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The pandemic has changed student engagement in a number of different ways. Virtual has become a norm &#8211; to attract as well as assess students. And it seems that employers are determined not to go back to old methods, but to embrace a more hybrid model. But this means different kinds of challenges &#8211; breaking through the digital noise, grabbing the passers-by, reaching out to diverse audiences and creating connected experiences that students want to be part of. We are here to support employers and help them transform engagement &#8211; from school years to graduate alumni, from initial contact to webinars, social engagement and more.

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Employability Roundtable

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is possibly the biggest challenge and opportunity facing the majority of organisations. We work with employers to engage diverse audiences, build strong communities, create peer to peer content and run events that put a spotlight on what DE&amp;I means to organisations and to their people.
Talk to us about:
• DE&amp;I insight 
• Targeting and campaigns 
• Content 
• DE&amp;I events 
• Influencers

DE&I

Today social is a way of life.  It influences our decisions in everything we do, from the music we listen to, to the food we eat. Talent brands need to socially immersed, creating and co-creating content, engaging with students, standing up for what they believe in, and showing the culture and values of the organisation.
Talk to us about:
<ul>
<li>Social media strategy</li>
<li>Content development</li>
<li>Social management</li>
<li>Influencers</li>
<li>Social measurement</li>
</ul>

Social

We are a brand and engagement agency; so we focus heavily on how a brand story can evoke the right emotions in the audience and provoke action.  We are master storytellers, using all the tools in the communications box to engage and inspire our audiences, from the first contact right through to life inside an organisation.  Remember, communications that engages really connect with the right people and builds the brand is as much about the science as it is surprising audiences.
Talk to us about:
<ul>
<li>Concept development</li>
<li>Student targeting</li>
<li>Campaign management</li>
</ul>

Campaigns

We&#8217;ve seen a seismic shift in the way we might work in the future – and it is more virtual and more digital, relying less on the traditional engagement opportunities.  Now more than ever brands need to invest in digital experiences that cut through the ever-increasing noise and engage people in novel and relevant ways.  It is no longer enough simply to have a website.  What is your social strategy?  How can you use Voice or AR?  What will help and support students in the best possible way?  Lots of questions.  We can help you come up with the answers.
Talk to us about:
<ul>
<li>Website design and development</li>
<li>App development</li>
<li>AR, VR and Voice</li>
<li>Social media engagement</li>
<li>Digital marketing</li>
</ul>

