8:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast & Networking

8:20 a.m.
Chairperson's Opening Of Day Two

8:30 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, Director, Air Traffic Organization Training and Development
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

9:20 a.m.

What's Your Real Brand Story?: Using Culture Assessment And Story-Based Communication Tools To Engage Your Employees And Build Value For Your Organization

This innovative case study will show how a science-based government organization "found its voice," engaged its staff in a new way of talking about the organization, and learned how to tell its real story—all through a cohesive, culture-based process called "Storybranding."

Through Storybranding, the Langley Research Center's Science Directorate, an organization within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was able to define and tell its story, and learn how to engage others in the most meaningful and motivating aspects of its work. This in-depth session will share the process, which integrates internal quantitative and qualitative culture assessment to define an internal brand with the training, resources and materials employees need to convey it. You will also learn about the Organizational & Team Culture Indicator, the foundational Storybranding assessment tool that "types" an organization based on the storylines that best define its values, strengths and operating style.

• Help any organization understand the storylines that shape its purpose, personality and behavior
• Involve an entire organization in the development of an authentic, inspiring and compelling brand
• Identify and leverage the cultural strengths most likely to create internal and external branding success
• Transform fact-based, attribute-oriented messages into more inspiring, more outcome-oriented communications
• Increase the resonance and effectiveness of all communications programs

Lelia Vann, Director, Langley Research Center's Science Directorate
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION,
LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER

Cindy Atlee, Senior Vice President
PORTER NOVELLI

10:25 a.m.

When Change Comes Knocking: Rebuilding, Growing And Sustaining Your Messaging And Communications Infrastructure Through Leadership Transitions

What if your agency's communications organization was significantly restructured? Reduced? Or worse—what if it was eliminated? When new leadership has new ideas about the value of good communication strategies, it can be a bust or a boon. In this unusual case study detailing the transformation of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Office of Communications and Consumer Affairs, you will learn how to find the opportunities in change, how rebuilding your infrastructure can unearth communications gold and how a revitalized communications strategy can rebuild trust and engagement with both employees and stakeholders.

• Rethink, rebuild and regenerate communications for your organization
• Find new opportunities to solidly link your organization's mission to the message
• Build sustainability into your organization's communications strategy to weather transitions
• Engage employees and stakeholders in your organization's initiatives

Anna Chinappi, Director, Office of Communications and Consumer Affairs
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH

11:15 a.m.

How To Foster Better Communication & Engagement Across
Your Entire Organization - - From The Front Lines To Senior Leadership - - Through The Use Of Performance Standards

In October of 2005, the Deputy Secretary of Defense directed the establishment of the Business Transformation Agency (BTA). The BTA is the DoD's 17th and newest agency, and is the single accountable source for streamlining business operations within the entire Department.

The agency's first director decided to use the new National Security Personnel System (NSPS) as a tool to help "Get the Word Out" about the new agency and its mission. Each and every employee is measured on his/her ability to communicate. But how do employees whose performance standards are normally accounting, engineering, and system integration learn to be comfortable with the additional performance objective of communication?

In this session, you will find out what it took to provide employees with the training, tools and technology to communicate with others while fulfilling their NSPS performance objectives.

• Incorporate communication into everyone’s job description
• Apply a "push pull" approach to providing useful information that builds organizational awareness and unity of mission
• Compile and provide a communicator's tool kit for employee ambassadors
• Harness leadership to promote communication and engage employees

Martha Deutscher, Chief, Communications Division
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION AGENCY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

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.

1:35 p.m.

Group Exercise: Brainstorm Solutions And New Ideas You Can Use

You asked for it, you got it! Interact and discuss solutions to your internal communication challenges with your fellow attendees and our experienced speakers. You will leave with new tools and hands-on experience and ideas for more successfully applying best practices to your own internal communication initiatives.

2:20 p.m.

How To Choose The Right Communication Tools To Ensure That Your Workforce Is Well-Informed And Equipped To Drive Organizational Transformation

The National Security Agency (NSA) houses America's codemakers and codebreakers. For over 50 years, they have been providing and protecting vital information and saving lives. With over 33,000 military and civilian employees located around the world, the challenge of ensuring everyone has the corporate information necessary to understand the enormous transformation ongoing within the agency is a daunting task. A well-informed workforce is a key ingredient to this agency's continued success.

With a very high operations tempo, using the right communications tools and the most effective communications vehicle is paramount in order to maximize impact and minimize time spent away from the core mission. As a result, NSA's Strategic Communications Organization has focused much of its efforts on leadership communications.

• Engaging leadership as active participants in the communications process
• Identifying and developing a network of senior communicators – knowledgeable of the corporate identity and vision – to help disseminate messages with a goal of "one message, many voices"
• Forming cooperative liaisons with all organizations within your agency – to raise credibility as communications consultants and to assist them as the primary advocate for their information
• The need for having direct access to key agency leaders to assure synchronicity with organizational strategies

This session will share some unique examples of communications tools from NSA's toolbox and how they were effectively used to disseminate core messages.

