Tuesday, Nov. 6

9–11 a.m.

Create an effective intranet that serves both your employees and organization

For many internal communicators, debuting a new intranet or redesigning a current intranet is considered a technology project. Amy Zimmerman, senior communications manager for Great American Insurance Group, will show you the “a-ha!” moment you can have when you create and execute your intranet as an employee engagement project. In this interactive workshop, you’ll see how an organization’s intranet went from an unorganized “link farm” to an organized, effective platform that engages employees across the organization. She’ll show you what work needs to be done up front—and how you can convince executives and other stakeholders it’s worth the wait—to produce an intranet that meets your organization’s business and employee needs.

You’ll learn:

  • How to pinpoint your organization’s most pressing goals and employees’ individual identities
  • How to solicit and win your stakeholders’ buy-in
  • Ways to decommission an outdated intranet and organize a new system governed by the right stakeholders
  • How to tie your intranet to other digital workplace tools and employee communications efforts
  • Tips for testing and structuring your intranet redesign and rollout to maximize adoption
Amy Zimmerman
Senior communications manager
Great American Insurance Group
Read bio
11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Networking lunch

(on your own)

12:15–2:15 p.m.

Let the numbers guide you: How data can create outstanding digital employee platforms

For many communicators, taking stock of metrics and analytics is groan-inducing, rather than exciting. However, these rich insights, when measured and applied properly, can help you improve your intranet’s adoption rate, help employees connect with your content and better understand your workforce—along with your organization’s market. In this highly interactive workshop, Ronald Gilliam, engineering chief of staff for American Express, will show you how tools such as surveys and style guides, along with the proper measurement strategy, can help you drive an outstanding intranet presence.

You’ll learn:

  • Secrets to refresh your intranet to increase usage and engagement
  • The right number to measure—and what they mean for your internal communications efforts
  • How to set up a proper benchmark strategy to evaluate your intranet
  • Ways to use data and analytics to drive your employee content and campaigns
  • Tips for content that entice employees to click and share
Ronald Gilliam
Engineering chief of staff
American Express
Read bio
2:30–4:30 p.m.

Use your intranet to power diversity, culture and engagement

An effective intranet is crucial to reaching and inspiring employees. By using your intranet as both a mirror for your culture and a tool to help your staff co-create content, you can foster an inclusive workplace for all employees. Doing so can also increase an attitude of sharing and participation in your organization’s messages. In this interactive workshop, Kim Clark, director of culture and communications for GoDaddy and affiliate of Ragan Consulting Group, will teach you how to tailor your intranet to your employees—and how approaching it with a “staff first” mindset can help you better achieve other internal communications goals.

You’ll learn:

  • How to make your intranet your global headquarters
  • Tips to broach tough topics with your staff and help everyone feel included
  • How to personalize your intranet experience for a diverse set of employees
  • Ways to boost your organization’s culture and use it as a tool for increased engagement
  • Secrets to connecting desk, remote and newly acquired workers alike around the world
Kim Clark
Kim Clark
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Communications Consultant
Ragan Consulting Group
Read bio

Wednesday, Nov. 7

8-8:45 a.m.
Bonus breakfast session

Why strategy, not software, is your intranet’s centerpiece

You can invest all the time and money you like in a piece of software, but it’s a wasted resource if no one is uses it. Interact provides hard, quantitative evidence to uncover common intranet myths, helping organizations improve intranet adoption and keep your employees coming back. In this bonus breakfast session, Daren Jennings, vice president of sales at Interact, will debunk the myth that intranet projects are IT efforts. To ensure your intranet isn’t rolled out and left to go stale, serving as a graveyard of outdated information and documents, you must focus on user needs, adoption and continual improvement (via measurement) of your investment. This starts at the planning stage and carries through after you launch your intranet.

You’ll learn:

• What is more important than software
• Common pitfalls communicators face when rolling out an intranet
• How to align resources
• Strategies to keep your employees engaged after launch
• Surprising engagement metrics gleaned from Interact customer insights

Daren Jennings
Vice president of sales
Interact
Read bio
9–10 a.m.
Opening Keynote

Make your stories the pinnacle of employee engagement

Getting employees behind your brand’s mission and values can be a struggle, especially if they’re remote workers scattered across locations. You might have a working intranet, but if your team members aren’t reading your content and sharing insights, it can quickly become a dumping ground for dead files instead of a vibrant community where you can boost your brand voice and strengthen employees’ loyalty and excitement.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Stacie Barrett, manager of internal communications and global events for Domino’s Pizza, will show you how to start with a story and purpose to both build your intranet and make it the center of a successful digital workplace. By learning from Domino’s examples and constantly asking “why,” you’ll learn how you can start conversations and easily connect each employee, no matter how remote, to your brand’s most important news and goals.

