Ahead of the 7th Annual Internal Communication Situational Messaging Conference, marcus evans spoke with Mark Dollins, Head of Executive & Global Employee Communications at DuPont, regarding empowering and engaging your workforce, gauging employee engagement within an organization, adopting a more strategic approach to internal communication, and much more.

You will be presenting on “Assembling a Robust Metrics Approach to Demonstrate the Impact of Internal Communications,” what are some key takeaways the attendees can expect from your session?

The landscape for M&A activity continues to change, and big deals, in particular, are subject to greater regulatory scrutiny in markets across the globe than ever. This presents significant challenges for communicators who need to plan, measure, analyze and report on the impact they’re having on the change journey.  I’ll be sharing how to construct a change communications plan for employees and leaders that engages them on a change journey, and some practical advice on what and how to measure their progress and success.

Developing a comprehensive internal communication strategy is essential to achieving an empowered and engaged workforce.” What is your personal definition of an “empowered and engaged workforce”?

An engaged workforce means employees aren't distracted, know the company's goals, and understand how their work helps the enterprise achieve its goals.  And it means they have the tools to get to that state, and will apply that "discretionary effort" that goes beyond the basic expectations of them in their roles.  

An engaged workforce is the goal. Empowering them is what gets you there.  Any successful change communications strategy requires have an employee plan and a leader plan.  Both sets of internal stakeholders need to be empowered with the right information, sequenced in the right way. When they’re empowered, their engagement will follow.

How do you gauge internal communication or employee engagement success? What are your long-term goals regarding strengthening the engagement of your organization?

I think success with employee communications and engagement comes when communication results clearly connect to other business metrics. Don’t get me wrong; communication metrics are important, but we need to ensure they connect to business outcomes. When the right communication outcomes are being measured, they can clearly connect to org health or business performance deliverables. It’s not necessarily easy to do, but it starts with asking the right questions. What does the business care about? What is it already measuring? What does it want to accomplish, and how does communication help it get there?

Adopting a more strategic approach to internal communications is a focus for every company. How has DuPont’s internal communication strategy matured in recent months/years?

In the last two years, we’ve essentially re-built our employee and leader communications capabilities from the ground up. We intentionally dismantled all of our internal channels, built new ones, and developed a relentless discipline around measurement – all with a continuous feedback loop. Our corporate narrative has been a steadfast focus for us, and we’ve tied every communication action to that North Star. It hasn't matured as much as it has been completely re-imagined, laying the groundwork for the next generation of employee and leader communications. We are pushing the bar higher, holding ourselves more accountable and becoming far more trusted advisers in the process.

What return have you seen from your company’s investment in internal communications initiatives?

 Our investment has paid off in clear and compelling ways. Our research shows that as employee and leader confidence in, and understanding of, our future state has grown -- so, too have employee engagement results. Communications directly impacts that understanding and confidence, and we can show that in our communication metrics – which line up with Org Health Scores.  That confidence in the future state, and belief in transparency from senior leader communications, also lines up with reduced voluntary attrition rates during a period of significant organizational change. The communication behaviors of our leaders are changing too, and for the better. The investment made in our function to re-tool our channels, institute a discipline around measurement, and deliver innovative content all contribute to the results the business cares about. We still have much work to do, but our foundation has never been stronger.

 For More Information Contact:
 Angelica Anselmo
 Marketing Manager
 marcus evans Group
 (312) 894-6302
 angelicaa@marcusevansch.com

marcus evans invites you to join leaders internal communication from Western Union, Spotify, Groupon, The Hershey Company, and many others at the 7th Annual Internal Communications & Situational Messaging Conference.  Learn from current thought leaders in effectively communicating change to foster stability, optimizing metrics and resource allocation, unifying and engaging a diverse and disparate workforce, and more!

About the Conference

About the Speaker:

A marcus evans interview with:

Mark Dollins

Head of Executive & Global Employee Communications

Copyright © 2017 Marcus Evans, Inc.

DuPont

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Speaker at:

7th Annual Internal Communications & Situational Messaging Conference

February 21-22, 2018 | New Orleans, LA

Mark Dollins is Head of Executive & Global Employee Communications for E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont). In this role, he is responsible for creating and executing strategies that increasingly engage 40,000 employees in the Company’s growth strategies, and empower leaders to more effectively engage their teams through communications. This includes driving communications strategies for the CEO and Senior Executive Team -- internally and externally- - and driving change management communications for the enterprise. In 2017, his team earned IABC Gold Quills and a PRSA Silver Anvil for change management, employee engagement and employee communications.