A coffee chat with internal communications expert Paddy O'Hagan where he will share three client examples of how they have used mobile to make an impact.

• A simple example of how to integrate legacy channels with your new, digital channels.
• How to really connect your leaders to your end users.
• Making sure your employees know about new channels and will actually use them.

While ALI wishes we could be together for this annual event, due to the powers that be we can not.

Instead we encourage you to turn on your video as we play this quick speed networking opportunity to uncover your challenges and what brought you to this virtual conference and give you an opportunity to meet your IC peers "face-to-face".

Racism touts a new look and it’s trending in ways that you may not even know. In fact, you may be sporting one of it’s popular accessories called: language. What we say and how we say it, is the current medium in which racism prevails. And more than likely you or someone you know is guilty of using language that perpetuates bias and prejudice—and not even know it!

However, you can change that trend with awareness and education!

Ever heard of “Unconscious Bias” or “Microaggressions”? In this session you’ll be challenged on your knowledge and ability to identify egregious comments, statements, remarks, judgements and/or sayings that carry sentiments rooted in racism. By being a participant, you’ll also learn how to confidently navigate the sensitive subjects of racism and other ism’s like sexism, heterosexism, ageism etc.

This session enlightens participants in the following objectives:

• • Identify commonly expressed microaggressions in the workplace
• • Discover personal unconscious bias
• • Differentiate Public vs Private Advocacy
• • Employ active listening techniques
• • Put into practice awareness “triggers”

Let’s be honest…talking about race is tough. Additionally, sourcing solutions and facilitating accountability can feel downright overwhelming. Let’s educate ourselves and learn simple ways to be “anti-racist”.

What happens to a great culture when more than half of the people are suddenly not on campus anymore? Almost one year after many St. Jude employees went virtual, intentional efforts to create new connection points and revive traditional communications created a new perspective of our workforce. During this session, attendees will learn

• How a culture based social network can amplify your recognition efforts;
• Why a change in perspective ensures all employees connect to the mission and each other; and
• How to add a little fun in the process (yes, even during a pandemic)

Q&A with the project manager behind Mercedes' internal communications mobile app solution, who will answer:

• What challenges they realized their organization had that warranted a new channel/tool.
• How they came to the decision that a mobile communications app was the right solution for them.
• Their goals and strategy with the app in 2021.
• And more!

One of our greatest opportunities as internal communications professionals is to tap into the power of data. While our colleagues in Marketing have long used data-driven insights to set and refine strategies, communicators have lagged behind. Now, as internal communications tools and resources become increasingly sophisticated, we’re gaining access to more and more powerful data about our people's communications preferences and behaviors. But it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the volume of data and how to pull out the most important insights.

In this session, discover how to gather data from storytelling and apply it to internal communications to help you pull out key insights from your measurement data and present them in a visually compelling way. The session will cover specific tips and techniques for:

• Distilling and translating data - from newsletter opens to open-ended survey comments - into actionable insights.
• Choosing the right kinds of visuals to illustrate different types of data points.
• Tailoring your data story for a leadership audience, highlighting the information that matters most.
• Using your measurement story to demonstrate how you’re moving the needle on employee engagement, and to get more resources, budget, and support!

You will learn strategies for analyzing and extracting key insights from common sources of internal communications data, including email and newsletter clicks/opens and survey responses, as well as how to:

• Use different types of visualizations to illustrate various types of data and tell a compelling story to key stakeholders
• Gain insights into the best ways to advance from simply presenting data, to sharing analysis, recommendations, and next steps
• Collect meaningful quantitative data from places you’d least expect - without necessarily investing in expensive software and tracking tools

Take a moment for yourself. Feel free to share in chat any recommendations that have helped you with internal communications (podcasts, books, blogs). We'll be back in 40 minutes to continue the conversation.

Storytelling has been an appealing way to captivate people for thousands of years. But in 2021, it’s tougher to share compelling business content with few words, while trying to stir emotions and motivate employees to act or change behaviors. During this session, attendees will learn

• Interesting techniques for sharing persuasive content in fewer than 250 words;
• Using images and graphics to start telling the story before employees read the first words; and
• How to strategically amplify messages by building on one communication channel to the next, seamlessly.

Internal communication is going to play an increased role in business operations during 2021. The past year taught us to expect the unexpected with a renewed focus on internal communication for real-time updates and guidance.

Join Susan Jablonski, Vice President of Marketing at ClaimBuyout, as she reveals the top trends that will define internal communications in 2021 and how your organization can better prepare. Get insight on strategies that will align communications to engage your distributed workforce.

In this presentation, you’ll learn:
The top internal communication trends to watch for in 2021
Ways can you improve the effectiveness of internal communication strategies
How to engage and connect a distributed workforce

Participate in this session and learn how to:

• Leverage demographic data
• Conduct simple user persona interviews and create profiles for key job families
• Create systems maps for key themes from the research and identify leverage points for success
• Use these tools to brief senior leaders and create an evidence-based internal communications strategy for your organization

Learn steps to help you and your organization move beyond diversity toward racial equity.

Moderater: Ann Melinger, CEO, Brilliant Ink

Panelists:

Karen Kelly, Executive Communications & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager, Crayola

Jonathan Simmons, Client Strategy Project Manager, Edward Jones

Agatha Agbanobi, Founder & Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consultant, Optimal Leadership LLC

• Ensure content gets read

• Enable employees to find what they want and need

• Help your leaders show their real selves and connect with employees

• Virtually replicate the water cooler

Details coming soon!

Turn your camera on as you meet with your peers to discuss your biggest IC challenge. Use this time to gain ideas from your peers, but also share your own tips and tricks as well.

Turn your camera off and take a quick break.

We'll resume in 30 minutes.

In this open and honest panel discussion, hear what to expect - and to prioritize - in the year ahead.

Moderated by: Preston Lewis, Founder & CEO, Intactic 

Panelists:

Amanda Atkins, Senior Director, Head of Internal Communications & Culture, Slack

Kevin Finke, Founder & Chief Experience Officer, Experience Willow

Jessica Schaeffer​, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, LaSalle Network 

Jeff Corbin, Principal, ECA Consulting Group

Your facilitator will share his favorite moments and tips shared from this year's virtual conference, but we also want to hear from you.

Use chat to share your biggest takeaway. We will be capturing and sharing the chat window in OneDrive post conference.