10:10-11 a.m.

From start to finish: Your intranet’s business case, inspiration and tools

You know your intranet needs a refresh, but how can you get everyone in your organization on board? Which platform and tools should you employ, and how do you know where to start? Erin Arizzi-Shores, senior associate communications specialist for SAS, will share the origin story of “Inside SAS” and take you behind the scenes so you can learn how the team is modernizing the organization’s intranet with WordPress to deliver its mission, vision and purpose to more than 14,000 employees worldwide. She’ll share the organization’s greatest accomplishments, biggest challenges and the strategic vision behind this project—along with takeaways to implement to rebuild your intranet. 

You’ll learn:

  • How to build a dream team, gain leadership approval and set a strategy for intranet success
  • How to ensure that your new intranet seamlessly integrates with your organization’s values and culture
  • Strategies for intentionally building an intranet that’s accessible and responsive to all users and devices
  • The importance of establishing strong digital governance from the ground up
  • How to engage employees around the company in your intranet rebuild from start to finish
Erin Arizzi-Shores, PhD
Senior associate communications specialist
SAS
Read bio
11:10 a.m.–noon

Redesign an award-winning intranet with employee-centric strategies

You know your out-of-date intranet needs a refresh, but it’s not just the platform change, new design and content organization you should worry about. How can you help your staff make the transition so your efforts aren’t  wasted? Catherine Williams, employee communications manager for the American Medical Association, will share how switching from asking, “What do we serve up to employees?” to “What do employees want served up to them?” can make a world of difference in your intranet efforts. You’ll learn takeaways as she uncovers the process of redesigning the AMA’s 12-year-old intranet and crafting it into an award-winning employee resource.

You’ll learn:

  • How to design an intranet that boosts resources and connections—as well as additional digital workforce tools
  • Why change management goes hand in hand with intranet redesign
  • Ways to consider your employee audience holistically—and build strategies that solve its problems
  • How to help your staff make the transition from an out-of-date intranet to new tools and solutions
  • Crucial elements of user experience and employee communications to employ with each intranet launch or change
Catherine Williams
Manager of communications planning
American Medical Association
Read bio
Noon–1 p.m.

Networking lunch

(provided onsite)

1–1:50 p.m.

Make your intranet soar: Communicating to employees across many miles

Finding the right mix of digital tools and content for your intranet can be a task made more daunting when your employees are scattered across the nation (or world). Reaching and interacting with these remote workers requires keen observation of employees’ behaviors and preferences to deliver an intranet experience that’s both intuitive and as mobile as your team members are. Dianne McGinness, intranet content manager for Alaska Airlines, will share takeaways from the airline’s intranet evolution and redesign process, along with insights for personalizing and perfecting content to reach and interest both desk and remote workers.

You’ll learn:

  • Ways to personalize your intranet’s content for greater employee adoption and engagement
  • How to make your intranet—and other digital workplace resources—mobile friendly
  • Tips for evaluating what your employees want and how they consume it
  • How to effectively communicate your organization’s news, policies, benefits and more to remote employees
  • Important elements to consider when creating or redesigning your intranet
Dianne McGinness
Intranet content manager
Alaska Airlines
Read bio
2-2:50 p.m.

Drive employee experience, productivity, engagement and communications with Microsoft’s modern intranet

The intranet is the heart of the modern workplace. With Microsoft’s Office 365, organizations can reimagine their intranet portals, creating digital employee experiences that transform employee engagement and communications. In this Microsoft skills session, you’ll discover the latest innovations in SharePoint that can help you build beautiful, natively mobile sites in minutes, not months. You’ll also learn how to share vision, knowledge, resources and services by using features such as Yammer and Stream to connect people across your organization, help share learning and best practices, and improve employee experience. Learn how you can harness the power of this modern intranet and apply these technologies to drive results that matter.

  • How to get the right news and information to the right audiences, across devices
  • SharePoint, Yammer and Stream integrations that empower leaders to connect with employees
  • AI and rich content management capabilities that power dynamic, personalized, social and actionable portals
  • How to boost employee retention, customer satisfaction, sales metrics and overall profitability
Dan Holme
Director, Product Marketing
Microsoft
Read bio
2:50–3 p.m.

How to make your workforce the center of your messages

Though it’s the first word in “employee communications,” many organizations aren’t communicating with employees in ways that they expect or want. Today’s workplace demands modern employee communications channels filled with great content that informs, involves and inspires. In this lightning talk, get actionable ideas you can immediately start using in your office.

You’ll learn:

  • How to drive employee engagement and strengthen your culture
  • Ways to think about your employees as customers
  • How to seize "moments of microboredom” and engage your workforce two minutes at a time
  • Tips for helping employees be your brand’s best storytellers
Jason Anthoine
Strategic communications advisor
Codesigned
Read bio
3–3:15 p.m.

