9.30

Opening remarks from Audrey Scarff, Chairperson

9.40

Staying ahead of the social media curve

Euan Semple

Euan Semple has long been ahead of the game when it comes to introducing social media into the workplace.

It's an ugly word but disintermediation is what the web does. It cuts out middle men. Once the web starts to invade the workplace, and it has started already, many intermediary roles will disappear and most will never be the same again. Easily finding the right person to talk to irrespective of their role or job title and being able to collaborate with other staff wherever they are organisationally or geographically will become the norm. News will spread through networks faster than internal comms can write memos and senior managers will have the potential to directly see and interpret what is going on in their businesses as never before.

Those communicators who reinvent themselves and continue to add value will do just fine. As for the others...

In this session you will learn how:

• Social media does not necessarily mean the death of internal comms
• To shift from controlling communication to influencing colleagues
• To stay ahead of these changes and shift from doing communication for others to coaching and supporting them as they learn new skills

10.20

Social media case study: BT

Richard Dennison, BT

Another firm favourite at simply-communicate is Richard Dennison. Until recently, Richard was responsible for social media and knowledge management strategy at telecommunications giant BT. Now he’s part of a pan-BT channels centre of excellence team where he manages a team of business partners who provide channels expertise for the organisation.

"Start small, experiment, don't say you are trying to change the world, don't necessarily wait for permission. If you don't spend much you can do quite a lot before people start asking questions—and by then, it will probably be too late! Proceed until apprehended!"

In this session you will learn:

• How BT built up its social media toolset without spending lots of money and without waiting for ‘permission’
• How to improve adoption of these tools once you have them
• The lessons learned along the way

11.00

Morning coffee

11.30

Social media case study: Motorola

Natasa Lucic and Michael Ambjorn, Motorola

Natasa Lucic and Michael Ambjorn of Motorola wanted to know the state of information overload in the Fortune 500 technology company and if social media would have a place to play in alleviating it. In an interview with conference chair Audrey Scarff, they will discuss:

• How to assess the state of information overload and its impact in your own organisation
• What they discovered using this methodology in Motorola
• How the insight led to an increased use of social media tools for strategic communication – and how you can do the same in your organisation, whether big or small

12.00

Social media case study: Unilever

Neil Atkinson, Unilever

Audrey Scarff turns her attention to intranets and interviews Neil Atkinson of Unilever on the development of their highly successful global news site. Launched just over a year ago, Unilever News Centre has been a been a popular online company news with some of the most intuitive features available within the enterprise.

In this interview find out:

• The story behind creating a user-centric news site for over 174,000 employees based around the world
• The challenges of keeping to a quality versus quantity rule while keeping people coming back every day for more
• The innovative features that the manufacturing conglomerate’s employees are using every day

12.30

Panel session: Social media

Audrey Scarff chairs a panel where you can put your questions about Web 2.0 to Euan Semple, Richard Dennison, Natasa Lucic, Michael Ambjorn, Neil Atkinson, Jim Ylisela and Steve Crescenzo.

Thanks to the virtual meeting facilities provided by Crystal Interactive we will be able to take questions from communication professionals around the world. And your colleagues can join the conversation from the desks during this 90 minute session.

13.00

Lunch

14.00

Practical session - special bonus!

From survival to revival: Employee engagement in the age of social media

Jim Ylisela, Steve Crescenzo and Cindy Crescenzo

So how can you turn what you’ve heard into practical steps you can take tomorrow? Our three internal communication experts give you a tasting menu of the practical skills you and your team can develop in 2010.

In this high-powered, fun and interactive session, Jim Ylisela, Steve and Cindy Crescenzo take the very best bits from their world-famous courses and serve them up to you in a banquet of tips, tools, and best practice.

During the afternoon you will learn how to use all the communication tools at your disposal to reach, engage, entertain, educate, and motivate your internal audiences. Feast on dozens of practical case studies from companies that are using both new and traditional media in creative, effective ways that are making a difference inside their organizations.

This three-hour session will give you a sneak peek at Steve and Jim’s new masterclass, coming to Europe, the UK and North America in the fall of 2010.

You’ll learn how to:

• Incorporate the new tools—social media, multimedia, etc.—into the more traditional tools without overloading your employees with too much information
• Start using multimedia tools, such as podcasts and video—right now—without blowing your budget
• Produce a podcast—soup to nuts (we’ll actually create a podcast in the class, from start to finish).
• Use a simple Flip camera to capture the kinds of stories that make sense for video—and how to edit the video footage you get
• Revamp your print publications, turn them into powerhouse communication vehicles, and integrate them with your online tools so that your channels are working together—and not competing with each other
• Take five steps to turn your intranet into a powerful tool that can drive employee engagement
• Shift gears and change your writing style when you move between blogs, traditional stories, podcasts, print writing, and writing for the intranet
• Coach your leaders, and help them understand that social media tools are more than just new channels... that they represent a whole new way to communicate to employees
• Take the “corporate” out of your “corporate” communications and replace it with “creative”—so that employees sit up and take notice of what you are doing
• Cut through the information clutter that exists in so many organizations, so that your most important messages get through
• Make sure the right message, in the right form, goes to the right channel

17.00

Chairperson’s closing remarks

17.30

Cocktail Reception

All delegates are invited to a sparkling cocktail reception sponsored by the simplygroup to meet members of IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) who are gathering in London for their Leadership Institute from all parts of Europe and the Middle East.

find out more about the speakers >