an event, but a process of on-going dialogue. You will learn and practice a technique to create enthusiasm and commitment.
• Overcoming the 2 main challenges of change during change execution. Once the change is announced, the hard work begins. Learn how to communicate goals to focus your co-workers and employees to maximize productivity.
• Handling resistance to change. Leaders do their best, but employees still resist the change. Discover 4 steps you need to take in order to handle the most persistent resistors.

Two keys to workshop learning are fun and interactivity. This workshop will leverage both principles using activities and dialogue throughout the entire session. There will be ample opportunity to practice creating messages and getting feedback from colleagues and the instructor.

WORKSHOP LEADER: John O’Connor is a Business Director with Toffler Associates®. He combines experience as an advisor to Fortune 50 communications firms with his work consulting to senior government leaders. He is an innovative communicator who has designed and led multi-year communication strategies to effect change in federal agencies and commercial organizations. His communication strategy and execution leadership experience includes identifying problem and solutions, designing and building multi-channel strategies (including online, print, live in person, installation, and others), gauging success and developing alternative approaches.