The Future of Internal Communication

In 2017, Georgie Mack co-founded the mental health charity Minds @ Work. Her goal was to normalise long-overdue conversations around mental health in the workplace. She also wanted employers to examine how their workplaces were contributing to anxiety, stress and mental ill-health. We’ve come a long way since then. Today workforce health and wellbeing are priority agenda items for any discerning internal communication and engagement team. But a primary societal fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is a marked rise in anxiety and low mood. In this special episode, recorded to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, Jen, Dom and Cat chat with Georgie about what more employers should be doing to address mental health issues at work. And of course, the opportunity for internal communicators to add even more value in this vital area.

The 2023 UK labour market continues to perplex policy makers and frustrate employers. A perfect storm of a shrinking workforce and chronic skills shortages mean it’s harder than ever to recruit, and more crucially, retain, the staff needed to maintain organisational stability. To better understand the trends and undercurrents, we were delighted to welcome the CEO of the UK’s Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), Neil Carberry. Tune in to hear Neil’s thoughts about the current state of employment in the UK and the role internal communication has to play in improving hiring outcomes across the board. 

It’s hard to analyse the present and future of internal communication without some understanding of its past. We’re thrilled the IoIC is partnering a new research project, funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The Institutional History of Internal Communication has been awarded funding to explore the value internal communication has added to some of our most well-known organisations since the 1880s. In this episode, Jen, Dom and Cat welcome Dr. Michael Heller, Professor Michael Rowlinson and Dr. Joe Chick. They learn more about the long history of internal communication project and what this research project hopes to achieve for both industry and internal communication professionals.

We love this conversation with Gabriella Braun. A skilled coach and facilitator, Gabriella works with leaders, teams and organisations to explore interpersonal relationships and help people understand more about human behaviour. Her debut book, ‘All That We Are’ delves into the complexity of group dynamics. Through her work Gabriella has seen first-hand just how damaging  the workplace can be to people’s mental health. Tune in to this episode to hear what Gabriella has to say about team work and, more importantly, what this means for internal communicators.

With a PhD in social anthropology, Dr. Alex Gapud turned our heads at the 2022 IoIC festival when he gave a fascinating talk about going beyond engagement survey data to understand the human stories behind the statistics. We were keen to hear more. In this episode, Jen, Dom and Cat chat with Alex about the importance of hearing individual stories at work and the crucial part this plays in building relationship and strengthening team dynamics. As we hurtle towards very different work futures, there’s a lot we can learn from the field of anthropology to become better internal communicators. Alex shares his insights about the expanding opportunity for the profession.

Welcome to Series 6, Episode 4 of the Future of Internal Communication podcast, brought to you by the Institute of Internal Communication. In this episode Dom, Jen and Cat are in conversation with change practitioner and engagement influencer Céline Schillinger. Author of the 2022 critically acclaimed book ‘Dare to Un-Lead’, Céline tells us what led her to write the book, why organisations need to shift tack and why building inclusive, engaged communities of practice at work is key to organisational agility. All community building requires world-class communication. This episode highlights the opportunity for internal communicators.

Welcome to Series 6, Episode 4 of the Future of Internal Communication podcast, brought to you by the Institute of Internal Communication. The pandemic and hybrid work have triggered a mass re-evaluation of how we work. It’s becoming clear that reaching a ‘new normal’ will take years to resolve. Many organisations have started to re-examine standardised work practices and experiment with alternative ways of working. Between June and December 2022, 70 UK organisations participated in the world’s largest ever trial of a 4-day working week. With results of the pilot revealed this week, we wanted to chat with Joe Ryle – Director of the 4-Day Week Campaign. In this special bonus episode, Joe explained the background behind the campaign for a 4-day work week and shared his views on where the trend for new working patterns is headed. Most importantly, we discussed the opportunity for internal communication professionals to help re-shape how we work, to the benefit of all.  

Welcome to Series 6, Episode 3 of the Future of Internal Communication podcast, brought to you by the Institute of Internal Communication. In this episode, Cat, Jen and Dom chat with Dan to explore the impact of digital technology – specifically AI and ChatGPT – on organisations and what this means for how internal communicators reach and connect with their audiences. As the way we work becomes increasingly distributed and asynchronous, connection at work matters like never before. Dan Sodergren is a technology commentator who regularly features on BBC Breakfast. Having delivered a compelling keynote at the IoIC 2022 festival, we wanted to hear more about his views on the future of work.

Welcome to a special Series 6, Bonus Episode 4 of the Future of Internal Communication podcast, brought to you by the Institute of Internal Communication. As escalating industrial action disrupts access to an increasing array of public services and a rising tide of redundancy reshapes the UK labour market, we felt there was no better time to squeeze in a bonus episode to examine the role of trade unions in enabling employee voice. Our special guest this episode is Antonia Bance, Head of Campaigns, Communications and Digital at the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the federation body for UK trade unions. She dives into the role of internal communication in industrial disputes, pointing out the importance of both values and ethics when tensions run high.

We're so excited to bring you Series 6, Episode 2 of the Future of Internal Communication podcast, brought to you by the Institute of Internal Communication. We couldn’t believe our luck when bestselling author Seth Godin agreed to come about ‘The Carbon Almanac’ project. In this episode he shares why the project and book couldn’t have happened without an international volunteer community. In this conversation, Seth, Cat, Dom and Jen talk about the climate crisis and the desperate need for collaboration and teamwork to address our most pressing challenges. As Seth gives us his thoughts about building community at work, we hope you’ll agree this is an episode no internal communicator should miss!