ENSURING ACCESSIBILITY AT ERNST & YOUNG

What were your previous positions before joining Ernst & Young?

I spent many years as a journalist writing about politics and sport, including the Seoul Olympics, and I was also a speechwriter for a senior Australian politician.

Why did you decide to change career direction?

I moved from politics into a PR role with Ernst & Young. This expanded into a broader communication role, including internal and stakeholder communication. I spent eight years with Ernst & Young in Australia, ending as corporate communications director, before joining Ernst & Young Global in October 2003, as internal communications director.

What has been your biggest career challenge so far?

Sometimes I think running a global communications program is about as tough as it gets! We all know that internal communication is most effective when it's delivered locally - but when it's global, where do you fit? How do you work out where and how you can add value and make a difference? The answers aren't always simple, but it's fun, it's interesting, and it's always challenging.

What strategies have you implemented at Ernst and Young?

Globally, we're focused on strengthening the culture and brand of Ernst & Young; we're closely aligning communication activities with the strategy and we're focused on developing communications materials that are accessible to very diverse global audiences.

How do you communicate business strategy so that it's compelling for employees?

We're continually communicating strategy, but the real challenge is to make it simple, relevant and accessible for all our people. It's not enough just to give people an understanding of the strategy - you also have to articulate what you want them to do about it, so that it's meaningful. After you've had the roadshow, the video, the webcast, the brochures and the posters, you need to keep strategy alive by embedding it in all communication activities. For us, that includes building commitment and buy-in by using all available channels, because people take in information in different ways.

What initiatives are you working on now?

The goal of our communication team is to create a structured and streamlined internal communication program that reflects the firm's cultural, organizational, strategic and people objectives. We do that around three key interlocking themes:

1. Developing an Ernst & Young mindset - to create a sense of belonging.

2. Informing people about our organization - to give our people an understanding of how Ernst & Young works, and how this benefits their client-facing activities.

3. Supporting the execution of our strategy - so our people know what actions they can take to contribute to both our business and their individual success.

What are the skills required to be a good internal communicator?

I think great communicators combine strong strategic thinking with creativity and the ability to execute. You have to be able to create something from nothing; to be the first to formulate the key messages; and to know how to exploit visual, written and personal communication, in order to maximize your impact. Effective communicators also need to have a robust understanding of - and a passion for - the organization that you're working for, so you can best work out how the communication function can support it. That requires an active curiosity, and also boldness to show where and how communication can add value.

Have you any predictions for the future of internal communications?

It's a cliche, but I think change is probably the one constant for our profession. Whether it's the available media; the way people use technology; the challenge of information overload; the impact of globalization or the desire for stronger inter-connected cultures - internal communication will always have to flex and innovate to maintain its relevance. So change is inevitable. At the end of the day, though, I think it will always come back to how we work with leaders to align our people to the achievement of strategic and cultural or brand objectives.