Networking break

3:15-4:05 p.m.

Boost SharePoint adaption through effective two-way communication efforts

As an internal communicator, employee adoption is crucial for your efforts to succeed—and embracing today’s trend of digital platforms and video content can help you get there. What started out as an idea to train Nationwide’s 35,000 associates on SharePoint turned into more than 170 broadcast shows featuring leaders from across the organization. Chip Midnight, business consulting specialist for Nationwide, will share the takeaways behind how he helped turn what was a training challenge into a thriving studio that regularly offers features, replaces many in-person meetings, increases engagement and retention, and ultimately saves the organization thousands of dollars.

You’ll learn:

  • How to think like a producer when creating internal content, communications and training
  • Ways to boost engagement through video
  • Tips for integrating Yammer and other tools to power your digital workplace efforts
  • How to help gain executive buy-in and ultimately change leadership members’ approach to culture and communications
  • How to measure success through analytics, surveys and informal feedback
Chip Midnight
Business consulting specialist
Nationwide Insurance
Read bio
4:15–5:15 p.m.
Closing keynote

Embrace a digital workplace with the intranet as your internal comms cornerstone

An outstanding intranet is much more than a corporate news site or a dumping ground for your organization’s documents. When built with a long-term vision and maintained with appropriate attention, your intranet can become the foundation for a digital workplace that boosts your internal communications efforts and drives employee effectiveness and engagement.

Getting your intranet and intranet-related projects approved, funded and executed is always an uphill grind, but employees have high expectations, regardless of your team’s size or budget. Dante Ragazzo, director of enterprise portal for Tapestry, will share tips and strategies for making the most of the resources you have and getting the help you need. He’ll also discuss how a strong intranet can serve as the cornerstone of an evolving digital workplace.

Dante Ragazzo
Senior director, digital workplace,
Tapestry (over brands including Kate Spade and Coach)
Read bio
9–10 a.m. Eastern time
Opening Keynote

Make your stories the pinnacle of employee engagement

Getting employees behind your brand’s mission and values can be a struggle, especially if they’re remote workers scattered across locations. You might have a working intranet, but if your team members aren’t reading your content and sharing insights, it can quickly become a dumping ground for dead files instead of a vibrant community where you can boost your brand voice and strengthen employees’ loyalty and excitement.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Stacie Barrett, manager of internal communications and global events for Domino’s Pizza, will show you how to start with a story and purpose to both build your intranet and make it the center of a successful digital workplace. By learning from Domino’s examples and constantly asking “why,” you’ll learn how you can start conversations and easily connect each employee, no matter how remote, to your brand’s most important news and goals.

10:10-11 a.m. Eastern time

From start to finish: Your intranet’s business case, inspiration and tools

You know your intranet needs a refresh, but how can you get everyone in your organization on board? Which platform and tools should you employ, and how do you know where to start? Erin Arizzi-Shores, senior associate communications specialist for SAS, will share the origin story of “Inside SAS” and take you behind the scenes so you can learn how the team is modernizing the organization’s intranet with WordPress to deliver its mission, vision and purpose to more than 14,000 employees worldwide. She’ll share the organization’s greatest accomplishments, biggest challenges and the strategic vision behind this project—along with takeaways to implement to rebuild your intranet. 

You’ll learn:

  • How to build a dream team, gain leadership approval and set a strategy for intranet success
  • How to ensure that your new intranet seamlessly integrates with your organization’s values and culture
  • Strategies for intentionally building an intranet that’s accessible and responsive to all users and devices
  • The importance of establishing strong digital governance from the ground up
  • How to engage employees around the company in your intranet rebuild from start to finish
Erin Arizzi-Shores, PhD
Senior associate communications specialist
SAS
Read bio
11:10 a.m.–noon Eastern time

Redesign an award-winning intranet with employee-centric strategies

You know your out-of-date intranet needs a refresh, but it’s not just the platform change, new design and content organization you should worry about. How can you help your staff make the transition so your efforts aren’t  wasted? Catherine Williams, employee communications manager for the American Medical Association, will share how switching from asking, “What do we serve up to employees?” to “What do employees want served up to them?” can make a world of difference in your intranet efforts. You’ll learn takeaways as she uncovers the process of redesigning the AMA’s 12-year-old intranet and crafting it into an award-winning employee resource.

