Recently, the blue goose team joined the internal communications community at the two day Institute of Internal Communication Festival. Set in the sun-baked picturesque surroundings of Tewinbury Farm Hotel, the programme was packed with comms and culture experts ready to bring some cool heads and advice to the hot topics being tackled by organisations right now.
With a corporate backdrop of unprecedented and accelerated change, it was a time to listen, talk and support your fellow peers.
Below are some of the highlights among the many. Thanks to all the presenters and faces of old and new we met. As always, if you want to talk through your comms and culture challenges or hear more about the work for Royal Mail and Fareshare we presented on stage, do contact the team here at blue goose.
Employee anxiety and change management
- The highest proportion of global workforces who are anxious about the impact of AI on their jobs and society, is here in the UK, according to the IOIC 2025 Index Report introduced by Ghassan Karian, chairman and founder of IPSOS Karian and Box
- The constant restructuring and transformation happening at the moment can trigger four fears which your employees might be experiencing: Fear of temporary incompetence | Fear of punishment for temporary incompetence | Fear of loss of personal identity | Fear of loss of group membership – Karen Blackett CBE, former WPP UK President and NED at Diageo
- With adoption of new technology there is a dip in people’s performance – psychologists call it the Learning Dip. When you’re learning something new your performance drops but goes back up once you become more familiar with it. Be aware that Fear can lead to poor health and mental health while at the bottom of that learning dip – added Karen Blackett.
- 61 per cent of employees are ‘Covering’, doing something to hide their authentic self. This increases to 66 per cent if female, 78 per cent if black, and 83 per cent if gay – Deloitte University study, 2024
Leadership and empathy
- WHAT leaders say matters but HOW they say it matters more. And then WHERE they say it also makes a difference. Provide two way communications to create conversation and give leaders a place to be human and open to listening and being empathetic to colleague challenges, advises Lynsey Hutchison, Director, Head of Communications Insights and Optimisation at Barclays.
- Lynsey also shared three key metrics which contribute to employee satisfaction scores: Clarity of message | Visible leadership | How leaders contribute
- Employees who score their internal comms 10/10 say they hear from their CEO and senior leaders at least every few weeks. They also feel their leaders understand the challenges employees face and that their organisation is good at showing how employees feedback is used to inform decision – IOIC Index Report 2025
People don’t care what you know, they want to know that you care
THE EMPATHY BUSINESS
Behaviours change at the Royal Mail
- A strong visual identity was one of the key factors to success for Royal Mail as its campaign tackled culture and behaviours within. Then small but often communications, reinforcing the campaign language – Winnie Annan-Forson Group Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Royal Mail.
- ‘Make it as effortless as possible for your employees when it comes to running an employee campaign. They shouldn’t have to do anything – the programme of work has to come to them’ – Ben Watson, blue goose Managing Director, as he co-presented the Royal Mail ‘Change for Good’ campaign with Winnie.
Key factors for internal communications
- Check your company values. Good company Values are: Aspirational | Aligned with the vision | Achievable and liveable | Relevant to everyone | Distinctive and memorable – blue goose Managing Director, Ben Watson while presenting the Fareshare company values case study.
- Partnerships are really critical within organisations, especially between diversity and internal comms teams; and more recently legal, diversity and comms. Five tips for a successful partnership: Listen to understand | Authenticity | Passionate voices | Positive Challenge is the best critical friend | Power of Storytelling – Pauline Miller (Chartered, FCIPD) Chief Equity Officer, Dentsu
A number of points from Karen Blackett CBE:
- Create a comms team like Avengers Assemble, find their diverse super powers.
- Check your Circle – if they are all like you, then widen your circle
- Really understand the Trust Equation. Trust = Credibility + Reliability + Empathy + Congruence / over Self-Orientation. If you get trust right it directly correlates to productivity
- ‘Be more Donald’ – yes, really! Body language experts have studied Donald Trump and how he has congruous in believing what he says and his non verbal cues. When we see congruous in someone we believe and trust more. Leaders need to believe what they say and check their body language.
- Embrace LOMO (Love of Missing Out) – during all this change, find your monk time and look after yourself
- Ensure you flex your communication styles across: Analytical (Logic) | Driver (Assertive) | Amiable (empathy) | and Expressive (Passion). Have a primary and secondary style but know how you flex this and make sure everyone is covered.
Finally, how are internal comms leaders feeling?
How would the IC community sum up their working life at the moment? When asked, this was the response from the floor: Frantic | Unstable | Undervalued | Chaotic while Pauline Miller, Chief Equity Officer at Dentsu added ‘Hectic and Exciting’.
On a positive and not scientifically proven, we noticed at the blue goose stand that there are more ‘Cheerleaders’ in the IOIC community than Followers, Cynics and Sceptics, judging by the number of blue goose cupcakes taken over the two days.
In summary, the IOIC Festival 2025 highlighted that successful internal communications hinge on empathetic leadership, clarity of message, internal partnerships, and inclusive culture-building. By acknowledging and addressing employee fears, fostering trust, and simplifying engagement efforts, organisations can be better equipped to navigate through constant change.
If you’d like insights on applying these lessons to your organisation, or to discuss our internal comms work with Royal Mail and Fareshare, please get in touch.
