8:00 a.m.
Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m.

Chairperson's Welcome, Opening Remarks & Presentation

How To Use Strategic Internal Communications To Manage And Drive Change: Lessons Learned From Success Stories Across Government

People can't embrace change if they don't understand what it is or why it is happening. When change is not clearly communicated, what happens...it leads to turmoil, the grapevine, fear, and resistance.

Experience in corporations, politics, and world affairs have shown us that effective communication and a clear vision are the key ingredients to implement a successful change management effort. Whether it is a small company, a large multi-national corporation, a government agency, or an entire nation, change is hard to achieve without a lot of pain. So how does successful change happen? It requires visionary planning, the ability to understand the impact of change on people, and the ability to effectively communicate with others as they go through the phases of change. Communication is the means by which virtually all organizational effort is accomplished.

In this session, you will gain insight into the change process and you will learn strategies that will effect change and make it a successful and smooth transition period.

You will hear how to integrate eight principles of change management into a strategic communication process that will lead to bottom-line results. The steps are basic, but highly effective when used at just the right time and to the right degree. It's all about how to get people to embrace change using communication as the key to a successful change management effort.

Anne Kelly, CEO & Director
The Federal Consulting Group, U.S. Department of the Treasury

9:40 a.m.

Speed Networking

You'll have a chance to meet and greet fellow attendees in this fun and fast-paced forum.

10:35 a.m.

A Legacy Of 21st Century Leadership:
How To Use Strategic Internal Communication To Engage Employees And Drive Organizational Outcomes

In this session, you will hear about an innovative, research-based approach designed to build and exercise 21st century leadership competencies. No one questions the important and vital role that managers play on employee performance and retention. Now, see how a long list of possible managerial activities and competencies was reduced to the "vital few accelerators" that have the most impact on improving both employee engagement and leadership effectiveness. Using this approach, time-oppressed managers can edit their "to-do" lists to retain only those activities that create positive energy by recognizing and appreciating what is working (success), which produces greater engagement and momentum for change; ultimately achieving "breakthrough" increases in organizational results.

• The value of using an appreciative inquiry-based approach to leadership development
• The "vital few accelerators" that drive outcomes of employee engagement and leadership effectiveness -- developing others, performance management (results-driven performance) and communication
• How to apply the "vital few accelerators" on-the-job

Jim Trinka, PhD, Director, Air Traffic Organization Training & Development
Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

11:30 a.m.

Detect, Control, Engage:
How To Get Mid-Level Management To Communicate Effectively

DETECT: The Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) detected a serious problem with its internal communications through a variety of polls, surveys, assessments, and direct employee feedback. The evidence from the surveys indicated that the communications between leadership and the workforce were ineffective. The internal communications problem was related to issues at the mid-level management within the organization. This problem became known as the communications "asbestos layer."

CONTROL: The NSWC PHD Communications Office leveraged the resources of an internal professional development program known as the Pre-Supervisor Development Program (PSDP) to identify methods to improve internal communications by overcoming the issues related to the asbestos layer. The PSDP created a Communications Action Team (CAT) to develop techniques to overcome the asbestos layer.

• Creating a NSWC PHD Internal Communications Community of Practice
• Implementing Message-In-A-Box (MIAB) – distributing communication tool boxes throughout the organization to ensure the delivery of key messages
• Implementing audio/visual streaming via the NSWC PHD Portal
• Exploring the use of internal blogs to reach widespread audiences
• Conducting employee quick-polls to chart progress and demonstrate results

Through learning about the experiences of NSWC PHD, you will be able to apply their process to your own communication strategies, to succeed with your own transformation process.

Steve Robertson, Command Communications Manager, Port Hueneme Division
Naval Surface Warfare Center, U.S. Navy

Join a group of your colleagues for lunch with an informal discussion facilitated by one of our expert speakers. Take this opportunity to join others in a small, interactive group setting to network and brainstorm solutions to your most pressing internal communications concerns.

