She is currently spearheading communications for Africa's second-largest mine expansion project, and has previously led stakeholder engagement for Europe's largest infrastructure project. 

Prior to working in comms, Nelma was an Analyst and Performance Analyst at IBM and the British Transport police respectively.  

In this episode, we speak to Nelma about the challenges of engaging workers on the ground at Arcelor Mittal Mining, and how they get messaging across to their people, as well as some exciting upcoming projects. 

Listen to the podcast to find out more!

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Simply, a Gallagher Company’s Content and Community Manager Aish Rajavelu recently interviewed Anna, speaking about GridGPT, National Grid’s AI tool built on ChatGPT, as well as what her day-to-day looks like and what channels and platforms they use at National Grid. 

Listen to the full episode below.  

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Tor has over 20 years’ experience in a variety of marketing and communications roles, and she now specialises in internal comms, where she enjoys helping connect employees to organisational culture and strategy.  

Throughout her career, she’s worked alongside senior leaders – in complex, matrixed, global businesses and smaller owner-led organisations – to underpin defined business goals through clear communication and effective content and campaigns. Tor takes pride in developing and managing high performing teams built on trust, vulnerability and clearly defined capabilities, where everyone is primed to do their best work.  

She’s also a trustee for Brighton & Hove Speak Out, a charitable organisation that helps people with learning disabilities to speak up and take action on the things that matter to them. 

simply's Content and Community Manager Aish Rajavelu interviewed Tor recently, speaking about what inspired her to go into comms, what’s going on behind the scenes at Expedia Group and she gives her tips for those looking to go into IC.  

Listen to the full episode to find out more.

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Ezri is a consultant, writer and researcher, with more than 30 years’ experience in creative practice, business innovation, teaching and training, and strategic communication.. He’s worked with a wide range of clients including UN and EU agencies, arts and culture institutions, non-profits and a wide range of businesses, consulting on international, multidisciplinary projects in business innovation and stakeholder engagement. 

After an initial career in music, he worked in academic publishing and international higher education policy, before going on to lead in-house corporate communications teams in public, non-profit and FTSE100 organisations. He also served for six years as a visiting lecturer in Public Relations at the University of Greenwich. 

simply's Content and Community Manager Aish Rajavelu interviewed Ezri recently, speaking on what inspired him to found Space City Breakout, how science fiction thinking can help communicators solve problems better, and about his career in comms.  

Listen to the full episode to find out more.

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Chris has been working at Rolls Royce for 13 years, and prior to this he worked at Soundhouse Media, producing materials for a range of leading companies including GlaxoSmithKline, BAE Systems, Virgin Media, Microsoft, PWC and the BBC. 

We interviewed Chris recently to find out more about how Rolls Royce engage their global workforce of 42,000 employees, and what tech platforms and channels they use to do this. We also speak more broadly about his experience in internal communications and what inspired him to move into IC from journalism. 

Listen to the full interview below.  

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Over the past 20 years, Shalini has gained substantial experience by working within large global organisations during periods of business change and transformation. Her passion is to empower, engage and connect people to the overall organisational vision, so they understand how to create impact and make a difference. 

We spoke to Shalini on the trends she’s seen over the years when it comes to the role of internal communicators and reporting lines, as well as her role at Arup, and her tips and tricks to elevate leaders. Listen to the full episode below to find out more.  

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In her current role, Nadia manages global internal communication initiatives with company-wide impact, collaborating with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to ensure alignment and engagement.  

She has also completed several certificates and programs from prestigious institutions, such as INSEAD, Georgetown University, and IMD Business School, and is a fluent speaker of English, French, and German, thriving in dynamic and diverse environments.  

simply's Content and Communications Director, Patrick Hulbert, and Content and Community Manager, Aish Rajavelu, recently interviewed Nadia, speaking about how PMI engage their employees globally, the role of tech in driving the employee experience, and PMI’s ambitious smoke-free targets.  

Listen to the full podcast episode to find out more.  

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Laura started her career in comms working as a journalist, before moving into marketing and then internal communications at Unilever. She’s since worked for some of the top global brands, such as Fendi, Harrods and The Kraft Heinz Company.  

We spoke to Laura prior to her roundtable at our flagship event, simplyEXP, on what inspired her to go into IC from external comms, and Fremantle’s new intranet. 

Listen to the episode below to find out more.

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In her role as a Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI), Gender Equality Consultant, she advises leaders and teams on how to embed inclusion and diversity in their corporate strategies with impact in sight, from training leading newsrooms and marketing teams on inclusive language to supporting NGOs in gender mainstreaming their programmes. 

