8:00 a.m.
Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m.
Chairperson's Welcome, Opening Remarks And Presentation:
Social Media Best Practices: Tips And Lessons Learned From The Government Of Canada

As Government of Canada (GoC) departments and agencies turn their attention to the use of social media for internal communications purposes, they will come into contact with an already existing vibrant and evolving community of GoC social media users. In typical social media fashion, people have taken up the charge leaving their institutions behind.

• Whether GoC techniques to engage Canadians through social media are producing results or not
• How can you catch up to an already existing vibrant and evolving community of GoC social media users
• The ways that GoC public servants are currently using social media in support of their work, and how you can as well
• How does GoC engage its own public servants to share best practices that can apply to the official adoption of social media in a government setting

Pierre Killeen, Vice-President, Public Engagement
Darren Cunningham, Vice President
THORNLEY FALLIS GROUP

9:30 a.m.

How To Turn Your Organization Into A "Wow" Place To Work: Increasing Employee Morale And Leadership Involvement Through An Employee Culture Survey

Back in the day, 1997ish, the City of Kitchener, Ontario’s employee morale was at a low point. – an all time low point! In response, the City decided to do a survey to find out what was going on hoping to get some ideas on how to change things. So, a survey was developed, completed, analyzed, and then put up upon a shelf.

A decade later, the City still employed many of the same staff, but had a decidedly more positive culture. Nonetheless, they knew they had some problem areas that needed to be addressed. More importantly, they wanted to nurture a budding culture shift away from the traditional bureaucracy, toward a culture of leadership - where leadership is a verb, not a corner office. The answer was to exercise an "Employee Culture Survey" as the tool for reaching their goals.

Between January 30 and February 14, 2007, 1,328 City of Kitchener employees completed the Employee Culture Survey, delivered by Metrics@Work, a survey company based out of St. Catherines, Ontario. With over 80% of their staff taking the time to share their feedback through this important survey, the City achieved the highest response rate of any municipality! When they repeated the survey in 2009, their response rates fell only slightly and the head of the survey company told the City "You are a "wow" organization. Change your name to the City of Wow!"

Learn how your organization can support positive culture change through two-way communication, regular and meaningful participation, measured action, and regular feedback. Hear how internal communications plays a major role in engaging employees, including how to:

• Engage your employees in discussion and problem solving – they want to participate and have much to contribute
• Capture the attention of your people through campaigns that will ensure promises will be delivered – and get their help in delivery!
• Create excitement around your survey, making your employees your "champions for a great place to work"
• Engage senior managers – have them commit through word and action to make those changes, as long as staff can help
• Track the progress of the results

Shelley Adams, Director of Strategic Planning and Innovation
CITY OF KITCHENER, ONTARIO

10:20 a.m.

Break-Out Blitz! Network And Discuss Internal Communication Challenges With Your Fellow Seminar Attendees

This session will open the conversation by connecting you with other seminar participants and gain greater understanding into many similar issues, concerns, and challenges that your peers are also facing. Become acquainted with your fellow seminar attendees in this fun and fast-paced forum!

11:20 a.m.

How To Deploy A Social Intranet In The Public Service – The Dirty Secrets Of Getting It Done And Overcoming Common Internal Barriers

Everybody wants social technology in their institution, but very few people know what that means and how to do it right. Using OPSpedia, a social intranet for the Ontario Public Service, the organization was able to see what works and what doesn’t when it comes to giving staff access to social technologies. OPSpedia has weathered many storms of institutional resistance, and at one time or another has been threatened to be shut down by all levels of authority within the OPS, but it’s still up and running and continues to provoke interesting discussion and attract official use.

In this session, you will gain the knowledge you need to successfully implement social technology into your organization, including:

• The necessary pre-conditions to start a social intranet
• How to overcome the major hurdles you will face before launch, during your 1st year, and ongoing
• Preparing for the practical challenges of deploying Open Source Software within a traditional IT organization
• Techniques for getting approvals nobody wants to give

Darren Chartier, Web Project Lead
ONTARIO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

12:10 p.m.

Lunch On Your Own -- But Not Alone!

Join a group of your colleagues for a themed lunch with an informal discussion surrounding a specific topic. Take this opportunity to join others in a small, interactive group setting to network and brainstorm solutions to your most pressing internal communication concerns.

1:40 p.m.

How To Implement The Latest Internal Communications Tools To Maximize Your Effectiveness

Since 2006, the Public Service Commission (PSC) has been experimenting with a variety of new internal communication tools and approaches based on open-source software, social media sites and web-centric best practices. From blogs to virtual environments, Twitter to wikis, innovation working groups to consultation events, the PSC can now look at five years worth of practical lessons.

• How to get dozens of comments on a single blog post
• The unexpected benefits of playing around with new technology
• Why the process is just as important as the results
• How to stop worrying and start innovating

Karyna Zielinski, Manager, Web and New Media, Communications and Parliamentary Affairs Christian Sauvé, Advisor, Web Services, Information Technology Services
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF CANADA

2:30 p.m.

How To Successfully Launch A Social Media Strategy: Collaborating Between Departments, Creating A Policy, Communicating Internally, And Testing The ROI

The Canadian Red Cross is in the process of launching their first-ever social media strategy, policy as well as a handbook to teach Red Crossers how to use social media. It has been an 8-month process for and has involved input from communications experts across the country, HR, legal and various other departments. Before one can even begin formulating a strategy, you must test various social media tools to determine their individual value. The Canadian Red Cross found that the ROI of the tested social media initiatives, including Tweet-ups and blogs, was the foundation for their national strategy.

• Why you need to and how to involve the right partners (Communications, HR, Marketing, Operations, etc.) across your organization to engage employees and drive results
• How to use social media to address internal audiences
• Evaluating the ROI of your organization’s social media efforts
• Creating a social media policy to be implemented throughout your entire organization

Karen Snider, Senior Media Manager
CANADIAN RED CROSS

3:20 p.m.

Afternoon Refreshment & Networking Break

3:40 p.m.

Integrating New Internal Communication Strategies & Tools That Get Your Employees Aligned With Your Organization's Goals And Drive Change

For the past 20 years, Home (an agency focused entirely on internal communications and employee engagement), has worked with Royal Mail (the government owned British Postal Service). Royal Mail is a business amidst huge change -- declining mail volumes due to severe commercial competition and online transactions, a disengaged workforce, outdated equipment, a militant trade union and a massive pension deficit being just some of the challenges.

This session will provide you with insight on the innovative ways used to tackle these problems and communicate with employees, including how to:

• Use new methods to tell the same old news
• Stimulate a generally disengaged workforce
• Cope with organizational doom and gloom
• Integrate internal communications that make money
• Implement new communication tools in times of change to help employees understand your organization's strategic plans for the future

Christian Petersen, Senior Communications Manager
ROYAL MAIL, BRITISH POSTAL SERVICE

Carol Whitworth, Innovation and Inspiration Director
HOME

4:30 p.m.

More “How To's” To Help You Get The Work Done:
An Interactive Panel Discussion With Today’s Speakers

Need to dive deeper into specific topics? Want more details? Here’s your chance!
Available speakers from today’s sessions will answer your questions to help you innovate your own strategic internal communications plan. Digest what you’ve learned and apply it to your own initiatives to get feedback and ideas for improvement.

4:55 p.m.

End of Day One

5:00 p.m.

Networking Reception: Please Join Us!

We invite you to join us for a drink as you relax with your peers. All seminar 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 Ottawa's fine dining while you continue to network with your colleagues.