Inaugural South African summit success

By Nicci Columbine, independent consultant, Columbine Communications, and producer of Melcrum's inaugural Corporate Communication Management Summit

The inaugural Melcrum Corporate Communication Management Summit held in Johannesburg last week was a benchmark event for the corporate communications community in South Africa.

The three day conference of workshops, presentations and discussions provided a much needed forum for practitioners, academics and consultants to share ideas on every aspect of internal communications. Delegates from across South Africa and the continent - as far as Egypt, Ghana, and Nigeria - attended to listen and learn how leading companies including Standard Bank, Liberty Group, MultiChoice, Pick n Pay, Murray and Roberts, Sappi Limited, Mercedes-Benz, and MTN are successfully managing communication within their often diverse and transforming organisational and business environments.

Case study presentations by senior communication practitioners shared insights into how best practice communication and employee engagement is assisting these businesses to enhance their corporate social responsibility commitments, embed safety compliance and a code of ethics, transform employee culture, create unity within a diverse workforce, manage business change, and add value to the working environment.

Keynote speaker Darren Briggs, of UK-based Flametree Communication, spoke about the central role  senior communicators have in assisting business leaders to enhance their influence among a new generation of employees. Specialist internal communication consultancy Actuate, demonstrated how organisations can maximize internal marketing to engage and inspire employees to deliver greater value for businesses.

Briefing sessions on communication measurement, social media and workshops on change management and leadership engagement offered useful information and practical learning, while round table discussions on topics ranging from strategy and planning to building internal brand loyalty, provided communicators with a platform for stimulating dialogue and engagement on prevalent issues and challenges facing corporate communicators in the region.

The summit also afforded an unprecedented opportunity for interaction and networking in South Africa, with many delegates expressing their interest to further their learning through on-going engagement and best practice sharing with peers.

Based on the positive feedback received, the South African summit has set a precedent for the further development of corporate and particularly internal communication in South Africa and on the African continent.