Could you describe your current role in internal communication and how you think membership with IoIC might support you in this role?
I’m Internal Communications Manager at Electricity North West. I have 25+ years experience in internal comms – which I often refer to as internal marketing. We have just under 2,500 colleagues to communicate with - both operationally in the field and in the office.
For me, a big part of this role is connecting with people and delivering comms in a way that it matters to them, so they’re inspired and self motivated for any call to action we ask of them. In our business, where many of our communications are around safety, customer and security – ensuring the comms are effective – and matter to our colleagues, is essential.
The IoIC has been fantastic for me – seeing and engaging in conversations with IC professionals who are all trying to achieve the same thing. Being curious, test and trial, and striving for excellence is much more fun and interesting when you can do it with other great minds alongside you. I’ve found the Forum really helpful and have made some great connections.
What motivated you to pursue a career in internal communication and what do you enjoy most about it?
Like many communications people, I started in marketing and events and discovered along with the way that what motivates me most is people - and that’s why internal comms is such a good fit. I love what I do. There’s nothing better than knowing a comms or campaign we’ve run has not only delivered success for the business objectives but also made a difference to our people.
We often talk about huge events, incident comms, and all the glitz and glamour of what we do – which of course I love, but these moments when you touch someone and make a genuine difference to their day, that’s why I love this career.
How has IoIC membership contributed to your professional development and career growth?
I’ve only been a member of the IoIC for about six months but I try to take every opportunity. The great thing about what we do in internal communications, is to be curious and to find new and better ways to storytell and connect with colleagues – and deliver the strategy. The IoIC is key to this for me; learning is key, asking questions, listening to podcasts, going on courses and constantly asking ‘how can we do this better’. I’ve gained so much already and try and spend time every week if I can on the platform, to learn something new – or share something with someone else on there.
Can you name one career achievement or project that you're particularly proud of, and why?
Like many communications people, I started in marketing and events and discovered along the way that what motivates me most is people… and that’s why internal comms is such a good fit. I love what I do. There’s nothing better than knowing a comms or campaign we’ve run has not only delivered success for the business objectives but also made a difference to our people.
Since joining Electricity North West 15 months ago, we’ve done so much to transform our communications with colleagues – and I must admit, I love the pace and the opportunity to constantly see what we can do better.
I’ve been so proud of the feedback we’ve had on our CEO roadshows, leadership conferences and our brand-new recognition awards. I’ve also seen the impact of smaller changes we’ve made. I think it’s too easy to overlook the smaller comms we do that make a significant difference to a colleague’s journey – so I wanted to share something around that…
One of the smaller changes we made for our colleagues was on Workers’ Memorial Day. Previously, the business did what most do and put out a message to respect a minute’s silence on the day. Instead, I suggested we trial launching a digital wall one week before, where colleagues could submit messages in memory of a colleague who had passed away. We had no idea how it would go or if anyone would post a comment. The wall was a huge success. After the event, one of the colleagues who posted a message wrote to me to say how touched he was to have the opportunity to remember his friend in this way and share the memory.
When you ask what I’m most proud of – I think it’s that, after all the hard work of 2024, for both large and small initiatives, we ended the year by running our annual colleague survey and received our highest ever engagement rate of 90% and agreement score of 83.7%.
Every day is about loving the job and seeing how we can do things better and matter more. Don’t doubt I’ll be aiming for even higher engagement and agreement scores this year – and every comms counts towards the impact of this.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the internal communication profession?
Be curious and learn as much as you can. Test and trial. Don’t be afraid of change. Meet other IC professionals and find out what they’re doing – what’s worked and what hasn’t. Be passionate. Go for gold. Ensure you deliver ‘wow’ moments and show others what you’re capable of. And use this network at IoIC!
My other piece of advice is to ensure the work you’re doing and spending the most time on, has value and is aligned to the company strategy and objectives. For too long, internal comms has been referred to as ‘the fluffy stuff’. What we do, influences colleague retention, pride, performance and safety – and in doing so, our comms should be measurable. This is essential. Work with people to better understand the strategy and the time and effort for BAU comms v high value comms which move the dial.
Tell us a fun fact about you that not many people know?
I was once on the Generation Game TV show. I went on it with my dad when I was 21. Bruce had just retired so the host was Jim Davidson. We didn’t win but my dad was so proud and still has his wobbly man commiseration prize on the mantlepiece!
