Don't Shoot The Messenger Vicki Marinker

In this, the last episode of series 2, I talk with Jenni Field, business strategist, author, podcaster and founder of Redefining Communications. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, including corporate culture, the challenges facing the physical workplace and how to future-proof your career in communication.
We discuss:
📣 The role of communicators in establishing a positive corporate culture
📣 How to recruit for culture fit and build a diverse workforce
📣 Toxic cultures - how they develop and what to do about them
📣 Balancing wellbeing and productivity in organisations post-COVID
📣 A pitch to the Queen and a flammable catsuit in a hot air balloon.
If you have any suggestions for guests for my next series, please get in touch at www.vickimarinker.com

In this episode I talk with Tony Stewart, Head of digital at scarlettabott and self-confessed digital geek, about how to get your digital strategy right in a Covid world.
We discuss:
📣 The 7 fundamental pillars on which to build a winning digital strategy 
📣 How success leads to behavioural change
📣 The technical challenge of ongoing remote working
📣 A great example of using gaming technology to support a business challenge
📣 Being responsible for Boris’s presence on Twitter
If you’d like to get involved, please get in touch at www.vickimarinker.com

In this episode, I talk with Robbie Sommerville, Director of ESG Communications at Credit Suisse about the impact of COP26 and the evolution of environment and social issues in different regions.
We discuss:
📣 The impact of COP26: moving from the focus on carbon to a more diverse range of environmental topics
📣 Regional priorities across the ESG agenda and juggling those needs in a global organisation
📣 The push and pull of profitability and purpose
📣 Internal engagement as a driver of corporate responsibility
📣 Encouraging leaders to champion diversity, equity and inclusion while avoiding tokenism
📣 Ringing a gong to announce dinner
If you’d like to get involved, please get in touch at www.vickimarinker.com

In this episode I talk with Sheena Thomson, an expert in international relations, reputation and crisis management, who started her communications career with the Royal Navy, about what the corporate world can learn from how the Navy manages a crisis. 
We discuss:
📣 Being thrown into the deep end, handling crisis communications for the Navy
📣 How to keep a rational head when all around you are losing theirs
📣 What constitutes a corporate crisis, and if it’s ever as bad as what happens at sea
📣 Rescuing a disastrous press trip and ensuring journalists got their story
📣 An incident with a dead parrot and pretending to be Anneka Rice
If you’d like to get involved, please get in touch at www.vickimarinker.com

In this episode I talk with Sam Bleazard, Employee Communications and Engagement Lead at Fortnum & Mason about the unique challenge of working in retail communications
We discuss:
📣 The challenge of working strategically in an environment where results are examined on a weekly basis
📣 How retail has been affected by COVID, e-commerce, Brexit and the sustainability agenda
📣 What goes on behind the beautifully curated shop floor of a high-end destination like Fortnum & Mason
📣 How to nearly kill your CEO.

If you’d like to get involved, please get in touch at www.vickimarinker.com

In this first episode of the second series, I talk with Kim England, VP of Global Employee Communications at Pearson, a self-confessed tech geek who is passionate about collaboration and community, about using technology to build a global internal community
We discuss:
📣 How education is having its ‘Spotify’ moment
📣 Enterprise Social Networks - so much more than an intranet
📣 Allowing the ‘non-professional’ conversations to happen
📣 Fighting Zoom fatigue, and motivating employees when morale is low
📣 Being honest when things don’t go to plan
📣 DJ Disco Kimbo and an embarrassing technology fail
If you’d like to get involved, please get in touch at www.vickimarinker.com