In 2021 she worked with Netflix's EMEA Inclusion Strategy team, supporting the localisation of the global inclusion strategy.  

In her previous role at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the world’s largest alliance of public service media, Claudia designed strategies to increase value towards members and led strategic initiatives and thought leadership programs to engage media companies' C-suite in building inclusive cultures. While there, Claudia also authored the "All Things Being Equal" guidelines report and launched the #PSM4Equality campaign  

simply's Content and Community Manager Aish Rajavelu interviewed Claudia recently, discussing her work as an inclusion specialist, using gender neutral and inclusive language, her previous experience at Netflix and the ‘All things Being Equal’ report she authored. 

Listen to the full episode below to find out more.  

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Since the early noughties, Selina has introduced over 50 million people to digital technologies, including cloud collaboration, the Internet of things, digital payment platforms, artificial intelligence and automated service solutions. She has worked with several leading organisations, including Visa, AMEX, Royal Dutch Shell, Nissan and BUPA, as Selina delivered change and adoption for their digital transformation journeys.

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Recognising the gap between ever-changing technology and digital adoption, Selina founded Forward Transformation with a mission to deliver change journeys that excite and empower people to benefit from technology at pace and thrive in the digital age.

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We spoke to Selina about why she chose to go into internal comms, some exciting projects she has recently undertaken, and her tips for those looking to communicate change effectively.

Listen to the episode below to find out more.

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Fitch Group won an award at last year’s simplys awards, for the communications and engagement programme delivered throughout the pandemic to around 4000 Fitch Group colleagues globally.  

In this interview, Patrick and Aish talk to Marc and Melissa on their extensive experience within comms, their award-winning pandemic communications campaign, and what initiatives they’ve been working on at Fitch Group since then, including their mental health and wellbeing campaign they’ve recently launched.  

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Xeniya started her career as a journalist, before then going on to PR and finally internal comms. In her role at Medtronic, she is responsible for developing change communication strategies for large global transformation initiatives and creating central internal communication templates and processes for an employee base of 50,000 people spread over 40 countries. 

simply's Content and Communications Director Patrick Hulbert and Content and Community Manager Aish Rajavelu spoke to Xeniya on using gamification as a tool for engagement, as well as looking at her background working in Kazakhstan and the Netherlands.  

Listen to the full interview below to find out more.  

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As Head of Corporate Communications, she is responsible for all external and internal comms, guiding the organisation to achieve their goals through strategic communications, and ensuring any comms sent out reflect the brand identity.  

Blessing also works as a personal branding strategist, working with businesses and individuals alike to grow a profitable brand through digital marketing strategies, tech and content creation.  

Jidekaiji Global Magazine has also recognised her as one of 35 thought leaders and experts in Nigeria, and she has won the SuperWoman Under 30 Award Prize for Media in 2021. 

We interviewed Blessing to learn more about her background, what inspired her to pursue a career in communications and personal branding, and her tips for those looking to pursue a career in comms.  

Listen to the full episode below to find out more.  

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In this role, Bessie is responsible for leading strategic internal communications globally to support the business and cultural transformation to deliver on PMI’s vision for a smoke-free future, delivered to 70,000-plus employees across 90-plus markets through a global team and distributed network of 100-plus internal communicators embedded across regions, markets, and functions.

A trusted adviser to PMI’s senior management team, Bessie helps the company’s leadership to expand the reach, relevancy, and impact of strategic initiatives and corporate-wide communications. Under Bessie’s leadership, eNPS scores relating to internal communications have improved for three consecutive years.

We spoke to Bessie on PMI’s smoke-free journey, Bessie’s move into IC and how to become a ‘trusted advisor’ in organisations. 

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Six years ago, Catrin was asked to help inform, educate and engage Reward Gateway’s employees with their biggest story to date. Reward Gateway sold for the third time to a Private Equity investor and as shareholders in their Employee Share Program, they wanted to ensure employees felt fully informed and connected to the process. 

It was a huge campaign, and the first time Reward Gateway had appointed anyone with the sole responsibility of engaging their own employees.  

Since then, she has gone on to work on multiple global communication programmes across a range of businesses, with some highlights including RG’s Thank You Festival, developing and implementing Reward Gateway’s wellness programme, and introducing a new employer brand and EVP.  

Catrin is also author of The Culture Vulture, and The Little Unicorn - An Adventure Through The Disengagement Dangerzone.  

simply's Director of Content and Communications Patrick Hulbert and Content and Community Manager Aish Rajavelu recently interviewed Catrin, speaking about her journey into IC, her work at Reward Gateway and Tenzing, and her tips for those looking for a career in internal comms.  

