Work Happy Podcast: S3 – Episode 1
Welcome back to a brand new series of the Work Happy podcast, kicking off with Sam Bleazard from Fortnum & Mason, inventors of the Scotch egg…
Sam is an Employer Brand Content Producer, and while that Scotch egg fact may seem trivial, it’s part of the all-important brand story and human experience that should underpin any successful business.
Join us for the start of series 3, where we dive into how vulnerability mirrors strength in business leaders, why you should roll out the red carpet for employees, and the merging of internal and external comms.
This episode covers:
- The growing trend of merging specialisms, and cross-discipline work between PR and marketing
- Why it’s vital that there’s a human experience underpinning a business’ story
- How to protect your brand when it’s presented on external platforms
- Blurring lines between internal and external communications
Highlights
Internal comms is learning from marketing
“There’s been a lot of movement both ways. Internal comms people and employee engagement specialists have been learning from people in PR and marketing, and vice versa. COVID was a seismic moment for anybody who had developed a career in internal communications because we were suddenly taken very seriously.”
[5:20]
Human beings drive success
“Human beings with all of their quirks, idiosyncrasies, talent and dare I say it their flaws and vulnerabilities, that’s actually what’s driving your success. I think people are becoming more and more aware of that.”
[13:15]
Give people trust
“Certainly my experience over the last 10 years shows me that whenever you give people trust, and you hand that trust over, they never let you down. Very rarely, it’s an anomaly.”
[21:20]
Roll out the red carpet for employees
“We roll the red carpet for customers, or clients, or whatever industry we’re in. We bestow greatness on those that we serve, yet the most dangerous thing you can do is not roll it out for employees.”
[24:25]
Safety, security & job satisfaction
“I’ve seen in the background of my working life, the complete erosion of trust in all pillars of our society, all of the major institutions. Actually, you see people taking more comfort in the safety and security and job satisfaction that an organisation can provide for them.”
[31:30]
Demanding flexibility & development
“They’re demanding flexibility, they’re demanding development of skills and their careers, they’ve got less patience, and I would argue less loyalty. If there was a big lesson from the pandemic and the fallout of that, which was still very much happening in 2022, people realised that they can just go and do other things.”
[43:15]
