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.

******  Your Choice of FOUR Workshops   ******
Attend them all for Maximum Value and Learning!

How To Assemble A Best-In-Class Internal
Communications Strategy

Are you trying to move beyond a tactical communications model? Shifting priorities? Undergoing significant organizational change? Unsure where to start?

These are common struggles faced by both beginning practitioners and seasoned veterans alike. Prepare yourself to meet the changing needs or your organization by learning how to assemble a best-in-class internal communications strategy that can evolve with the business.

This session will share The ROC Group’s methodology for successful internal communications, built on over 30 years of consulting with Fortune 500 companies. The session will begin with you sharing your own challenges, and will provide a step-by-step process for you to begin building your own strategy.

During this unique workshop, you will:

• Complete an assessment to better understand how your organization deals with change
• Learn about barriers and triggers for change, engagement strategies, and how to identify the gaps in your current communication plans
• Understand how neuromarketing techniques can lead to desired outcomes
• Brainstorm fun and creative ways to communicate
• Begin assembling a customized strategy for your specific change management project

WORKSHOP LEADERS:

Jan’s clients have included Abbott, Bausch & Lomb, Boeing, CF Industries, Dover, Kraft Foods, Microsoft, Reynolds American, United Healthcare and US Foods. Her work has won dozens of Gold Quill and other awards. She also is a frequent speaker on effective communication strategies and has served as a guest lecturer on change communications at the Annenberg School for Communication at USC.

Before founding the ROC Group in 1998, Jan was a Principal with both Towers Perrin and PricewaterhouseCoopers. She holds a BA in English from Carleton College.

Emily Parker is a Consultant with the ROC Group. She helps clients strategize, evaluate and deliver communication solutions to engage employees, leadership and other stakeholders.

Emily’s particular expertise is driving results through creative communication strategies. Through nearly 10 years of experience in corporate communications, she has been responsible for developing and managing the implementation of campaigns for human resources, business strategy and diversity and inclusion. Her particular focus includes: implementing social media channels and intranets; senior leader communications support; communicating mergers and acquisitions; diversity and inclusion; healthcare, wellness and retirement.

Emily’s clients have included Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Huntington Bankshares, Sallie Mae and US Foods. Her work has won several MarCom Awards. Before joining ROC Group, she was a Senior Manager of Communications at Jones Lang LaSalle. She holds a BA in Interpersonal Communications from Wheaton College, and an MA in Organizational Communications from Northern Illinois University.

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Afternoon break/lunch on your own

12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
PRE-CONFERENCE AFTERNOON WORKSHOP B
Refreshments will be provided during this session.

How Internal Communications Can Lead An Organization Through Major Change

Complexity is not a new management concern; rather, it a predictable outcome of the shift to the current globalized knowledge-based economy.
 
This complexity is characterized by constant change and the need to embrace disruption to create a new social business model.
 
In this session, you will learn from case study examples, including how a traditional communications tool was applied to begin a conversation with the C-suite of a 15-year old direct sales company in western Canada. Learn how a simple assessment paved the way for a multi-year phased roadmap for organizational change.
 
Using this recent case study, you will learn how to use internal communications to support massive change by:

• Creating a toolkit (written and visual) for staff so that everyone understands the change in organizational direction
• Integrating work teams - HR, IT, Marketing and Operations – to model innovative thinking and realize business objectives
• Embracing disruption and using social technologies for open and honest communication
• Defining the company’s story and linking it to strategic business objectives
• Building capacity and managing complexity through transformation events
• Linking internal communication and metrics to prove financial value
• Aligning HR practices to business goals
  

This engaging workshop will give you the opportunity to understand and experience involvement techniques for yourself, so be prepared to roll up your sleeves, have some fun, and get involved!

WORKSHOP LEADERS:  Christine Wood is the Director, Innovation + Integration at KENDALL WOOD. Christine is passionate about strategic communications, collaboration and innovation.  She is a seasoned communications specialist with more than 12 years experience in the private sector and eight years in the public sector.