Digital

Student Marketing

<h3>Special thanks to Kate Cawood, Head of Communications at Travelex, for sharing a few secrets for good internal communication.</h3>
We all know how it feels. Someone slides over to your desk (pre-Covid) or into your inbox (post-Covid), and says can you send out this comms asap – no matter what time of the day or day of the week it is. For them, it’s urgent and critical and more often than not last minute. For you, it’s one of many all-colleague email requests stacking up in your in-tray (actually, do in-trays still exist?).
For Internal Comms teams – especially teams of one – this is all-too-familiar.
So what’s the answer? How can you create a drumbeat of consistent communications that doesn’t mean creating a content plan from hell or having to decide whether the email from the HR email supersedes the one from IT?
Recently at one of our IC Leaders’ Breakfast Events, Kate Cawood, Head of Communications at the international foreign exchange business, Travelex, shared with us her ‘10 and 2 rule’.
Global and leadership comms only go out at 10am and 2pm, and only from Monday to Thursday. It’s a comms black-out on a Friday.
Sounds sensible. But why?
Kate started at Travelex some five years ago. Then it was a very different world – pre-Covid of course, and the travel industry was literally flying.
“When I started, as the Internal Comms Manager, it was a very different world, in more ways than one. People would literally come over, sit on my desk and talk about the comms they wanted to send out. Such was the nature of the business and of the time, that we were reacting a lot and always trying to keep up with requests. Of course, all for the right reasons.”
Then Covid came along. Understandably, as flights were grounded and travel stopped, the business went into survival mode – and so too did Comms. Following a global restructure, the focus was on keeping people informed on the stuff that really mattered, in what was a tense and unnerving time, and people had gone through so much – personally and professionally.
“We realised in a post-Covid world, we had a chance to redefine how we did things. And here I was – one person trying to do external and internal comms for the entire global organisation. I couldn’t do everything even if I wanted to and at that time I had to ensure some consistency and that important messages were cutting through.”  
So, three years ago, Kate created the ’10 and 2 rule’ – to be able to manage comms traffic (as one person), grow consistency, ensure any global or leadership communication is given the care and respect it deserves, and ultimately, comms is read and acted upon.
“Choosing times when you know colleagues are going to be most engaged – at 10am colleagues have likely cleared their inbox and settled into their day, 2pm – they are looking for a small win or distraction before they hit their afternoon working block. A big thing for us about the ‘10 and 2 rule’ is about respecting the comms itself and respecting colleagues’ time – to give them a chance to read it and digest it. If there is no cap on the number of emails being sent and no space between them, you are bombarding colleagues and not landing messages. If comms is rushed out at 4pm, who’s going to read it, has it had time to be crafted and reflected on, and will colleagues act on it at that time?”
And Friday.  No emails whatsoever?
“Again, no comms on a Friday is a way for us to show respect for our people and their time. If there is something really important and urgent, like a financial announcement, then we will send out comms. But most things can wait. I’m a firm believer that ‘everyone should sleep on their comms’. It only helps to hone and shape better communication.”
Today, if comms does go out on a Friday, it’s very much unexpected.  So it has to be important. Overall, feedback to the approach has been the clearest indicator that it is working.
“Having a structured (time bound) approach to central comms helps the recipients focus knowing these will be received at the specific times only. Having said that, we also know if the comms is urgent it can be received at any time which is how it should be.”
“The general rule of 10am/2pm means we do not receive comms in close succession and therefore allows us to micro-digest these central messages. This in-turn allows us time to filter the messages down to team members who may not be on the distribution and creates more harmony in overall ways of working.”
And, as Kate says, 10 and 2 is as flexible as it is structured&#8230;
“Even if a request comes in at 4pm for some urgent comms, it’s actually not long until the next slot at 10am the next day. We intentionally don’t fill all the slots so we know we can get the comms out in good time, the next day, and it gives us all time to craft it and go through approvals.”
So, how can you do something like this for your own organisation?
Here are Kate’s tips.
<ol>
<li>Work out what works for your organisation.</li>
</ol>
“We picked 10 and 2, because we felt these were times in the day where comms would land well. In an ideal world we would deliver the comms to teams at their local 10 and 2, but without a scheduling tool we’ve gone for the location where the most colleagues are based.  If you’re a global business like ours, with teams in very different time zones, scheduling comms to go out at relevant times would be optimal.
<ol start="2">
<li>Educate leaders and colleagues on why you’re doing this.</li>
</ol>
“Explain the psychology behind it – the respect for the comms, the respect for colleagues, the focus on landing well. Picking the times of day when you know people will be most engaged to give you the best chance of landing the message.  No-one wants their comms not to be read!”
<ol start="3">
<li>If in doubt, do a trial – and prove your case with analytics and feedback.</li>
</ol>
“So many people here expect the comms to come out at 10 and 2, and know why that’s important.”
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

The ’10 and 2′ rule for Travelex

As the sun finally decided to shine this month, it was time again for us to enjoy the city from the incredible 40th floor views of the Duck and Waffle at the latest instalment of our IC Leaders&#8217; Breakfast. With the Shard glistening behind us, we couldn’t wait to find out what the best and brightest in comms were dealing with and what they hoped to learn from each other.
This time, we were also lucky enough to be joined by our lovely clients from Arriva Rail London, Robyn Ashley and Toni-Ann Davis, to chat through exactly what went into our award-winning work. As well-versed as we are with the strategic review, it was interesting to see which themes emerged and resonated with our guests, more specifically how much reframing comms’ channels was a consistent challenge across multiple sectors. This came as a blend of streamlining but also recognising when to integrate face-to-face conversations to impart the most information.
Taking the case study as presented, I also noticed how important direct and manageable comms’ structure and copy can be. Most notably was the breakdown of line manager imperatives that were delivered in three categories: what did they need to know, what did they need to action, and what needed to trickle down to their teams. Simple methodologies such as this can still capture big-picture visions and even necessitate them.
As mountains of hash browns, sausages, and scrambled eggs were served up, the conversation took a few different turns, building on the idea of putting structures in place that actively seek how colleagues want to be engaged with. One particular point was how the right kinds of systems will enable agility and that empowering individuals to make comms work for them.
Frontline activation is constantly changing and it was heartening to see a major takeaway from our session was building strategies fit for the specific needs of any organisation. Building in key data-backed and well-vetted information about an organisation will always serve you well and the rest comes from a keen focused analysis of the reality of the day-to-day, before building out.

