Jen is a passionate advocate for the internal comms profession while also recognising where it needs to improve.

During our chat, Jen shares her views on:

• How the changing workplace is influencing the role of internal comms.
• Whether the internal comms sector has an inferiority complex and how much is of its own making.
• The need to better understand employee behaviours and motivations to meet their needs more effectively.
• What an internal campaign needs to deliver to win at the respected Institute of Internal Comms Awards.
• The age old challenge of improving the comms skills of middle managers.
• And the biggest challenges and opportunities facing internal communicators in the next five years.

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Each week Sam goes behind the scenes to chat to his Fortnum's colleagues and brings their inspiring and everyday stories to life in his regular social posts.

Sam’s stories focus less on the C-suite and more on the cooks, security guards, doormen, concierge, warehouse workers, procurement, hospitality, shop floor and customer service colleagues that help make Fortnum & Mason the national treasure it is today.

Sam is a candid guest and talks openly about the challenges, triumphs and politics of a comms career that has taken in stints in Laing O’Rourke, John Lewis, Royal Mail and the Cabinet office.

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Peter is innovation lead at VCCP’s AI creative agency Faith, which launched last year with Virgin Media O2 as a founding client.

While AI is a hot topic for businesses, much of the corporate world still appears to be warming up to the idea of embracing generative AI, mainly because of a lack of expertise within the organisation.

Peter is applying his extensive AI knowledge to help businesses understand and use the technology to boost creative productivity and cost-effective marketing reach. 

The themes covered in our chat should help you to get a better understanding of generative AI, how it’s evolving and what it might mean for you and the business you work for.

As well as sharing insight on the strengths and limitations of many of the gen AI tools on the market, he also talks about some of the creative AI innovations Faith has been developing for brands like O2. 

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I cover all this and more in my latest podcast with Graeme Johnson, Group Director of Talent Leadership and Learning at Merlin Entertainments, the company behind visitor attractions and theme parks such as Legoland, Alton Towers, Cadbury World, Madame Tussauds and the London Eye.

Graeme’s career has evolved from attracting and recruiting talent to developing talent, taking in stints at Accenture, Virgin Media, BT Group, Entain and now Merlin Entertainments.

Graeme and I chat about:

• the secrets of a strong employer brand and value proposition
• the importance of showing your true culture - warts and all - to the outside world
• the leadership traits recruiters are looking for in job interviews
• the ingredients of a successful leadership event
• shifting the development focus from the top 10% to democratised learning
• and the importance of recruiting and developing neurodiverse talent

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Paul Phillips has spent over 25 years working in agencies, in both the UK and US, including 14 years at VCCP, where he set up the specialist healthcare agency, VCCP Health.

He left the agency world in 2017 to offer training in various areas, including workshops on 'Managing pressure and stress and building resilience'. 

Paul’s approach is rooted in the science of how the body and brain respond to pressure and he offers a practical, evidence-based guide to handling the challenges we face in the business world. 

Paul and I discuss:

• what happens to our brain and body when we become stressed and how our amygdala (the part of the brain that detects danger) can hijack the prefrontal cortex (the rational part that regulates thoughts and emotions) causing the release of hormones and sugar into the bloodstream;
• the common thinking traps that we can fall into, including catastrophising; mind-reading; personalising / self-criticism; filtering; black and white thinking; and the tyranny of ‘shoulds’;
• what we can do to reframe our thinking;
• and what companies and business leaders and managers should be doing more (and less of) to reduce workplace stress and improve employee wellbeing.

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In my latest podcast I chat to Bronwen about:

the do’s and don’t of sustainability comms;

building and maintaining a sustainable brand;

the secrets of a good sustainability narrative;

and why manufacturing companies really shouldn’t be using the words sustainable and sustainability at all.

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In this episode of Delete Delete Engage, I chat to Sophie about:

How her public affairs background and time spent with politicians has influenced her comms approach

Her experience comms firefighting at Channel 4 and the BPI

The importance of targeted communications when your members include both the country’s largest and smallest record labels.

The challenges and opportunities that generative AI presents to the music industry

The impact of streaming on the music business

Her views on the recent crisis engulfing the CBI after a series of misconduct allegations.

And preparing for the BRITs and Mercury Awards, the two biggest events in the BPI's calendar

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Jim began his career as a copywriter at J Walter Thompson, London back in the late 90s and his career has taken in lead creative roles at GGT, TBWA, Mother, Leo Burnett and Arnold KLP before joining VCCP in 2012.

He has also run his own advertising consultancy and even launched the world’s first death magazine, to help people cope with bereavement, 

I chatted to Jim about....

Why great copy should have charm and memorability.

The importance of humour in beer commercials.

The ad campaigns he’s most proud of…. from Persil to Nationwide.

Why memorability matters.

Writing improv ads for actor Martin Freeman before he became famous.