You’ll learn:

  • How to design an intranet that boosts resources and connections—as well as additional digital workforce tools
  • Why change management goes hand in hand with intranet redesign
  • Ways to consider your employee audience holistically—and build strategies that solve its problems
  • How to help your staff make the transition from an out-of-date intranet to new tools and solutions
  • Crucial elements of user experience and employee communications to employ with each intranet launch or change
Catherine Williams
Manager of communications planning
American Medical Association
Read bio
1–1:50 p.m. Eastern time

Make your intranet soar: Communicating to employees across many miles

Finding the right mix of digital tools and content for your intranet can be a task made more daunting when your employees are scattered across the nation (or world). Reaching and interacting with these remote workers requires keen observation of employees’ behaviors and preferences to deliver an intranet experience that’s both intuitive and as mobile as your team members are. Dianne McGinness, intranet content manager for Alaska Airlines, will share takeaways from the airline’s intranet evolution and redesign process, along with insights for personalizing and perfecting content to reach and interest both desk and remote workers.

You’ll learn:

  • Ways to personalize your intranet’s content for greater employee adoption and engagement
  • How to make your intranet—and other digital workplace resources—mobile friendly
  • Tips for evaluating what your employees want and how they consume it
  • How to effectively communicate your organization’s news, policies, benefits and more to remote employees
  • Important elements to consider when creating or redesigning your intranet
Dianne McGinness
Intranet content manager
Alaska Airlines
Read bio
2-2:50 p.m. Eastern time

Drive employee experience, productivity, engagement and communications with Microsoft’s modern intranet

The intranet is the heart of the modern workplace. With Microsoft’s Office 365, organizations can reimagine their intranet portals, creating digital employee experiences that transform employee engagement and communications. In this Microsoft skills session, you’ll discover the latest innovations in SharePoint that can help you build beautiful, natively mobile sites in minutes, not months. You’ll also learn how to share vision, knowledge, resources and services by using features such as Yammer and Stream to connect people across your organization, help share learning and best practices, and improve employee experience. Learn how you can harness the power of this modern intranet and apply these technologies to drive results that matter.

  • How to get the right news and information to the right audiences, across devices
  • SharePoint, Yammer and Stream integrations that empower leaders to connect with employees
  • AI and rich content management capabilities that power dynamic, personalized, social and actionable portals
  • How to boost employee retention, customer satisfaction, sales metrics and overall profitability
Dan Holme
Director, Product Marketing
Microsoft
Read bio
2:50–3 p.m. Eastern time

How to make your workforce the center of your messages

Though it’s the first word in “employee communications,” many organizations aren’t communicating with employees in ways that they expect or want. Today’s workplace demands modern employee communications channels filled with great content that informs, involves and inspires. In this lightning talk, get actionable ideas you can immediately start using in your office.

You’ll learn:

  • How to drive employee engagement and strengthen your culture
  • Ways to think about your employees as customers
  • How to seize "moments of microboredom” and engage your workforce two minutes at a time
  • Tips for helping employees be your brand’s best storytellers
Jason Anthoine
Strategic communications advisor
Codesigned
Read bio
3:15-4:05 p.m. Eastern time

Boost SharePoint adaption through effective two-way communication efforts

As an internal communicator, employee adoption is crucial for your efforts to succeed—and embracing today’s trend of digital platforms and video content can help you get there. What started out as an idea to train Nationwide’s 35,000 associates on SharePoint turned into more than 170 broadcast shows featuring leaders from across the organization. Chip Midnight, business consulting specialist for Nationwide, will share the takeaways behind how he helped turn what was a training challenge into a thriving studio that regularly offers features, replaces many in-person meetings, increases engagement and retention, and ultimately saves the organization thousands of dollars.

You’ll learn:

  • How to think like a producer when creating internal content, communications and training
  • Ways to boost engagement through video
  • Tips for integrating Yammer and other tools to power your digital workplace efforts
  • How to help gain executive buy-in and ultimately change leadership members’ approach to culture and communications
  • How to measure success through analytics, surveys and informal feedback
Chip Midnight
Business consulting specialist
Nationwide Insurance
Read bio
4:15–5:15 p.m. Eastern time
Closing keynote

Embrace a digital workplace with the intranet as your internal comms cornerstone

An outstanding intranet is much more than a corporate news site or a dumping ground for your organization’s documents. When built with a long-term vision and maintained with appropriate attention, your intranet can become the foundation for a digital workplace that boosts your internal communications efforts and drives employee effectiveness and engagement.

Getting your intranet and intranet-related projects approved, funded and executed is always an uphill grind, but employees have high expectations, regardless of your team’s size or budget. Dante Ragazzo, director of enterprise portal for Tapestry, will share tips and strategies for making the most of the resources you have and getting the help you need. He’ll also discuss how a strong intranet can serve as the cornerstone of an evolving digital workplace.

Dante Ragazzo
Senior director, digital workplace,
Tapestry (over brands including Kate Spade and Coach)
Read bio