Judith A. Emmel, Associate Director for Strategic Communications
NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY

3:25 p.m.

How To Actively Engage A Geographically Dispersed Audience Using The Latest Collaborative, Social Media and Communication Tools With Dramatic Results

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a critical mission – protecting U.S. borders at and between the official crossing points into this country, while at the same time keeping legitimate travelers and cargo incoming freely. To accomplish this mission it is important that their 47,000 person, geographically dispersed workforce be actively engaged—a momentary lapse by even one person can lead to untold disaster.

In addition to training and human resources efforts to keep employees focused, CBP’s Office of Public Affairs, with the Office of the Commissioner, has deployed numerous strategic internal communications tools to boost employee engagement and further support the mission. These include a transition management office, commissioner messages and webcasts, a five-year anniversary celebration, mission appreciation events, a history program, "Ask the Commissioner," online human interest stories, a new magazine, employee ownership of the intranet, a new collaborative information system, participation in a leadership blog, "Hall of Fame/Hall of Shame," and a Web redesign.

1. Leadership paves the way: Internal communications is most effective when it is supported by senior leadership. The Commissioner himself is actively engaged in internal communications efforts, the Office of the Commissioner has fully backed the Office of Public Affairs in its efforts to reach employees on key issues, and the head of the entire Department of Homeland Security has participated in key employee communications.
2. Web-based tools and email are the #1 vehicle: In a fast-changing environment where employees need to be reached quickly, and where budgets do not support mass printing costs for every employee communication initiative, the intranet, internet, and email, are key ways to reach employees effectively.
3. Multiple channels are helpful: There is no one best way to reach employees. Rather, a variety of methods should be employed, preferably with some being interactive.
4. Respect and honor differences and history: CBP, established in 2003, is made up of various legacy agencies, each with its own unique culture and in some cases hundreds of years of history. Our internal communications program honors that, drawing employees in with respect for the years of experience they bring to the agency.
5. Let strategy evolve: Today's communication needs are not yesterday's communication needs. CBP continually evaluates internal communication efforts and functions to be sure that they are appropriate for what employees are looking for right now.
6. Collaboration plays a role: At CBP, no one office or function "owns" internal communications. Rather, this is a shared function with the Office of Public Affairs, the Office of the Commissioner, the Office of Human Resources, the Office of Training and Development, and each line office (e.g. the Border Patrol, the Office of Field Operations, and so on.) Within this layered approach, some messages are delivered independently of other offices, while others are collaborated on. This ensures that CBP is always balancing those communications for an optimal mix of centralized and decentralized information.
7. Innovation: CBP has always been in the forefront of new technologies, and actively employs them to reach employees, with videocasting, a dedicated internal television channel, web-based collaboration tools, and so on. The agency recognizes that it is operating in a 21st century environment and that its communication tools must keep pace with the way people live today.
8. Feedback is key: CBP recognizes that it does not operate in a communication vacuum, and that employee input at every level is critical to ensuring that internal communications are on target. The presentation will discuss how to implement feedback mechanisms such as surveys and suggestion mailboxes in such a way as to help deliver concrete plans for success.

Dannielle Blumenthal, Senior Public Affairs Specialist
U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

4:15 p.m.

How To Develop An Effective Agency-Wide Communications Strategy To Engage Employees, Build Executive Buy-In And Align Business Systems

In this session, you will learn to apply strategic communications lessons learned from the Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Program efforts. This is the first broad scope ERP system to be used to align business systems within the U.S. Department of Defense. The program has been in development for over 4 years with an ultimate user base of over 85,000 users across 120 Navy sites worldwide. The system will cover five key functional business areas, finance, human resources, supply, maintenance, and program management. The implementation requires a massive change management effort that has created a number of communications challenges.

• Build executive stakeholder buy in and support including developing governance structures, requirements boards and developing leadership communications tools
• Accomplish employee outreach and alignment including development of an agency-wide case for change as well as general training and preparation for system use
• Develop effective agency-wide communications strategies that engage and align geographically dispersed organizations by:
       - Communicating program objectives and integrated project plan information
       - Establishing feedback mechanisms, elevating concerns voiced by implementing
         commands, and creating or communicating support structures available for the
         user community
       - Encouraging business process issue and policy resolution that may
         impact system configuration and rollout

This change management project embarked on a strategic communications program that included development of a program brand, strong word of mouth marketing practices and modern development of strategic visuals in the form of learning maps to address the challenges of system acceptance across the vast Navy community.

As the system is a highly complex set of software and procedures that delivers best practice business processes, there have been many areas of project success that rely on communications. The numerous ERP challenges will also be addressed via the strategic communications discussion. Many of these could apply to any number of government initiatives.

Bob Coble, Public Affairs Officer
Navy ERP Program
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF NAVY

Scott Williams, CEO
MAGA DESIGN GROUP

5:05 p.m.
Chairperson's Recap:
Key Takeaways And What To Do When You Get Back To The Office

We'll recap the highlights of the past two days and ask you to share key insights and next steps with the group.

Christopher N. Sonnesyn, Senior Consultant
WATSON WYATT WORLDWIDE