Thursday 14 January 2021 |  Friday 15 January 2021

10:00 Chair’s opening remarks

John Harrington, Editor, PRWeek UK

10:05 What does the ‘new normal’ look like for internal communications?

Panel discussion

• What does the future of internal communications look like?
• How do you make the normal fresh and interesting to maintain engagement?
• How can you maintain your central and strategic position beyond the crisis?

Alba Guerra Recas, Global Internal Communications Director, Puig
Naomi Jones, Communications Director, SUEZ
Jess Lonsdale, Internal Communications Director, Virgin Media
Jenni Field, Founder & Business Communications Strategist, Redefining Communications

10:45 Session break

10:50 Leadership strategy: communicating effectively with authentic conversation

Case study presentation

• Maximise engagement through authentic and personal stories
• Working with senior management as a partner rather than a service
• Handling fast-changing strategies clearly and effectively to your employees

Vicki Davies, Director of Internal Communications, Highways England

11:30 Building communities in the hybrid workforce

• Sparking a sense of belonging across your organisation by connecting HQ with the frontline
• Empowering staff through engaged, active and visible leadership through community hubs
• Making it work for everyone: ensuring that your communications strategy caters to the needs of your people and promotes health and wellbeing 

Abby Guthkelch, Global Communications Solutions Lead, Workplace from Facebook
Natalie Baxendale, Internal Communications and Events Business Partner, Dixons Carphone

11:45 Using behavioural science to gain buy-in for change across your organisation 

• Improving employee experience and driving engagement in times of change
• Understand the drivers for change behaviours and make it feel authentic
• Effectively manoeuver modernising, reorganising, redundancies and restructuring 

Dr Alexandra Dobra-Kiel, Banking & Capital Markets Insight Lead, Deloitte
Arvind Hickman, News Editor, PRWeek

12:15 Networking lunch

13:15 Pulse check: measuring internal communications

• What are the core measurement principles in the virtual space?
• How to illustrate measurable results and a worthwhile ROI?
• What are the most effective, meaningful and impactful ways to communicate with your stakeholders, customers and employees?

Noha Al Afifi, Director of Marketing and Communications, Arthritis Action
Nana Berchie, Global Head of Internal Communications & Engagement, Arcadis
Rebecca Murch, Head of Internal Communications, Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group
Chair: Advita Patel, Director, CommsRebel

14:00 Harnessing diversity of thought to shape the future of your organisation

Fireside chat

• The importance of crowdsourcing in strategy
• Delivering organisational change in a truly inclusive way
• Effective employee-led innovation
• Engaging employees in the future direction of a company during a global pandemic

Alun Metford, Global Head of Internal and Enabling Communications, AstraZeneca
Jem Gregory, Director, Internal Communications and Engagement, Ruder Finn

14:20 Session break

14:45 Nurturing a healthy workforce to strengthen your business

Panel discussion

• Where is the line on work/life balance?
• How ethical and appropriate is it to ask employees to spend more time online?
• How much can we expect employees to engage?
• Caring for the comms team - through this me and my team have been exposed to the indecision and confusion from business leadership
• What are you doing to support your staff and tackle loneliness and isolation?

Kiran Bolla, Head of Internal Communications and Engagement, Environment Agency
Hannah Wilkinson, Head of Strategic Communications & Internal Engagement, British Red Cross
Abby Guthkelch, Global Communications Solutions Lead, Workplace from Facebook
Alice Ackermann, Global Communications Manager, Hostelworld
Chair: Harriet Small, Founder, No. 84

15:30 Session break

15:45 The digital workplace: creating that ‘water cooler moment’ online

• Make everyone feel part of something by using a social media model
• Is the intranet dead? New platforms and channels to drive engagement
• Building an infrastructure to support a real-time, fluid, two-way communication with your whole organisation

Julian Hunt, Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications, Coca-Cola

16:15 Chair’s closing remarks

John Harrington, Editor, PRWeek

16:20 End of Day 1

Thursday 14 January 2021 |  Friday 15 January 2021