Prior to becoming a public relations and communications professional for government, Christine ran a successful communications consultancy in Vancouver. Her diverse clientele included a leading global animation studio and a high-tech aviation firm specializing in infrared imaging and mapping for the utilities sector.

With direct experience in the ministries of Community and Rural Development, Small Business and Revenue, Energy and Mines, Finance, as well as the Treaty Negotiation Office, Christine has a deep knowledge of how municipal, regional, provincial and federal (all levels of government) can work together to achieve successful outcomes.

Rena Kendall is the Director of Strategy at KENDALL WOOD.

How To Make The Most Out Of Social Media: A Step-By-Step Process For Using Internal Communications To Advance Your Brand From The Inside Out

Social media has become an organic part of companies’ daily communications and an integral way to both advance brands and measure impact. Though engaging in social media has become less of an option for companies and more of a necessity, it can be difficult to know how to effectively get the results you want. As with most successful initiatives, leveraging the power of social media involves starting with a well thought out strategy and an understanding of the investment required. How do you make sure you’re getting the desired return?

In this thought-provoking workshop, you will learn:

• What it means to effectively be ‘social’
• What the most impactful social media platforms are and why you should be using them
• How effective measurement can be part of your organization’s plan

The world of social media is continually expanding and growing, providing endless opportunities for those who strategically join the conversation. There are also unique codes of conduct you may unwittingly break at the risk of your brand if you’re not careful. Impactful social media programs begin within an organization and flow outward.

In this workshop, you will examine how to organically use social media to engage and empower employees, and in the process, have them become some of the most important brand ambassadors your organization has.  In addition, you will learn how to maintain your brand’s voice and incorporate your core messages.

WORKSHOP LEADER:  Kathleen Kindle is a Strategy Director at Siegel+Gale.  When Kathleen was seven, her father bought a local business called Benjamin's Pharmacy. Her father’s name is Andy, so she was mystified that he didn't change the name. Kathleen’s father explained that people had known and trusted the Benjamin's name for years, so why would he change it? At seven years old, Kathleen had learned her first lesson in the importance and power of brands. Now, in her current role, Kathleen brings her intimate understanding of branding and more than 17 years of experience in strategy, marketing and communications to every project she leads.

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Afternoon break/lunch on your own

Internal Communication, Employee Engagement And Measurement: Making The Connection For Your Communication’s Strategy

We have the ability to measure employee engagement, conduct predictive analyses to help us target the areas with the greatest potential to impact engagement, and can select a range of business metrics to quantify the relationship between engagement and an organization’s measures of success.

So, why aren’t things much better than they are?

The people held responsible for improving internal communications and employee engagement are often ill-equipped to measure its success.  This timely and hands-on workshop will explore the need for greater cooperation and coordination between different departments within an organization, a clearer understanding that improving employee engagement and internal communications is a process not a project and that those in the communication profession need to take on a stronger role in this process.
 
Sharpen your ability to measure the effectiveness of your internal communications strategy and hear lessons and partake in exercises on:

• Gaining a better understanding of what drives employee engagement – up or down
• Developing a tighter focus on the metrics that matter to your employees and the business
• Identifying the key partners in your organization that need to work together to promote employee engagement and show how that will drive results
• Realizing the key role that internal communication plays in moving an organization up the employee engagement continuum

WORKSHOP LEADER:  Jean Douglas, MA, CHRP, CMC, President, Douglas Communications Inc., is a firm believer that business success cannot be achieved without engaging the workforce on the journey. She is passionate about employee engagement and has dedicated the past 20+ years of her career to researching and understanding the employee experience in the workplace and how that experience relates to productivity and other business metrics. Armed with a Masters degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and professional credentials as a CHRP (Certified Human Resources Professional) and CMC (Certified Management Consultant), Jean sharpened her expertise with some of the leading employers in this niche field. @sagew0man