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The People Business

How Ten Leaders Drive Engagement Through Internal Communications

Imogen Osborne, Annabel Dunstan

Know what 'good' looks like in internal communications, enhance employee engagement, and improve the way your business functions with case studies from leading companies.

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EAN: 9780749479718

Edition: 1

Published: 03 Jul 2017

Format: 234 x 156

216 pages

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About the book

Get exclusive insight into the internal communications strategies behind leading businesses like WPP, Heathrow Airport, Pizza Express, BG Groups and more, and learn what 'good' looks like in internal communications, to ensure yours demonstrates a clear impact on ROI and business performance.

In many companies, internal communications (IC) is too often not seen as a credible contributor to overall business performance. This book will enable you to prove the value of IC to senior company members by demonstrating its impact on ROI, enhanced employee engagement and improved business functions.

Featuring case studies and lessons from leading companies, The People Business offers readers a unique, inside perspective on what works (and what doesn't) in the world of corporate internal communication and strategy, offering tips for success from senior IC leaders, including what they have learned along the way and what remains challenging.

Built around interviews with senior practitioners from a diverse range of leading firms, this book offers a refreshingly honest perspective on the practices and challenges facing IC today.

About the authors

Annabel Dunstan has worked in marketing and communications in senior positions at top firms and in-house. She co-founded the engagement consultancy Question & Retain whose clients include Suzuki, PizzaExpress and Ferrero.

Imogen Osborne has spent over 20 years in senior communications leadership roles at Skype, Cisco and Edelman. In 2018, she set up the Pulse Business, building on eight years of experience working with real-time insight and helping companies understand how to take advantage of it.

Imogen Osborne

Annabel Dunstan

Detailed Table of Contents

Section - 00: Introduction;
Section - 001:: STORIES FROM THE COALFACE;
Section - 01: Telefónica Digital: How a culture of openness and transparency ensures that employees feel constantly up-to-date with internal change and the impact of external influences in a highly regulated business;
Section - 02: Managing and measuring employee engagement: Experience in a competitive industry sector with traditionally high levels of staff turnover;
Section - 03: Grant Thornton: How the evolution of an authentic internal voice is helping to drive essential change in an increasingly turbulent and challenging climate for business leaders;
Section - 04: BG Group: How your ‘employer brand’ is a dynamic and innovative power tool to unite a global workforce throughout corporate change;
Section - 05: GE Capital: How a coaching culture is helping a finance company to embrace major change and extract maximum value from face-to-face communications in a global structure;
Section - 06: Heathrow Airport: How one organization is effecting major cultural change and developing a new generation of leaders by empowering its people to understand their own strengths – and align themselves with company values;
Section - 07: Just: How a brave and bold approach to internal communications is supporting a merger at the innovative retirement income specialist – and building channels that exploit the millennial world of social media to the max;
Section - 08: The Institute of Internal Communication: How a professional body is leading the way in setting 21st century standards for excellence in internal communications and the importance of driving change from the inside;
Section - 09: April Six: How team building and connected leadership are helping a service business to go global without losing sight of core values that are being driven from the very top;
Section - 10: Natural England: How strong story-telling, data and insight are helping to confirm IC as enabler, not mail box, at one government agency;
Section - 11: Summary;
Section - 12: Twenty top tips for successful internal communicators;

Reviews

Ian Henderson, CEO of communications agency AML Group

Running a business has never been more complicated. Being able to deal with fast-changing external risk demands a clear understanding of your internal audience. That's part of what Q&R do; and that understanding is what Annabel Dunstan and Imogen Osborne have shared in this timely and vital book.

BJ Cunningham, speaker, brand guru and renowned entrepreneur

A clear, simple, easy-to-read, case-study-led book for anyone who wants to unlock the secrets of internal communications and employee engagement. I believe that real-life examples always give the deepest insights; this is great content for practitioners, experts and novices alike.

Rachel Miller, Director, All Things IC

I thoroughly recommend reading The People Business if you're serious about your communications career. It's packed full of advice and ideas and accurately reflects the vibrancy of working in this field.

Tanya Hughes, President, SERMO Communications, Talk PR

You can't take people with you unless they know what's going on and feel involved. Not in a fast-paced, multichannel world. In The People Business internal communications experts bare all in the name of best practice.

Liam FitzPatrick, Managing Partner, Working Communication, and co-author of Internal Communications, also published by Kogan Page

Dunstan and Osborne have assembled an outstanding group of people at the leading edge of thinking and practice in engagement communications. Page after page of provocative ideas and practical insight make The People Business a landmark book in the development of the craft of workplace communications.

Trevor Morris, Professor of Public Relations, Richmond University, and Former Chairman/CEO of several companies in the PR and recruitment industries

A book that gives a real feel for the issues confronting internal communications teams - remote working, multichannel media, millennial expectations - and shows how 10 top firms are trying to tackle them. Each chapter can be used to stimulate classroom discussion and learning about real business challenges.

Helen Deverell, Director, HD Communications

The People Business is a fascinating look into the world of internal communications, acknowledging its humble beginnings while looking ahead to its continuing evolution as a critical business function. The People Business is packed full of insight and practical tips - a must-read for any IC professional.

Laurence Rosen, Founder and former CEO, Office Angels, and CEO/Chairman of several PR and recruitment companies

Every now and then a book appears that has to be read from cover to cover, absorbed and then shared with colleagues and business friends. The People Business is one such book. Dunstan and Osborne should be commended for a very original and hugely useful publication. I wish I'd had the benefit of their insights 30 years ago.

Molly Aldridge, Global CEO, M&C Saatchi PR

This book made me re-evaluate our internal communications entirely, and its importance at the centre of a global business. I run a successful people business and this book has reminded me, simply and clearly, that I can be doing so much more to communicate internally to ensure inspiration, motivation and loyalty among our most important company asset - our talent.

Jennifer Sproul, Chief Executive, Institute of Internal Communication

The People Business is a fantastic testament to how internal communication has found its professional feet and is driving organizational performance with a unique and valuable set of skills, knowledge and expertise. At the Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) we are committed to raising the profile and credibility of the profession and are delighted to support this book with its contribution from the IoIC President, Suzanne Peck.

Running a business has never been more complicated. Being able to deal with fast-changing external risk demands a clear understanding of your internal audience. That's part of what Q&R do; and that understanding is what Annabel Dunstan and Imogen Osborne have shared in this timely and vital book.
Ian Henderson, CEO of communications agency AML Group

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