Defining the future of internal communication with Chris Coburn

As the pace of business accelerates and the wider operating environment becomes ever-more complex, organisations are struggling to maintain cohesion and focus. Endless cycles of change, continuous restructuring and a lack of clarity cause engagement and goodwill to flatline.

Now more than ever, internal communication is a mission-critical business function. For all this, its scope – and therefore its impact – regularly remains hard to pin down.

This episode, we welcome Chris Coburn, one of the module leaders for the IOIC’s Master’s in Internal Communication management programme and the Lead Facilitator for the IOIC’s Advanced Diploma. He shares his thoughts on what good internal communication looks like and why it can be so challenging to define.

Transcript S17, E4 – Defining the future of internal communication with Chris Coburn

About Chris Coburn

Chris Coburn is a senior Culture and Engagement Leader with 20 years of experience in internal communications. He currently serves as the Assistant Director of Culture and Engagement at Samaritans.

His career includes a decade in comms at the John Lewis Partnership, where he was an Elected Director on the Partnership Board and led strategic engagement for 85,000 co-owners. He has also built and scaled global internal communications functions from the ground up during high-growth periods at some of the biggest FinTechs. A passionate advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Chris has a track record of moving beyond initiatives to build sustainable infrastructure, such as establishing volunteer-led employee networks that actively advise C-suite leaders.

Chris views culture as the operating system of an organisation and champions the concept of lowering the "Trust Tax" through radical transparency and robust employee listening loops.

In addition to his in-house roles, he operates Chris Coburn Communications, providing strategic consulting to diagnose communication gaps and deliver high-impact remedial strategies. He holds a Master’s Degree with Distinction in Internal Communication Management and is a recently awarded Fellow of the Institute of Internal Communication (FIIC). Deeply committed to the profession's academic - yet practical - development, Chris is the Lead Facilitator for the IOIC’s Advanced Diploma and a Module Leader for their Master’s programme.

Find Chris on LinkedIn:         https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-coburn/