The Latest IC Leaders’ Breakfast

Last Tuesday, I was invited to a Meet &amp; Engage session with Nicola Sullivan about fostering social mobility in your emerging talent hiring. The featured guest was none other than Glen McGowan, Group Head of Emerging Talent at HSBC. I grabbed a coffee, a biscuit, and logged on to listen…
Sullivan set the scene by establishing the ongoing challenge of social mobility in the modern day, not shying away from the reality students are facing as they enter the workforce. She cited a report from the IFS that North of England, Midlands, and BAME candidates were not forecast to earn more money than their parents. On top of that, according to the Prince’s Trust, a quarter of respondents from poorer backgrounds were finishing degrees earlier to earn more money for their families.
With all that in mind, she began to ask what the impact of social mobility was on the early careers hiring journey. McGowan pointed to the fact that these differences can run deeper than just providing access. It can affect psychological and social capital, in something as simple as networking.
One particularly enlightening point McGowan made was to look at the ways to join up different efforts across organisations, rather than just celebrating individual wins. He cited Sharn Nelson Palmer’s work at Lloyds of London where they had shared their found talent with the insurance market more generally. It was interesting to hear how established companies could demonstrate their commitment to inclusive hiring, even across competitive divides, to make for impactful change.
Even though set goals in generating social mobility can be difficult to quantify, Glen wanted recruiters more broadly to challenge the current view of talent and to cast the net wider. Distinguishing between the profile of a person and the need of an organisation would be integral as well as factoring in robust apprenticeship schemes, the potential of second jobbers, and make it as accessible as possible across the whole of the UK.
More specifically to HSBC, the conversation moved on to addressing these concerns in larger organisations. Structurally, meaningful interactions between departments was maintained by allowing for forums where individuals could listen and give a feedback loop and then allowed the autonomy to execute their plans. Direct access to candidates had also proven to give the most cohesive picture rather than abstracted research and other findings.
On a hopeful note, prioritising social mobility was important across all markets, but McGowan still suggested that the correct nuance and forethought when dealing with geopolitical differences was crucial. Finding advocates that most directly spoke to communities and undo the image of intimidating organisations also proved successful in this realm. For example, their partnership with the Mercury Foundation gave a shared vision of community but certainly wouldn’t have been as authentically engaged with if it wasn’t for the presence of Stormzy as an ambassador.
The major throughline was a desire for greater collaboration. Working with people that have the lived experience and DE&amp;I experts to forge truly long-lasting policy change. As far as what recruiters can do now, Glen stressed the importance of holistic, forward-thinking campaign concepts. This issue is constantly evolving and if recruiters aren’t considering what the landscape will look like in 5 or 10 years, they won’t be able to generate the lasting change they’re seeking.

