Ee Voice

Lessons we can learn from United, J&J, Steve Harvey (and others) Andy Gilman has had a busy spring. He has been a frequently-quoted source by journalists covering the recent crises, including United, Uber, the Oscars and American Airlines, and most recently, Steve Harvey’s internal note to employees, among others. As president, CEO and founder of CommCore, Andy and his team have helped senior executives, officials and spokespersons achieve their organization’s communications goals and often help them respond to a crisis.Continue Reading → The post Episode #18: How to lead internally in a crisis – with Andy Gilman appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

“Mark my words,” Shel Holtz said in a 2016 blog, “Bots are coming to the workplace, to media relations, to public relations. They are coming just as surely as the web was going to completely disrupt the way communications was done a quarter century ago.” When we read that, Sharon and I knew we wanted to know more about chatbots – and how they will affect employee communications. Soon after, we met Chris McGrath, and knew we wanted to discuss chatbots. Chris is a veteran digital workplace consultant with extensive experience designing delightful enterprise software — like Tangowork, which he founded, and ThoughtFarmer, which he co-founded. Tangowork is his new company dedicated to chatbots for internal communications.Continue Reading → The post Episode #17: Chatbots will change employee communications. Are you ready? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Nearly every organization is currently undergoing some type of transformation. But are internal communicators changing as well? In this episode, we discuss the evolving role of internal communicators – and what training and focus areas they should be developing today to serve the company of tomorrow. We also hear from three experts in the field: Shel Holtz, principal of Holtz Communication + Technology; Jeff Herrington, who runs Jeff Herrington Communications; and Mark Dollins, current head of executive and global internal communication at DuPont. They share their views on how communicators need to evolve and change (and why Jeff thinks all of us deserve a new car!) Take a listen, and let us know what you think!Continue Reading → The post Episode #16: The Changing Role of the Internal Communicator appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In our 15th podcast, we were delighted to welcome Victoria Lewis-Stephens and Alys O’Neill of Instinctif Partners, an international business communications consultancy that specializes in reputation, influence and engagement.  The topic: How to lead change from inside the organization by identifying your employee influencers.Continue Reading → The post Episode #15: How employees can lead change from inside your organization appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to our first podcast for 2017. In this episode, we welcome back Tamara Snyder, leader of Edelman’s Chicago Employee Engagement team, to chat with us about mergers and acquisitions (M&A), an area that has seen increased activity over the last year. She also shares a few findings from the recent Edelman Trust Barometer, which was just issued in January.Continue Reading → The post Episode #14: Survival tips for communicators during mergers and acquisitions appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to our special holiday episode, where Sharon and I offer five fast tips to improve your CEO’s end-of-year letter for 2016. We reference a blog I wrote on this topic a couple of years ago, but many of the same recommendations still apply.Continue Reading → The post Episode #13: Five tips to improve your end-of-year CEO letter appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to episode 12, where we discuss how to engage your millennial workforce. Sharon and I interview Adam “Smiley” Poswolsky, a millennial workplace expert, internationally renowned keynote speaker, and bestselling author of The Quarter-Life Breakthrough: Invent Your Own Path, Find Meaningful Work, and Build a Life That Matters.Continue Reading → The post Episode #12: How are you engaging your company’s millennials? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to episode 11, where we are delighted to interview Stephanie Bickel from Speak by Design, a team of executive coaches and trainers who are committed to helping clients elevate their impact and increase their influence through better communication skills.Continue Reading → The post Episode #11: Is it time for you to speak up? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Whether you love them or hate them, for most internal communicators employee town halls are an expected part of the job. In this month's podcast, we share our town hall war stories (the good and the bad) and what energizes us most as we prepare for these leader-employee dialogues. We suggest practical tips that will assist in preparing and planning for your town hall, executing day of, and following up to ensure lessons are learned.Continue Reading → The post Episode #10: The yin and yang of employee town halls appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Have you considered starting your own communications business? If so, we invite you to take a listen to this month's podcast, where we share our personal experiences and provide tips on how to make your own journey an energizing and successful venture.Continue Reading → The post Episode #9: Are you ready to hang out your communications shingle? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to episode eight, where we welcome our friend and colleague Kim Grieser for a great discussion on change management. Since retiring from PepsiCo in 2014, Kim launched her consultancy, Grieser Communications, working with a variety of clients in the consumer products, pharmaceutical and hospitality industries.Continue Reading → The post Episode #8: Change is in the air…and how to assist your organization through it appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to episode 7, where we enjoy a great conversation with Tamara Snyder about an inside peek at the soon-to-be-released analysis of the employee specific data of the 16th annual Edelman Trust Barometer. Long known for revealing that the average employee ranks higher than the CEO as trusted company spokesperson, the Trust Barometer has been a wealth of insights for communicators. And for the first time this year, the study also measured employees' trust of their own company.Continue Reading → The post Episode #7: In employees we trust: Key findings from the 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to episode six, where we discuss one of our favorite internal communications topics: employee ambassadors.Continue Reading → The post Episode #6: Is it time to start an employee advocacy program at your company? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to episode 5, where we are honored to welcome Measurement Maven Katie Paine. If one of your New Year’s resolutions for 2016 is to strengthen your measurement focus, today’s show is made just for you! With nearly three decades of communications measurement experience under her belt, it’s fair to say that Katie Paine lives and breathes measurement. She has founded two measurement companies -- KDPaine & Partners Inc., and The Delahaye Group – and written 3 books: Measure What Matters , Measuring Public Relationships, and Measuring the Networked Nonprofit: Using Data to Change the World. Her latest company, Paine Publishing, is the first educational publishing firm entirely dedicated to making more Measurement Mavens. In her consulting practices, she designs measurement dashboards for some of today’s most admired companies. Continue Reading → The post Episode #5: Is improving measurement one of your New Year’s resolutions? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to episode #4 of EE Voice, where we interview Christine Lai, chief of staff for Delivering Happiness – and a self-described “collaboration catalyst and life enthusiast.” Christine and I discuss: Delivering Happiness’ birth from the book written by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, and how this start-up has evolved How Christine and the team define culture – and the role internal comms should play How internal comms can partner with HR to improve culture If happiness = employee engagement And Christine’s one, practical tip you can use immediately at work Thanks to Christine for an enlightening, edifying discussion!Continue Reading → The post EE Voice #4: How do you improve your company culture? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to episode three, where we discuss one of our favorite topics:  Executive communications. In this episode, we discuss: Research that supports how executive communication can drive employee engagement; Thoughts on Starbucks CEO’s letter to his associates on the day the stock market tanked last summer; Our view on Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s announcement that she’s taking limited time off for her maternity leave; And some ideas and tips on how to improve executive communications at your organization. Continue Reading → The post #3: The importance of executive communications appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In this episode we interview Beth Nyland on how to turn corporate speak into something you love to write and your employees love to read. Beth, who leads her communications consulting firm, Spencer Grace, has extensive experience in writing and editing, marketing and internal communications, and branding and business development. Beth’s career spans both corporate... Continue Reading → The post #2: A conversation with Beth Nyland on improving your business writing appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Welcome to our kick-off podcast, EE Voice, a podcast where we talk about employee engagement, internal communications, best practices and practical tips to improve employee communications. In this initial podcast, we introduce ourselves as co-hosts: Sharon McIntosh, from Norwalk, Conn., and Sharon Phillips, from Oak Park, Ill. Since we both have the same first names, and have been confused in the nearly 20 years we’ve known each other, we begin by designating Sharon McIntosh as “Sharon Mac” and Sharon Phillips as “SJP.” We kept this one short as a brief introduction, but we’ll be back in a few weeks with a full episode.  We tell our story about how we landed in internal communications and then a bit more on the personal front. (Sharon Phillips shares how she has three generations living in her same home!)Continue Reading → The post #1: Welcome to EE Voice podcast appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.