The Internal Comms Podcast

If you have ever attended one of Shel Holtz’s presentations, you will know that, more often than not, it’s standing room only. Shel has a remarkable ability to anticipate what's next for internal communication, a knack for seeing what's around the corner and an in-depth understanding of how technology is revolutionising our world of work. Since Chat GPT was made public in November 2022, AI has dom...

Does your approach to internal communication have the human touch? It’s essential to the humans you employ, says Victoria Dew, CEO of Dewpoint Communications and an internal comms aficionado. And it’s good for business, too. If you’re relying on people to run your business – and not robots or machines alone – then Victoria says you should be creating an environment where those humans can bring the...

Ever feel like, as an internal communicator, you’re fighting an uphill battle all by yourself? This week’s guest on The Internal Comms Podcast has exactly what you need. Host Katie Macaulay welcomes internal communications strategist, author, and certified communication management pro, Emily Hecker. With over a decade of experience under her belt, Emily has been a one-person team at a string of or...

This week on The Internal Comms Podcast, host Katie Macaulay is joined by Sim Sian, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Mitie, and Yvonne O’Hara, formerly Mitie’s Group Head of Internal Communication and Engagement. Equality, diversity and inclusion, or ED&I, is fast climbing the corporate agenda. Creating an equitable environment that celebrates diversity and includes everyone is no long...

In this episode of the Internal Comms Podcast, host Katie Macaulay is joined by Access Group’s Global Head of Communications and Engagement, Paul Downey. Paul caught Katie’s attention on LinkedIn, where he was discussing his unique approach to internal communications for a global, largely remote audience. With over 6,500 colleagues to engage, Paul had to shake things up for the Access Group’s annu...

In this episode of the Internal Comms Podcast, host Katie Macaulay is joined by Anne Morriss. Anne is an entrepreneur, author, public speaker, and the Executive Founder of the Leadership Consortium, an accelerator dedicated to helping leaders thrive. And cutting across it all is Anne’s commitment to fixing things. On Fixable, a podcast she co-hosts with her wife and business partner Frances Frei (...

It’s often said we must understand the past to build the future, and that sentiment sits at the very heart of this episode. This week on The Internal Comms Podcast we welcome professors Michael Heller and Joe Chick, of Brunel University. Michael and Joe were recently awarded a considerable grant from the UK government to write an institutional history of the internal comms function in the UK – and...

Season 10 of the Internal Comms Podcast kicks off with one of Katie’s most compelling conversations yet. Shil Shanghavi is a public speaking specialist, storyteller and head of speaker coaching for TEDx, Perth. He's gained an international reputation for both his captivating keynote speeches and the way he coaches others to speak. He helps everyone from business leaders to students (and now Intern...

Our summer break is drawing to a close, Katie has dusted off her mic and we’re ready to launch Season 10 of The Internal Comms Podcast! This season, we’ll be welcoming more of the bright lights in the communications industry to the hot seat. Packed with insights from some of the most influential comms leaders from all corners of the globe, this season is a must-listen for anyone honing their inter...

In this moment, we catch up with Mike Klein, former political consultant, modern-day communications stalwart, and two-time guest on the Internal Comms Podcast. Mike breaks down how organisations can find the four types of influencers that operate within the proverbial ‘walls’ of the business. When segmenting our workforce to find out who we’re actually communicating with, there’s a quartet of pote...

What’s our one true purpose as internal communicators? It’s the question we’re all seeking the answer to. This moment takes us back to when Katie first welcomed Sue Dewhurst and Liam FitzPatrick, co-authors of Successful Employee Communications: A Practitioner’s Guide to Tools, Models and Best Practice for Internal Communication, and masterminds behind the Melcrum Black Belt training programme for...

If there’s one thing we’re clear about at AB, it’s that communication should not be a one-way street. And that’s what this moment is about. We head back to Episode 13, where Katie sat down with the ‘Doctor of IC’, Kevin Ruck, to explore exactly how communication needs to shift at each level of an organisation. They discuss the theory that line managers are the most important communicators in any b...