Listen to the full episode below to find out more. 

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Jacob is a four times best-selling author, keynote speaker, co-host of the be Your own Boss podcast, and the founder of The Future of Work University. 

He helps organisations home in on the employee experience and employee engagement through running a series of keynote sessions and also offering bespoke services to business leaders. 

With 115,000 LinkedIn followers, he is a leading expert on future work practices. 

We talk about the importance of coaches for leaders, how to eke out a culture in a digital environment, whether values are overrated, winning the war on talent, and if the return to work mandate is more prevalent in the United States. 

We also look at the further humanisation of communications, hyperpersonalisation, and digital transformation trends to watch out for.  

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A former director of strategy and a director of culture and engagement, Isabel has run her consulting firm for a decade. Her specialism revolves around trust and belonging in organisations and how this affects the cultural ecosystem of an organisation.  

In the podcast we discuss the employer/employee relationship and how this is continuing to shape after the pandemic, how you can cultivate a culture in a hybrid environment, and a look at generational and cultural differences that could affect how people perceive an organisation.  

We also discuss how both employer and employee can find a balance to mutually trust each other, and whether the shift of power has moved towards the employee over recent years, and where this is a good thing or not.  

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Simon has been working in communications since the early 2000s and has since worked for brands such as UBS Global Asset Management, Barclays, and Schroder.

When he started working at National Grid in 2020, their intranet had not been refreshed in many years and was running on antiquated technology. Working with the Head of Internal Communications, Simon undertook the project of completely overhauling the old intranet to meet the needs of their workforce.  

National Grid has more than 30,000 colleagues spread across Britain and the east coast of the USA, and their workforce is varied and contains a sizeable field-based contingent, so the challenge was to reach all their people and deliver the best possible digital experience for them.  

Listen to the podcast episode below to find out more about National Grid’s award-winning intranet, the ‘fish and chips’ method, and Grid:Home 2.0.  

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simply's Content and Communications Director Patrick Hulbert and Content and Community Manager Aish Rajavelu recently interviewed Charlotte, discussing how she engages frontline workers at the Red Cross, workforce expectations in the charity sector, and their 'It’s All Different, All Red Cross' DE&I campaign. 

Listen to the full episode below to find out more.

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Albanne has been in the comms space for over a decade, beginning her career in PR and Press before moving on to working in internal comms at Thomson Reuters. She has since worked for brands such as Marsh and McLennan Companies, DAC Beachcroft LLP, and Marie Stopes International. 

Nigel Williams started his career in sales and recruitment, before working in digital change comms and intranet deployment. In September 2020, he worked with the RSC as a Digital Workplace Strategist, helping them deliver a global intranet across nine countries, transforming the RSC's communication and collaborative capabilities. 

It was then that their ‘beginner to blogger’ campaign was launched, and within a year they had 25% of the organisation blogging.  

We caught up with Nigel and Albanne to speak about their journeys into the world of internal communications, the RSC’s award-winning ‘beginner to blogger’ campaign, and their tips for internal communicators looking to get their employees involved more in content creation.  

Listen to the full episode below to learn more. 

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simply's Content and Community Manager Aish Rajavelu, and Content and Communications Director Patrick Hulbert caught up with Sarah about the challenges of working in internal comms within the aviation industry, NATS’ intranet and digital transformation project, and her tips and tricks on how to engage employees while going through organisational change. 

Listen to the full interview below.  

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Listen to the episode to hear his tips for multi-national communication strategies, what inspired him to start his own communications blog, which was the first IC blog in India, and his pro-bono work in the field of IC.

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With a degree in anthropology, Annabel began her career as a lumberjack’s assistant before becoming a ski guide and then a sailing instructor. She then joined the marketing team at Gulf Air, promoting the Gulf States as a tourism destination at the time of the first Gulf War. She then went on to various roles in the marketing and PR sector, including at 3 Monkeys Communications. She was appointed MD three years after she joined, overseeing the growth of the award-winning top 50 PR consultancy to £7.5m revenues with 75 consultants, with clients including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Microsoft and Three.

Annabel left the PR space in 2011 to found her own consultancy, Gain & Retain, (G&R), to help businesses looking to grow through attracting and developing talented people and winning great clients. Question & Retain (Q&R), was launched in 2012 adding measurement tools to the mix; specifically in the employee experience, client and membership satisfaction sectors.

simply recently interviewed Annabel on what inspired her to transition from a career in marketing and PR to focus on internal communications, the concept of Pulse Check and how it helps organisations to understand their workforce and communication strategies, and what trends are emerging in the world of work in 2023 and how organisations should prepare for these changes.

