Melcrum Remarks

Today's workforce faces some new challenges - four distinct generations working together each with different identities, expectations and values. Successfully engaging these generations can be challenging without insight into "what makes them tick."

Jason Ryan Dorsey is a nationally renowned expert on Gen Y - how they think, make decisions and create priorities. Jason knows Gen Y's mindset because he's a member of Gen Y, and in the last 10 years he's helped 300,000 of his peers prepare for and enter the workforce. Now he teaches employers how to keep them. This unique vantage point is why major media outlets including 20/20, NBC's Today Show, ABC's The View, Fortune Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, NPR's On Point, and USA Today have relied on Jason to reveal Gen Y's attitude, beliefs and expectations.

Jason's keynote session will provide: an insightful look at Gen Y, specific strategies for communicating with Gen Y and across generations, and actionable items you can take back to your office to increase the loyalty, creativity and performance of your employees.

Jason Ryan Dorsey Author, "My Reality Check Bounced!" and "Graduate to Your Perfect Job"

Kettering Health Network had been on its engagement journey for several years - and experiencing success - when it recognized that there was a more effective and strategic approach than the transactional, reactive approach it had been using. The sequence of events needed to be adjusted. This session will explore how to avoid using the engagement survey as the launching pad for your engagement efforts, and instead begin by utilizing a more strategic framework that's more transformational and sustaining.

Joan Swenson, MBA, SPHR Chief Human Resources Officer, Kettering Health Network

Front line managers are unanimously endorsed as being the strongest link in driving levels of advocacy and engagement within an organization. Yet the ideal blend of training, measurement and desired values and behaviors is still a complex challenge. In addition to being able to communicate to their teams, managers need to demonstrate desired values and behaviors on a consistent basis to ensure alignment with organizational goals. During this session, the Wholesale & International Banking Division of Lloyds TSB Group, a leader in the UK's banking industry, will share its highly successful approach to engaging its people and building an organization of brand ambassadors.

David Littlechild Head of Employee Engagement,
Wholesale and International Banking Division, Lloyds TSB

Peter Snowdon Head of Management Information and Staff Offers,
Wholesale and International Banking Division, Lloyds TSB

The latest developments with Intranets are creating opportunities for two-way communication, collaboration and innovation. These intranets are also building employee engagement and re-enforcing the brand. Learn how global financial services company ING successfully applied the latest Web 2.0 technology to update its own Intranet and, as a result, provided a voice for employees that had previously been unheard. This session will examine how to successfully tap into social media technologies and create stronger employee communities.

Kim Arculeo Head of Internal Communications, ING Americas

In this case study, hear how DRS Technologies, a leading supplier of military and defense systems, has put the responsibility of follow-up actions to a company wide employee survey into the hands of its front-line people. Specifically, you'll hear how to: 1) get leaders interested in and supportive of a front-line engagement process that uses action teams; 2) frame the priorities and responsibilities of action teams and tie them to real business goals; 3) select action team members and equip them for success; 4) use process-driven tools to keep teams on-task and accountable; and 5) measure and show progress.

Tami Gesiskie Vice President Human Resources, DRS Technologies, Inc. - C41 Segment

Once the engagement survey is complete, the really hard work has just begun. Organizations that make strides in their engagement levels demonstrate to employees that they're listening to their feedback and taking action. Hendrick Health System made this commitment and has experienced remarkable business outcomes - as well as the national recognition as one of the most engaged and productive workforces. This session will examine how Hendrick builds engagement by clearly communicating its expectations and incorporating employee feedback into action plans that can be benchmarked across departments. Also learn how this health system trains its supervisors to communicate effectively and to develop engaged teams.

Kolby Ivanhoe Talent Development Coordinator, Hendrick Health System

Leadership is one of the three big hitters that influence engagement scores the world over. But with between 50 and 70 percent of employees now working remotely from their manager, what are the communication channels, tools and tactics that are successfully engaging hard-to-reach and non-wired employees?
When face-to-face communication is impossible or when working with employee groups with little or no access to technology, what are the communication channels that work?
Drawing on the findings from Melcrum's recent research into communicating with hard-to-reach audiences that included over 50 interviews with global corporations, Victoria will share what best practice looks like when it comes to:

• Understanding the opportunities and drawbacks that new technology offers
• Communication when access to technology is limited
• Achieving successful two-way communication and team working with hard-to-reach audiences
• Case studies featuring examples of hard to reach employees, including airline pilots, restaurant employees, home workers and power plant workers.

Victoria Mellor CEO, Melcrum

During a major change initiative, communicators are charged with the complex mission to help employees discover why change is needed, help them buy into it emotionally and build understanding. In the largest manufacturing division at Merck, the Communication team had this mission for 6 major change initiatives at once. This session will examine the ambitious change communication plan designed to make each of the 13,000 divisional employees in 25 countries relate to the new strategy and understand their role in the company's new direction.

Ron Maturo Director, MMD Communications, Merck & Co.