1:55 p.m.

How To Use A Comprehensive Communication Audit To Increase Employee Engagement And Retention, And Meet Recruiting Needs

Your agency ranks fourth out of 221 similar agencies on the Partnership for Public Service and American University's list for "Best Places to Work" in the federal government. It makes BusinessWeek's list of top 50 places to start a career. It scores in the top quartile in Gallup Q12 results for overall satisfaction. Everything is A-OK.

Not so fast. Despite numerous indicators that employees are happy and the agency is performing exceptionally well, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), faces significant recruiting and retention challenges and is working to close the gap between the quality of compensation and benefits that are offered and employees' level of appreciation for them. At the same time, the agency is working to modernize its internal communication function to meet the needs of a mobile, nationwide team as it performs its mission of ensuring the safety and soundness of America's national banking system.

• Increasing employee engagement and retention to contribute to the agency's recruiting needs
• Conducting a comprehensive internal communication audit, employee awareness and needs research
• Implementing a multi-dimension program of activities that involves agency communication, training, HR, and operational staff

Bryan Hubbard, Special Advisor to the Deputy Comptroller for Public Affairs
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency,
U.S. Department of the Treasury

3:10 p.m.

How To Integrate Social Media (Blogging, Podcasting & Other New Media) With Traditional Channels To Maximize Your Communication Efforts And Results

The Department of Defense (DoD) is increasingly turning to "New Media" to improve its communications and information sharing. In this session, you will learn how DoD is using web 2.0 & beyond, mobile content, blogger engagement, podcasting and other new media tools to reach its audiences without breaking the budget and without mainstream media filters.

DoD is using the new media definitions to define its audiences. It's all about connectivity. Understanding this connectivity helps promote your own website search engine results and takes your information directly to your audiences.

• Did you know that the top government and organization podcasts downloaded from iTunes are from DoD?
• Did you know that when you talk to one blogger, you are potentially talking to 2 million virally-linked people per blogger?
• Did you know that the blogosphere is doubling in size every 6 months? Did you know that more than 1.1 billion people worldwide are now online?
• Did you know that web traffic to blogs of the top 10 online newspapers grew 210% this past year?

Web 2.0 & beyond and social/consumer generated media is changing the way we work, communicate and live. As a result, DoD is engaging in two-way communications with the blogger community – it's all about the viral spread of your message via the connectedness of the blogosphere.

• Applying simple, low-cost, effective ways to broaden your communications reach using new media tools
• Repackaging your existing communication products to streamline your messages

Roxie T. Merritt, Integrated Internal Communications,
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs

Jack Holt, Chief, New Media Operations
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
U.S. Department of Defense

4:05 p.m.

The Importance Of Developing An Internal Branding Campaign In A Public Sector Organization: Communicating To Your Employees To Build Your Brand And Drive Results

Change is never easy. Turnover of employees, different management styles, and merging departments or organizations can present a multitude of challenges and obstacles. Building a consistent brand strategy that permeates all levels of employees and all channels of communication is imperative to success. We'll explore what best practices worked for one Directorate within the U.S. Department of the Interior and learn the answers to these questions in an entertaining, interactive session:

• What is your brand - - from a public sector organization point of view
• Why is it important to protect, strengthen, and build your brand from the inside-out
• How to tell what your employees REALLY think about your brand
• How to provide your organization with a "roadmap" that will strengthen your brand
• What is the single most important initiative you can implement that will have the most impact on your brand
• What are some practical brand-building tips and tools you can use

Teresa A. Rivera, Branding & Awareness Manager, GovWorks
U.S. Department of the Interior

5:00 p.m.
End Of Day One

We invite you to join us for a drink as you relax with your peers. All conference attendees and speakers are welcome to join us for this special opportunity to continue networking. Don't miss this chance to benchmark new ideas over complimentary drinks!

Sign up during the day for dinner with a group.
Take advantage of DC's fine dining while you continue to network with your colleagues.