What a year it’s been! As I write this I’m sitting in my office, surrounded by boxes and debating putting on gloves as it’s so cold. I should say that the boxes are here because we are on the move and I will leave what has been my office for the last three years – …
STRATEGIC editor-in-chief Orla Clancy enjoyed a virtual coffee with Jenni Field about how she achieves greater productivity by setting boundaries, a work style that she started as an employee and continues as a business owner. Jenni talks about how internal communications is a privileged position, impacting every part of the organisation. Winter 2020, pages 15-17. Jenni shares her …
From chaos to calm: putting people first with internal communications Read More »
Inspiring Change podcast – In a year of change, Jenni discussed the role of purpose, the importance of human connections at work and how to diagnose issues to fix them for the long term. Chatting to Scott McInnes, Jenni talks about the importance of internal communication and why it’s such an important role in organisations. …
The Bionic Business report from simplycommunicate provides insight into the way organisations need to change to adapt to a hybrid working environment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report outlines three key characteristics of what a bionic organisation is: This made me think. For years we have seen barriers for internal communicators remain …
The skills we need to take us into the next era of comms and engagement Read More »
In a world where most of us have smartphones (76% of people in “advanced economies”), be that a company device or personal, we are better connected with our employers now than ever before. Thanks to our devices we can receive news/updates, employee services, and all manner of work-related activities anytime/anywhere. This has been of particular …
Starting a podcast has been a topic that has been bubbling around for me over the last year. A few people have suggested doing one and I know that doing podcasts or videos is more engaging than just writing. In mid-July I got a moment of inspiration and discussed the idea with my good friends …
Internal Miscommunications podcast – Jenni talks about how moments of miscommunications in her past triggered chaos, what she learned from those experiences and how she moved forward with a bright vision for her future. Interviewed by Erica Goodwin and Keith Riley, there is a lot of laughter and some terrible spelling! Listen now
Are organisations using technology ethically to help keep us safe and well, or is it a covert way to keep tabs on us now we’re not all in the office? Opinions will vary depending on who the organisation is, what the tech is and to what extent do the employees know about it. Either way, …
This morning I joined Hannah Sardar from Workplace by Facebook for a webinar hosted by the team (Graham Mackay and Jack Paine) at Generation Digital. Between the three of us we covered some of the themes around communications in a crisis, how Workplace can be the tool to help connect your teams and how to …
How do ‘Connected Companies’ communicate in a crisis? Read More »
Last week we attended the first Talk/50 event on Communications and Neuroscience. Hosted by Trudy Lewis of Lewis Communicate we heard from author Hilary Scarlett who spoke about her research, all captured in her book – the Neuroscience for Organizational Change: An Evidence-based Practical Guide to Managing Change (2nd edition just out). We heard more …
Comms, Change and Neuroscience – what’s the link? Read More »
Today I attended the annual state of the sector event hosted by Gatehouse, a Gallagher Company. This is always a ‘must attend’ event in my calendar as I’m keen to hear how things are shifting for internal communicators. I’m not sure annual surveys help us that much anymore. I have been thinking about this for …
State of the Sector 2020: What will it take to overcome our barriers? Read More »
StreamGO podcast – This episode takes a close look at research conducted by Jenni: Remotely Interested, to discover why non-desk based workers are one of the biggest barriers to effective internal communications. Listen now
This year I have signed a publishing contract with Kogan Page to write a book about how to take your organisation from chaos to calm. Over the course of the next nine months some of my blogs will feature the thinking for the book. As I’m reading and watching more than ever, themes and ideas …
I have presented on some big topics over the last few months – measurement being one of them. In the last two sessions I showed a selection of photos from measuring spoons for cooking to measuring blood pressure – each one is a type of measurement. My worry is that we are getting stuck using …
Big words, little meaning – what do we mean by measurement? Read More »
This week a question was asked to the IC Crowd about skills required for jobs in internal communications. The specifics were around recruiters telling someone they needed Adobe skills for a role and it has divided opinion. From some saying it makes a mockery of the specialism to others saying it is a skill they …
Be strategic with the tactical, and do an Adobe course if it’s where your passion lies Read More »
