Diary of an Internal Communicator: The final week
By Jenni Wheller, Internal Communications Manager, SSP UK
Back by popular demand, over the next four weeks the Melcrum Blog will feature another series of diary entries by an internal communicator. Previously Rachel Allen gave us all a fascinating insight into her new role as head of communication at London Overground Rail Operations. Read it here if you missed it.
This time our guest blogger is Jenni Wheller (pictured, right) who has recently taken on a new in-house role at SSP UK. Jenni was previously business development manager at internal communications agency theblueballroom. We look forward to hearing how she tackles the many challenges she will undoubtedly face in the coming weeks at SSP UK... here's her fourth and final week.
As I write my final blog for this series following a month of entries, things are starting to take shape in my new role. The survey is now written and I’m exploring various options of samples or automated phone surveys (thanks to all those on Twitter and Linked In who answered) and in the second week of June I’m going to work in some stores, or “units”: as they’re known here, in and around London.Following last week’s blog, the structure and content of the conference is still being debated – I’m hoping to have a clear steer by the end of May. I’ve also just returned from three days in Paris where the international HR forum was hosted. It was great to meet fellow HR professionals within SSP and, as an internal communicator who has previously sat within marketing, it was great to learn more about human resources. There was plenty of discussion about motivating, engaging and recruiting new people born between 1978 and 1996, dubbed “millennials”. As a millennial this was particularly interesting as a lot of what was said rang true, and also highlighted the importance of knowing your audience when communicating with them. The key theme was the work-life balance we expect – we’re happy to give a lot but in return we expect a flexible working environment.
For those internal communicators that have millennials in their midst – here’s some of the research:
What they need:
- Fun environment
- Rewards
- To be listened to
- Space Work/life balance
- Frequent Feedback
- Career development
What they provide:
- Energy
- Fresh perspective
- Technology expertise
- Honest opinions
- High productivity
Spending two months in the business, observing and networking has been the best decision I ever made. While it feels that I’ve sat quietly in a corner since I got here, I now feel that I have grasped how the business operates and an understanding of the culture at SSP.
No doubt I’ll continue updating this diary via Twitter – I may even continue this blog through another platform in order to share the outcome of the survey and what this means for the role of internal comms at SSP.
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