Meet And Engage Webinar: Fostering social mobility in your hiring process

<h2>By <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-mckeon-230aab139/">Daniel Mckeon</a></h2>
At an early careers event, we were trading stories about the main challenges faced in modern recruiting. One woman was discussing the disappointed feeling she’d get when candidates would “ghost” her in the middle of their application that caused a ripple of recognition and agreement from the others in the circle. They seemed at a loss to explain why they would just disappear without thinking about the person on the other side. But as someone who started their career in the modern workforce, I could completely understand why they would ghost.
The application process has become incredibly dense and increasingly gamified (not in a fun way…). LinkedIn notifications need to be set to let you know right away when an opportunity becomes available; even an hour later and you’ll be lining up behind hundreds or even thousands of other applicants. You’ll be staring down the barrel of at least three rounds of interviews and a task that’ll take you likely 4-5 hours, hoping that it’s not a way for them to <a class="app-aware-link " href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/job-interview-tasks-payment" target="_self" data-test-app-aware-link="" rel="noopener">use your ideas for free</a>.
Once you complete all that work, you have no indication of when you’ll hear back. I still receive emails from job applications I sent off back in September last year. Usually, the emails can’t give you more feedback because of the sheer volume of applicants so you don’t know why you weren’t picked. Then you’re back to the grindstone to reach your quota of ten applications a day. If someone wanted to walk away without so much as a ‘thank you’ email, I’d respect it if anything else.
This is also not exactly a new problem. It would be completely normal for students at my university to swap tips and tricks for navigating the algorithm. Some would go as far as copying and pasting the words from the job description in white font so that the software would scan it through so it would at least get read by a person. For every system you put in place, opportunists will figure out ways to get around them.
More recently, as I found out, these tactics have escalated to using ChatGPT to <a class="app-aware-link " href="https://archive.ph/TChRc" target="_self" data-test-app-aware-link="" rel="noopener">write their cover letters</a>. It doesn’t surprise me that generative AI is already embedded <a class="app-aware-link " href="https://insights.ise.org.uk/research/blog-student-use-of-generative-ai-will-undermine-traditional-recruitment/" target="_self" data-test-app-aware-link="" rel="noopener">among today’s early careers population</a>. But how can we begrudge candidates using it given how faceless and intimidating this process can come across, not least to say that <a class="app-aware-link " href="https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/use-of-ai-in-graduate-hiring-soars-as-grade-requirements-relaxed/#:~:text=More%20than%20a%20quarter%20(28,to%20relax%20graduate%20grade%20requirements." target="_self" data-test-app-aware-link="" rel="noopener">a quarter of recruiters are doing the same</a>.
Innovation in the recruitment space doesn’t have to mean incorporating the latest technological advancements at every stage. Many organisations are moving towards CV-less applications, such as The Spectator’s no-CV <a class="app-aware-link " href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-spectators-2024-no-cv-internship-scheme-is-now-open/" target="_self" data-test-app-aware-link="" rel="noopener">internship scheme</a>, proving you can find talent without overly bloated methods. If anything, it shows a company’s commitment to actively hiring inclusive talent.
The recruiters at the roundtable were let down that candidates were using AI in this way but the truth is candidates feel a similar lack of personal touch in almost every application they send off. The anonymising nature of these process doesn’t just turn our candidates into faceless numbers, organisations become equally ‘unreal’ to them in the process. So in a relationship mediated by automated technology – is it any wonder we’re all ghosting each other?
Ensuring companies have a human face will continue to be difficult, requiring consistent attention and understanding of your processes. The benefits of a strong employer brand are not just in attraction but in retention, cutting through the noise and laying the groundwork for an attentive and considered employee journey. It starts with something as simple as thinking about how this process would make you feel.

Ghosting The Machine: Does Recruitment Need More Automation?

Another bright and beautiful day in London to return to the Duck and Waffle for our latest IC Leaders Breakfast. A collection of internal comms professionals from a range of sectors rode the elevator up to the 40th floor to discuss tips and tricks in modern communications.
With the Gherkin sparkling behind us and our mugs full of strong coffee, it was time to get down to business. 106 Founder Henry got things started raising the challenge of finding and maintaining purpose at companies. Finding the happy medium between unremarked upon values and overly complicated pillars of an organisation can be tricky, especially when it comes to communicating concisely.
Luckily, we had Murray Phair of M&amp;G in attendance who has ample experience in launching and embedding values. After checking which stage everyone at the table was at with their purpose building, he took us through his own experience in internal communications. He emphasised how important it was that employees can phrase the company values in their own words and that strategic survey questions revealed the different interpretations that can arise if communications are consistent. In this way, Murray defined engagement as connecting the dots between individual contribution and the bigger picture a company holds.
The value of data was another crucial aspect that we came onto. Any debates about employee alignment can be brought down to brass tacks and kept values oriented in reality. Alongside that, it showed the work that the comms team was carrying out as well as building the precise wording of these ideas with step-by-step feedback from the workforce. Short, memorable, and applicable statements were what resonated most.
If comms are more scattered, it leaves room for differing opinions on how employees should conduct themselves. The day-to-day and the overall mission need careful alignment otherwise key motivators fall by the wayside. One particularly salient point was relating stakeholder decision-making to the values and purpose of the organisation; in other words, concretely relating strategy and vision.
This discussion grew into considering how behaviours can have meaningful impact on understanding purpose. This ranged from schemes that gave people the opportunity to rise up in the company, regular cadence of comms through a variety of mediums, and building networks of people at all levels that catalysed focussed changed and value-based behaviours to celebrate.
The common thread in everything we talked about was not just how much business acumen can be bolstered by impactful comms but also how and why we uphold work standards at all levels. Company purposes are only as good as how they’re carried out, and senior leaders should be just as mindful of this as everyone else.