Why his favourite newsletter comes from a jeans manufacturer in Wales.

And how he’s helping to nurture creative talent in Stoke.

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Here are some of the topics we covered in our chat:

The 24/7 demands of football comms versus the event-driven nature of the Olympics 

Planning for the greatest sporting event on earth.

The BOA’s relationship with athletes

Telling stories of ordinary people and their extraordinary abilities

Putting lesser-known sports in the spotlight

Team GB’s diversity

Dealing with politics, pandemics and drug scandals

Working closely with the BOA’s CEO and Chairman

The role of the Olympic charter and the BOA’s relationship with other countries’ Committees

Subscribe to the podcast at deletedeleteengage.substack.com

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Drew has been honing his engagement skills over a career spanning 26 years and has led colleague comms at BA, Virgin Trains and Ladbrokes along the way.

Our conversation covered some of the biggest challenges facing employee communications today, including:

Helping people in a hybrid workforce to stay connected.

How engagement can benefit from behavioural science. 

How we can help line managers to be better communicators.

Why organisations shouldn’t get too hung up on engagement surveys.

Why it's time to stop relying on email as a comms channel.

How a shared purpose can bring cultures together.

And why employees should be treated more like customers.

Subscribe to the newsletter at deletedeleteengage.substack.com

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(1.44) What Channel 4 taught Lynette about inspiring change

(4.12) The mission for Peers for the Planet

(7.15) The peers that have most impressed Lynette

(9.56) Why what we do domestically matters globally

(12.00) How to rally a diverse group of prominent people to drive change

(16.12) The importance of communicating that the climate crisis and the a cost of living crisis are one and the same

(17:48) On taking a ‘polluter pays’ approach

(20:27) UK businesses leading the way with the climate agenda

(22.48)  Why businesses want stability not deregulation

(23:50) Sustainable and green investing

(25:19) On the importance of the 2008 Climate Change Act

(26:50) On advice to corporate comms teams looking to drive internal and external engagement around sustainability and climate change

(30:40) What we can do at an individual level

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These were the key talking points:

(5:37) On the importance of financial inclusion during a cost of living crisis.

(9:03) How the D&I role has evolved over the past 10 years.

(11.34) On collaborating with other pioneering D&I leaders and businesses.

(13:25) On the businesses and industries leading the way with D&I.

(15.08) Addressing the challenge that business leaders and communicators are so terrified of saying the wrong thing that they're “paralysed into inaction”.

(18:24) Ensuring that ‘straight white middle aged men’ and people from traditionally less marginalised groups feel as though they are part of this agenda and the solution.

(20:45) On male leaders taking more accountability for D&I.

(21:30) On invisible disability and needing advocates.

(22:50) On taking different approaches for different countries, creating safe spaces and being careful not to put LGBT+ people in danger.

(25:02) On recognising and supporting neurodiversity and removing barriers to success.

(28:40) On the opportunity and risk of using humour in D&I communications.

(30:55) On authenticity, avoiding tokenism and conscious inclusion.

(33:55) On coaching leaders and managers at all levels.

(35:20) Businesses getting started with D&I - be honest, deliberate and keep it focused.

(37:18) On measuring D&I.

(38:45) Choose 3 people - the one big takeaway and action for every listener.

(39:45) On the people who have mentored and sponsored Wil in his career.

(42:27) On learning from mistakes.

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Here are the headlines from our conversation.

(1.30) Why she initially moved from brand comms into internal comms

(3:50) The vital link between employee engagement and customer experience

(4.30) How Bupa is using an app to connect back office roles to the customer experience 

(5.55) The critical role employee engagement plays in the health and vitality of the brand

(6.59) What she’s learned from her internal comms experience that she can apply to brand strategy

(7.53) What internal comms can learn from the brand discipline

(8:21) Internal comms budgets versus brand budgets and tackling the perception challenge

(9.33) On how the sponsorship of the GB Paralympics team helps engage employees with the D&I agenda

(12.25) On managing comms in a large global business

(15:08) On brand purpose, its authenticity and the role it plays at Bupa

(17:24) On the link between purpose and values, supporting Ukrainian refugees and taking inspiration from Dolly Parton

(20:29) On the unexpected role that data and PPE masks can play in storytelling

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These were the headlines from our conversation. 

3:22 On making innovation part of everyone’s job at Lloyds BG.

4:21 On setting up the Work Lab and its vital role in helping Lloyds BG test, learn and shape the workplace and ways of working for 60,000 e.

5:23 On Lloyds Banking Group’s new org structure and change of strategic focus.

6:13 On inspiring over 600 hyper-engaged colleagues to take part in the company’s Work Lab feedback process.

7.02 On how the Work:Lab is informing thinking on hot topics like remote working, flexibility and agility.

9:45 On home, hub and hybrid work styles and exploring ways of working that work for the business, the team and the employee.

