I often help my clients to run focus groups with their employees, volunteers and other stakeholders, which is a role I love. Being a facilitator and enabling people to articulate and present their views is really important. However, running a focus group is not always as easy as it seems and if you get it … Read more
Yesterday I attended the public sector comms conference and came away with my head buzzing with ideas. It was a packed agenda, with speakers from a whole range of organisations, and sessions covering a variety of topics. A key theme was using effective communication to support behaviour change and here are some takeaways from the … Read more
In this month’s guest post charity HR consultant, Sonia Wilson, shares some advice on communication and consultation during redundancy situations. If you manage a small organisation and it begins to grow you may need at some point to consider restructuring. This can often result in some roles changing or even becoming redundant. One of the … Read more
I spend a lot of my time thinking, listening, talking and pondering about internal communication*. I believe strongly that a key success factor for any organisation is connecting employees, volunteers, members and whoever else counts as internal for you. I even describe wanting to inspire organisations to plan effective internal comms as my mission in … Read more
At the height of his broadcasting fame, Sir Terry Wogan was apparently asked how many listeners he had. He was the much-loved presenter of Wake up to Wogan, Radio 2’s popular breakfast show, at the time. His actual listening figure was around 10 million. But his answer to the question? “One.” Communication genius I am … Read more
If you’re currently working on your internal communications strategy, you’re not alone. I’m working with two charities at the moment to help them develop theirs and strategies were the topic for yesterday’s CharityComms special interest group for internal communicatiors. It’s great to know that so many organisations are recognising the strategic importance of effective internal … Read more
Today is the 7th anniversary of the date I officially set up my not-for-profit and higher education communications limited company. I’m celebrating by sharing some of my favourite moments. I love my work When I left Cancer Research UK after 7 happy years, I needed to earn an income, but I also wanted to carry … Read more
Emails are generally held up to be the bane of business life. In fact, whilst planning this piece, I asked some fellow freelancers about the communication problems their clients faced and over-reliance on email took the top slot. I don’t personally feel that email is inherently evil in itself. I completely agree that it causes … Read more
Sometimes you have a long time to hone and perfect the communications you need to produce about your project or organisation. And sometimes you don’t. When you are pushed for time, you need a reliable tool to help you through. My clients will often look to me for ways in which they can make the … Read more
I spend my working life helping my charity and education clients to improve their communications, solving their problems by motivating their audiences to take actions. To celebrate the end of another year where effective communication has again proved a powerful tool for many, I asked some lovely people I know to tell me which communications … Read more