106 returns to Duck & Waffle for the infamous IC Leaders Breakfast

Your organisation’s culture is like the soil in your garden. Just as soil provides the foundation for your plants to grow, your company culture acts as the foundation upon which your people (and goals) operate and thrive. A healthy culture nurtures deep, strong roots that helps a company maintain stability during times of change and uncertainty. Ultimately, it stands as a rich foundation upon which your organisation builds identity, values and practises. So we need to get it right.
As your organisation evolves and adapts to changing environments, the need for cultural transformation will inevitably arise. Whether it&#8217;s embracing innovation, fostering inclusivity or enhancing collaboration, culture change is a complex endeavour that requires a carefully-strategised groundwork.
Your secret garden tool? Internal comms. 
<h3 id="ember43" class="ember-view">Internal communications will bring colleagues on the journey and answer the all important question: ‘why?’</h3>
Effective communication of the ‘why’ behind the transformation is fundamental in garnering employee buy-in and alignment. Culture change happens because we want to give people the best opportunity to do their best work. By articulating the rationale behind change and how it will helpcolleagues, we can align teams on purpose in a sustainable way. Whether it be through email, newsletters or intranet portals (or all of the above), leadership must be visible throughout this process and shown to be invested in and role modelling change. Be transparent. It’s not easy, but it pays dividends.
<h3 id="ember45" class="ember-view">Internal comms helps dialogue and engagement to bloom &#8211; creating avenues for two-way communication between leadership and your people.</h3>
Cultivating a culture of openness and inclusivity is paramount in fostering trust and collaboration during times of change. Platforms such as employee forums, suggestion boxes, and interactive workshops will naturally encourage feedback, insights, and ideas from employees at all levels. Actively listening to employee concerns, addressing their apprehensions and incorporating their input into the change process will empower your people to become co-gardeners of the new culture. This sense of ownership not only enhances employee morale but also cultivates a culture of accountability and resilience in the face of change.
<h3 id="ember47" class="ember-view">As the Romans said – “repetition is the mother of learning”.</h3>
Your internal communications strategy works to reinforce cultural values and behaviours through consistent messaging and storytelling. Consistency will instil a feeling of dependability into the way you communicate and encourage growth in your people – and it will naturally embed the target cultural norms into the fabric of the organisation. Whether it be through employee testimonials or success stories, you can showcase real-life examples of individuals embodying your values. You can celebrate your peoples’ milestones and recognise those who exemplify new cultural norms – this will reinforce the importance of living the values in day-to-day interactions.
<h3 id="ember49" class="ember-view">Even the healthiest garden needs constant attention. We need to be transparent and communicative, to engage colleagues in a meaningful way and demonstrate action in response to feedback. Change is often perceived to be negative, a pointless exercise that causes more work and nothing changes. But if you help everyone in your organisation grow a green thumb, to take ownership of their own actions and believe in the wider purpose, your culture garden will flourish into the future.</h3>

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THE ’10 AND 2′ RULE FOR TRAVELEX

THE LATEST IC LEADERS’ BREAKFAST

MEET AND ENGAGE WEBINAR: FOSTERING SOCIAL MOBILITY IN YOUR HIRING PROCESS

GHOSTING THE MACHINE: DOES RECRUITMENT NEED MORE AUTOMATION?

106 RETURNS TO DUCK & WAFFLE FOR THE INFAMOUS IC LEADERS BREAKFAST

GROW A GREEN THUMB AND TEND TO YOUR CORPORATE CULTURE GARDEN

No going back for student employers

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WORK AND PLAY

REAL DIFFERENCE

YOUR NHS

100% YOU

BE THE APPRENTICES

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Employability Roundtable

Recent Posts

THE ’10 AND 2′ RULE FOR TRAVELEX

THE LATEST IC LEADERS’ BREAKFAST

MEET AND ENGAGE WEBINAR: FOSTERING SOCIAL MOBILITY IN YOUR HIRING PROCESS

GHOSTING THE MACHINE: DOES RECRUITMENT NEED MORE AUTOMATION?

106 RETURNS TO DUCK & WAFFLE FOR THE INFAMOUS IC LEADERS BREAKFAST

GROW A GREEN THUMB AND TEND TO YOUR CORPORATE CULTURE GARDEN

Get ready for amazing virtual campus experiences