Opinion

With 25 years at Lloyds Banking Group and now running her own consultancy, Diana Oakes shares how she built a career in internal communication leading large scale change, championing inclusion and helping people feel they truly matter at work.

Internal communication stands at a crossroads. That was the starting point for IoIC’s Designing the Future of Internal Communication: The Leaders Forum, a full-day event that brought senior IC professionals together to explore trust, technology, listening and the evolving shape of organisations.

IoIC Fellow Sinéad Bell, Director at Hanover Communications shares how the perception of internal communication has evolved over the course of her career, the impact Covid-19 had on the profession, and why practitioners must continue to demonstrate the value of their work.

As part of our #IChoseIC Series, Danielle Starling reflects on why she feels internal communications is important and why she has stayed in internal comms roles for over 13 years.

After years of mentoring informally, internal communication specialist and #IChoseIC ambassador Pauline Smith made a conscious commitment through the Institute of Internal Communication Mentoring Scheme – and discovered just how powerful mentoring can be, for both mentor and mentee.

After starting out with just an O-level in Art and a career path that began in hairdressing, Pauline Smith’s journey into internal communication was anything but conventional. But through curiosity, resilience, and a passion for making a difference, she found a career where she could truly thrive. Pauline shares how IC became her calling. From creating her first company newsletter to leading global change programmes and why she’s proud to be an #IChoseIC ambassador.

Constant change has become the new normal and internal communicators are at the heart of helping organisations navigate it. In October’s Fellows Knowledge Circle, participants explored how communicators can step up as true change leaders, shaping culture, building resilience, and helping people thrive through transformation.

Find out from May Flanagan, IoIC Ireland Network Lead, her plans for the IoIC Ireland Network.

Alex Graves, founder and chief visionary officer at Silicon Reef, reflects on the findings from the IC Index 2025 and explores how M365 can help you build a 10 out of 10 employee experience.