Cohesion 2021: Collaboration Is the Future of Work

Communication professionals, along with their colleagues in IT and HR, must collaborate to redefine the new frontier of work. Where can these professionals start when seeking to achieve these goals? IABC and Simpplr invite communication, IT and HR professionals to participate in Cohesion 2021, a two-day virtual event that highlights success stories and strategies for redefining the future of employee engagement. During Cohesion 2021, industry experts will share their playbooks for improving engagement, organizational agility and more.

IABC connected with Cohesion 2021 speaker Amanda Berry to learn more about the thought leadership and discussions presented during the event. Berry’s session, “Roundtable Discussion: IC Strategy for a Remote Workforce,” focuses on improving employee adoption and engagement KPIs.

Here, Berry shares why collaboration among communications, IT and HR teams is so crucial to success in the future of work, as well as a teaser about what attendees can expect from her session.

Can you tell us about your career journey thus far?  

I am a communications leader with more than 15 years of experience developing executive and strategic communications for transformative organizations. I am a tried and true internal communication professional, leading internal communications programs at tech companies, financial services and in higher education. 

What are the benefits of collaborating across professions — communications working with IT, for example?

Employees reap the rewards when HR, IT and internal communications (IC) are committed to working collaboratively to improve the employee experience. Job satisfaction is a key factor in the overall success of a company. For example, remote employees who are new to an organization have a unique experience because their interaction with the company and coworkers is solely through technology. Internal communications should partner with HR and IT to create a smooth and seamless new employee onboarding experience to ensure they feel welcomed and supported. 

The pandemic revamped the way the workplace functions. How do you expect new technologies to enhance the employee experience?

In many cases, the employee experience is fully digital because of the pandemic. Technology will be the way through which employees experience their workplace. As a part of their digital transformation roadmap, organizations need to adopt better tools to improve the employee experience. These tools need to create a more integrated and individualized experience for the employee.

What is one step communication professionals can take today toward creating an impactful employee experience?

The obvious answer is to collect employee feedback and then use that data to improve the experience. I would also recommend that communication professionals encourage leaders to be more available, transparent and communicative with their employees. Good leaders have the ability to motivate employees and build a successful business. Communication professionals should work with leaders to help them tell good stories, recognize employees at every opportunity, and remind employees why they are doing their job by connecting their work to the broader mission.