11.30 On the highlights of what Tom’s Work Lab team has been testing and learning, including how the future office needs to look and feel.

14:06 On helping people to feel connected even when they’re not commuting into an office.

15,28 On why we should be focusing on building community and connection when we come into the office.

17:28 On which meetings are best done in the office and which are best done remotely. And creating guidelines to help people to plan meetings in a hybrid world.

20.16 On why focusing on desired outcomes rather than ‘tethering’ to days of the week (eg: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) when planning which days to come into the office.

22.28 On how to run effective hybrid meetings when half of the participants are in the room and half are dialling in. And the importance of etiquette and inclusiveness.

26:45 On the importance of using the chat function in meetings to keep people engaged in the conversation.

28:21 Why meeting facilitation will be a key skill in the future workplace.

29:45 How we can use technology to enhance what makes us human.

30:36 Keeping colleagues engaged by ditching long meetings and keeping them short, sharp and energetic. Like a shot of espresso.

33:38 The importance of pre-reads and podcasts when running engaging meetings.

36:16 Effective communications and the role of video and personalised comms.

39:06 Supporting line managers to address the burnout epidemic. And creating empathetic leaders of the future.

43:00 The need to shift from a focus on output to outcome.

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These were the headlines from our conversation. 

(1.22) On taking a more direct and succinct comms approach as her career has progressed.

(3.22) On being a role model for women looking to forge a career in comms, flexible working and maintaining work life balance.

(7.07) On working with Type 1 diabetes and her commitment to raising aware around invisible illness in the workplace.

(9.58) On the role communicators need to play in supporting the D, E & I agenda and why it keeps her up at night.

(11.28) On the importance of listening and bringing the outside in when managing upwards.

(12.50) On the importance of emotional intelligence and timing when influencing abrasive personalities

(14.08) On the single most important piece of comms advice she’s ever given a CEO.

(15.08) On the importance of authenticity and personality in leadership comms. And the importance of sticking to 3 messages.

(17.45) How she engages and motivates her own comms team and the importance of giving people a voice and opionioon.

(19.11) On maintaining engagement during the Virgin Media O2 merger.

(23.56) On losing long-term team members and helping people depart as ‘positive leavers’.

(25:48) On leading comms while on holiday during O2’s biggest crisis.

(27:55) On the evolving role of social media and empowering and trusting your team during a crisis.

(31:00) On comms lessons learned from the pandemic that remain relevant today.

(32:56) Brief interlude as Nicola’s diabetes alarm sounds.

(33.20) On Workplace, video content and live CEO updates.

(34:33) On the leader that has most inspired her and why they’ve inspired her approach to comms mentorship.

(36:49) On challenging the view that comms is a dying career and helping parents returning to work to thrive.

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These were the headlines from a fascinating conversation with Ronan which explored a CEO’s view of communications, storytelling and engaging with impact.

(1.20) On whether charisma is a natural trait

(2.29) On his role as a ‘chief cheerleader and storyteller’

(3.56) On adapting is comms style for different audiences

(5.55) On creating a blockbuster story with chapters of your own rather than being the witness to someone else’s achievements

(6.36) On managing crisis comms and surviving a grilling from Sky News’s Kay Burley

(10.03) On why it’s important for leaders to be transparent, authentic and not afraid to show vulnerability

(11.07) On how he overcame his struggles when he first became O2’s CEO

(13.37) On letting us into “the CEO secret” and preparing to speak at big events

(17.07) How observing others has informed his approach to influence

(19.20) On spotting and nurturing talent and shaping “the most diverse leadership team in telecoms in the world”

(22.06) On his new role of Chairman of Six Nations Rugby and great leaders and communicators in sport

(25.28) On the importance of curiosity and how it can help leaders engage more effectively

(27.30) On honing his social media approach by having a pint with 20 Twitter influencers

(29.13) On his lockdown learnings that still apply in today’s hybrid workplace

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He's a fascinating guest who shares his views and insights on life as a tech leader and the future of work in a frank and elegant way.

During our chat we covered topics like…

(05:45) The importance of humour in the workplace…

(15.55) Why preparation and practice is more important than natural charisma. And why Tony Blair is a better communicator than Keir Starmer.

(22.22) How a well rehearsed presentation got Bruce his job at Twitter

(29.33)Successful comms in a hybrid world.

(37.45) Why the Netflix culture document is a blueprint for burnout.

(41:12) The impact on culture and wellbeing when teams grow over 100 people.

(45:44) What culture can all learn from the US basketball

(49.44) The traits of great managers and why warmth is a huge team asset.

(53.01) Disruptive views on corporate purpose, resilience and growth mindset.

(1.05.49) Why resilience is about we not me and what we can learn from Jurgen Klopp.

I loved every minute of my chat with Bruce and there’s plenty here to challenge what you thought you knew about culture and engagement. Enjoy the podcast!

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