As communicators, we could often do with slowing things down a little. In this moment, Henry Normal – author and co-founder of production company Baby Cow, which he founded with Steve Coogan – explains to Katie how life with his autistic son Johnny has taught him many valuable lessons about how we communicate with one another. From the problem with the question “Why?” to the importance of toleranc...

Have you heard of an inside-out approach to communication? It’s no secret that today’s internal comms messages seep into the world outside the office walls. After all, anything you say to your colleagues, bar protected IP and trade secrets, should be fit for external consumption. We’ve seen it time and time again: a leader sends out a poorly advised all-company email and it ends up on Twitter. It’...

We’re ending Season 9 of the Internal Comms Podcast with a bang this week, as Sally Susman takes to the hot seat for her second appearance. Sally is Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Office at Pfizer, and on episode 55 she shared with Katie what it was like being on the company's vaccine development task force and being in the room when the US Federal Drug Authority gave the vac...

In modern business, integrity is non-negotiable. As legislation ramps up in lockstep with colleague and customer demands, operating an ethical business in line with global regulations has never been more important. That’s where Jonathan Satinsky comes in. As Johnson Matthey’s Group Head of Ethics and Compliance, he’s tasked with the challenge of embedding an ethical culture across a business with...

Define ESG… Well, it stands for environment, social and governance. But can you really define what ESG actually is? Put very simply, ESG is a set of criteria used to evaluate a company's impact on people and the planet. It’s not just about ‘operating sustainably’ and it's becoming increasingly important to investors, consumers and employees. But we would be wrong to think of ESG as yet another ini...

It seems everyone’s talking about resilience, the ability to bounce back from misfortune or adversity. But as Bruce Daisley explains to host Katie Macaulay, there’s something wrong with what he calls the ‘resilience orthodoxy’, the idea that it’s not really what happens to you that matters, but your attitude to what’s happened. In this, his second appearance on the Internal Comms Podcast (his firs...

With over 130,000 colleagues, and a 100-year history, Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies. And this week on the Internal Comms Podcast, we get a peek behind the curtain at how their IC function keeps them all supported and engaged. Our guest this week is Charlotte Carroll, Unilever’s Global Head of People Communications. Charlotte has vast experience in her IC career, w...

“The days we fail are the days our competitors live to regret,” said the late, great Niki Lauda. And that’s what this episode of the Internal Comms Podcast is all about. This week, host Katie Macaulay welcomed Nicole Bearne, Head of Internal Communications for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team. The F1 team competes at the very pinnacle of motorsport, and with a 1,200-strong workforce behi...

Ever considered what it takes to become an effective communications consultant? Then this week’s episode of The Internal Comms Podcast is for you. Host Katie Macaulay welcomes Simon Monger to the hot seat to discuss internal comms, change, engagement, authenticity and the power of being just that little bit disruptive. Simon has a breadth of experience in internal comms, with stints at E.ON, Trans...

This week on The Internal Comms Podcast, host Katie Macaulay welcomes Audacity’s Jason Anthoine. Jason has spent three decades working in internal communication, employee experience and culture change, and has a refreshing take on the profession. Jason says on his company website: “I do one thing: I help companies inform, involve and inspire their employees.” It’s what every internal comms practit...

This week on The Internal Comms Podcast, host Katie Macaulay welcomes culture-chameleon Shane Hatton. Shane is many things – author, international speaker, trainer, leadership coach, podcast host… but he best describes his journey as “a long collision of marketing, leadership and psychology.” Shane is the author of Lead the Room and Let’s Talk Culture, two fascinating books that get to the crux of...

This week on The Internal Comms Podcast, host Katie Macaulay welcomes Nicholas Wardle. Nicholas is Head of Employee Experience at Brand Experiences, and co-author of ‘Monetising the Employee Experience’. So, it’ll come as no surprise that this conversation offers some deep insight into the many ways motivated colleagues can drive productivity and ultimately ROI. Many have said (and we agree) that...

This week on The Internal Comms Podcast, host Katie Macaulay welcomes Sam Bleazard. Sam’s role as Employer Brand Content Producer takes him behind the scenes of ‘the world’s most famous corner shop’, Fortnum and Mason and, in the second episode of season nine, join Katie as she gets an exclusive behind-the-scenes peak at life at the King’s grocer. Fortnum and Mason is an iconic British institution...