Communicating to remote or deskless workers has been one of the biggest challenges for organisations for years. Professional communicators have talked about this barrier, but it has been moved into the ‘too hard’ pile. To help overcome this, I partnered with SocialOptic and together we took to the mess rooms, cafes and fire stations to …
The Internal Comms Podcast – Jenni discusses Gatehouse’s State of Sector findings and the recently released – Edelman Trust Barometer, which found people put more trust in ‘my employer’ than NGOs, business, or the media. Listen now
Last year Lee Sheldon, founder of Mastering Multi-Units (MMU) invited me onto his podcast to talk about my experience in supporting organisations communicate with a remote workforce. I worked with Lee during my time at SSP as the Head of Internal Communications for the UK where our challenge was to communicate effectively with 10,000 employees. …
How do you achieve great communication in a multi-site organisation? Read More »
I have a passion for understanding organisations. Getting underneath the strategy, financial goals and organisational charts to really understand how it works is probably the main reason I became an expert in internal communication. I have spent most of my career in-house and working with an employee base that is predominately remote. Remote meaning they …
Earlier this month I hosted a workshop with Neil Tomalin to discuss the importance of communication inside organisations. As a roundtable discussion we wanted to speak to those who don’t work in a communications function to help them explore their own communication style, understand a bit more about internal communication and its significance in the …
The importance of communication in your organisation Read More »
This week the Labour party announced plans to bring the employee voice into the Boardroom. Under Labour’s plans, all companies with a workforce of 250 or more, whether public or private, would be required by law to reserve at least one third of places at the boardroom table for employee representatives. While the theory is …
Why the new labour policy won’t help the employee voice Read More »
On 10 September I finally got my Chartered Practitioner status. I set myself a goal at the start of 2018 to do it but I knew that September would be the best time for me. As someone who is heavily involved with CIPR I kept my involvement in the day quiet – for me becoming …
Getting Chartered – why I did it and what I will takeaway Read More »
We know that internal communicators are struggling to influence at the top, finding digital adoption hard across organisations and working with limited budgets. Some of the conversation we need to have are increasingly challenging and opinion or experience might not be enough to win your case. Last week, at the CIPR Northern Conference in Newcastle, …
The art of science and engagement in internal communication Read More »
In this Multi-Site Masters podcast, Jenni talks to Lee Sheldon, co-founder of Mastering Multi Units and provides insights as to what an internal communications department should be doing to improve the quality and frequency of the communication within the organisation, as well as sharing her experience regarding the diverse ranges of tools, platforms and apps …
How do you achieve great communication in a multi-site organisation? Read More »
This morning CIPR Inside and Luminous hosted an Ask the Guru event all about the shift from informing to engaging audiences inside organisations. As the Chair of CIPR Inside I was there to open the event and facilitate any questions. The event was designed to explore the role of internal communication in driving engaging and …
This morning I attended a breakfast event hosted by VMA Group on the topic of authenticity. The session was led by Matt Hampshire from MK and he was supported by Ed Austin from Wagamama and together they took us through five rules for authenticity. During the hour they took us through examples from Wagamama as …
Why internal communication is the key to brand authenticity Read More »
Last week I was asked for some insight into volunteer communication on the back of my involvement with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). I have been working with CIPR for a number of years and leading the internal communications group has given me some understanding of what to consider when communicating and engaging …
Yesterday I was invited to speak at the National Housing Federation Comms Event in London to talk about how you can demonstrate impact and value in internal communications. I hadn’t attended a specific housing event before and it was great to see over 250 people together to learn, discuss and network about challenges and share …
What I heard at the National Housing Federation Comms Event 2018 Read More »
Last week I attended the Gatehouse (Gallagher Communications) State of the Sector research*. It was an insightful morning with some good debate in the room and a clear desire to further understand some of the data points. The research shows the results from over 650 communication professionals representing more than 400 organisations and based all …
