Workplace 2021 communications – Key Poppulo Bootcamp learnings

The beauty about an awesome employee communications conference, where you bring together the best of the best, is you get a ton of terrific insights in a short period of time.

That’s what almost 7,000 people took away from Poppulo’s annual Bootcamp a few weeks ago.

Unsurprisingly, there was enormous interest in sessions and discussions on the totally changed workplace following the turmoil of the past year, and how companies should adapt to the new challenges.

So, to bring these insights to an even wider audience we’ve created three easily accessible short guides that help give a greater understanding of workforce trends, preferences, and habits for 2021, observations and pointers for greater engagement, and how to create an inclusive culture.

In the first of these guides – The Changed Workplace 2021: How employees feel, and what employers & communicators need to do about it – Kelly Monahan and Tchicaya Ellis Robertson of Accenture build on years of experience and research to shine a very revealing light on what’s going to shape the workplace in the immediate future.

This really is an important and valuable piece of work and a recommended must-read for business leaders, communicators and HR professionals alike.

There’s no shortage of opinions, articles, podcasts, and blogs sounding off about the demands and challenges of the changed and changing workplace, but what sets this guide apart is that it’s grounded in rock-solid research.

The insights build on several years of examining what matters most to people at work, observing changes before and through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past year and beyond, workers across the world have experienced a sea change. From rising digital developments to the rapid move to remote-based work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “change fatigue” has set in.

Fortunately, Monahan and Robertson’s research shows that business leaders can impact how people feel about these changes, and the guide sets out a plan of action for companies.

The second guide – 4 Key trends in Internal Communication and Employee Engagement in 2021 – is based on a presentation by Gallagher’s Director of Employee Experience, Kevin McDougall, and Tino Fritsch, Head of Global Communications at Thyssenkrupp.

Gallagher has, of course, many years of internal communications research under its belt with its annual State of the Sector.

Together, McDougall and Fritsch explore four key trends in internal communication and employee engagement, as well as how communication professionals can rise to the challenges they bring.

In our third guide – The key to an inclusive culture for all employees: Internal Communications – René Carayol MBE explores the changed role of business leaders in how and what they communicate with their employees, particularly as a consequence of the past year.

“Just a few years ago, leaders could hold a company retreat, bringing everyone together in person. But today, people are working in different environments and from different places. In this environment, inclusive communication is essential,” he says.

“Not only do company leaders need to tell employees what’s going on, but they also need to make sure their leadership and communication style bring everybody in and leave nobody out.

In the guide, he explores how leaders can create that essential inclusive culture for their employees in 2021 through the use of inclusive communication.