Rapidly changing technologies make yesterday's choices obsolete. The turbulent economy increases pressure to "do more with less." Companies rely on a shifting stream of alliances – competitors one day and partners the next - and sometimes both at the same time. Corporate reorganising is becoming an annual affair. Mergers and acquisitions are on the rise. Customers are demanding "better, faster, cheaper" everything. Global competition is fierce. The pace of change is accelerating. And employees are increasingly sceptical about committing to business strategies that are constantly being redefined.

This is our reality - and in this world, success belongs to communicators who can keep a work force resilient, focused, and engaged in the midst of the tsunami of change that has become the new status quo.

• How each generation of employees forces communicators to change the medium and the message
• Segmenting your workforce and developing tailored change communication strategies
• The visual technology revolution – and what it means to employee communications
• New scientific research on how trust and credibility are really communicated

• Reducing resistance by engaging your workforce and building commitment from the outset
• Understanding and empathising with resistors to determine how best to overcome barriers
• Determining the role of the communication practitioner during change
• Assessing the effectiveness of different tools to drive change and influence behaviour

Russell Grossman, Director of Communications,
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)

• Identifying where best to use communication to mitigate risks
• Integrating communications into your people programme to help create cultural change
• Using multiple tactics to challenge the rumour mill, generate excitement and build employee trust over time

 
Tom Everett, T5live Communication Consultant, BAA Heathrow

• Comparing different engagement strategies for senior leaders based on time, cost and effectiveness
• Motivating senior leaders who have not been involved in change decisions
• Managing resistance from senior leaders
• Distinguishing between the macro and micro vision of change to help senior leaders understand employee motivations
• Creating forums to encourage feedback and incorporate ideas

 
Fiona Rogers, Head of Internal Engagement & Change,
COI Strategic Consultancy

• Assessing the change benefits of storytelling
• Sharing personal experiences to improve trust and honesty
• Defining the objectives of the storytellers
• Creating a “story map” and determining the core components of your strategic story
• Examining the potential of viral models for storytelling
• Using media such as online blogs, video diaries and podcasts to share stories

 
Susan Jackson, Head of Internal Communications, Parcelforce

• The importance of using a visual medium to communicate complex change
• Examining how learning maps can be used to convey change
• Identifying when to use learning maps as part of an engagement strategy
• How can you ensure a learning map will work?
• Evaluating learning maps against alternative internal communication strategies

Bernhard Bachmann, Managing Partner, Change Champions