Listen to the episode to find out more.

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She also has experience working in communications at Shanks Group and Renewi. 

simply's Head of Content Patrick Hulbert and Content Executive Aish Rajavelu interviewed Helen about her experience, how Biffa are engaging their frontline workers, and how she engages employees and gets them to believe in the company’s strategy.  

Listen to the full podcast episode to find out more. 

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In her role as User Education and Knowledge Manager, she leads on the education and knowledge management around their upcoming migration from on-premises to Microsoft Cloud (Exchange Online) and Outlook Mobile, delivering an integrated and better user experience for colleagues. Before working at Blackrock, Lorna was Communications and Engagement Manager at NatWest, leading the comms on their Resource Augmentation Programme, a large-scale bank-wide transformation project. 

simply's Head of Consulting Sonya Poonian and Content Executive Aish Rajavelu spoke to Lorna prior to her panel at simplyEXP to find out about her experience working in comms and engagement, what her role at Blackrock entails and some of her learnings over the years communicating through digital transformation projects. Listen to the episode to find out more.

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Helen has around twenty years of experience working in large, complex organisations in both the private and public sectors. She started her career in internal comms working for the BBC, and has since gone on to work for the likes of HMRC, Anglo American, and International Airlines Group (IAG), leading change comms projects within those organisations.

When she started her role at Inmarsat five years ago, Helen set up the centralised internal comms and engagement function from scratch. The business now has employees in over 22 countries across the world, and the IC team have successfully navigated their employees through various growth and digital transformation projects, as well as a global pandemic.

Listen to the episode to learn more about the challenges Helen has seen over the years working in IC, her tips on communicating change within organisations, and exciting upcoming projects she's been involved in at Inmarsat.

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Both Steve and Cindy have been in the comms space for over 20 years, and work with IC professionals to take the 'corporate' out of corporate communications and replace it with 'creative.' They have delivered their own talks and workshops across Europe, Canada, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, and have completed consultancy projects with companies in a broad range of industries worldwide.

Listen to this episode to find out more about their key learnings over the years as comms professionals, some of the challenges they are currently seeing in the industry, and more about their upcoming session at simplyEXP and simplytraining workshop.

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Through the podcast, we discussed Jo's previous working experiences in journalism and public relations, before moving across to internal communications. Starting out in newspapers and radio, she then moved to "representing organisations as opposed to challenging them" in PR. 

After two decades at Bedfordshire Police as Media Relations Manager and later Head of Media, she saw first-hand how the force changed its outward and inward communications, and was interested in how comms shifted more towards authenticity and collaboration. Her interest in internal transparency and moving to a two-way dialogue and the effective storytelling she could focus on was very appealing to her and one of the key reasons she shifted to internal comms. 

In the podcast, she also focuses on what Ocado Group does and how it should be distinguished from the well-known online food retailer in the UK, and how she has been connecting with people disparately located in 12 markets across the globe. 

She also looks at how the business has scaled at pace and yet kept an agile mentality. 

Jo is a judge for the simplys, our awards programme taking place at the top of The Gherkin on 24 November. You have until 22 September to submit an entry. 

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In her role as Head of People Engagement, Himangini is a champion of communication with experience supervising executive corporate and department communications, including tone of voice, with a speciality in impactful messaging that allows company culture and employee engagement to meet seamlessly. 

Prior to Epidemic Sound, she worked as Strategic PR Consultant for London based agency The Crowd&I, where clients in the tech scale-up sector included iZettle and Love Home Swap.  

Listen to the full episode below to find out more about her experiences, some of her learnings from her role as Global Head of People Engagement, and some interesting upcoming projects at Epidemic Sound. 

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In the past, Suzie has worked for companies such as Waterstones and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, and the intranet she managed at Waterstones won a Gold Digital Impact Award for Best Intranet. 

Listen to the podcast below to find out more about Suzie’s experience, some of her learnings over the years, as well as some of her advice to those looking to enter our awards. 

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She is a senior communication adviser and a chartered practitioner with over 20 years' experience in integrated public relations and comms and has worked with organisations in both the corporate and public sector, including the Scottish Government, Eden Project Communities, and Reading Borough Council. 

Listen to the full episode below to find out more about her work, Aura’s Synergy Framework for sustainable organisations, and how she works with sustainability heads to create an optimised communication strategy.

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