With the increasing adoption of social media by organisations especially in relation to brand engagement with customers and clients, we are now starting to see some case studies for how social media can be used to enhance employee engagement through internal communications.

The recent announcement by the company I was on the board of before establishing my own brand engagement and social media practice about the impending significant organisational change they are about to go through made me think back to my time as HR Director where I also had responsibility for internal communications.

At a time of significant change, one of the key challenges was always to ensure that we had pathways for communication open. We were always keen to understand how effectively our line managers had been in translating and engaging their people in the key messages and making sure the communication was relevant for their teams.

We also wanted to respond quickly and effectively to questions raised from our employees as a result of the organisation announcements. No matter how our extensive lists of frequently asked questions were that we created to support all major communications, you could be sure that some questions were never addressed so we needed to respond to these queries quickly.

If only I had had at my disposal the social media platforms now easily available which would have enabled us to add additional platforms that we could have used to support our communications plan.

But where can you turn if you are a leader with responsibility for Internal Communications and employee engagement and want to learn about what your peers are implementing and current best practice?

A conference I will be attending which will showcase some leading case studies in intenal communications in the next few weeks is the International Employee Communications Summit co-hosted by Ragan and Simply Communicate.

Some of the company’s presenting include IBM, Ebay, BT and Microsoft. The agenda for the International Employee Communications Summit includes:

• Building your brand and values through collaboration and content
• Social media inside the enterprise
• Video Podcasting: How to stream key messages to a mobile audience
• How to beat the policymakers, lawyers and IT to get your social media channel up and running 
• How to use social media to energise and motivate the work force.

You can book online to attend the conference which is taking place on the 5 and 6 June 2008 in London (there is also a pre conference workshop).

I’ll be attending with my notebook and recorder in hand and hope that I’ll get the chance to capture some great insights to share with you. and if you are considering attending, let me know as it will be great to connect with you at the International Employee Communications Summit.

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This week we have started to plan for PodCamp Ireland 2008 which will take place on Saturday 27 September 2008.

However if you can not wait that long to connect with colleagues about social media in a virtual world, then head on over to the website for 3Dcamp, a non-conference focusing on virtual worlds (Second Life, the Metaverse), mirror worlds (Google Earth and Virtual Earth), mapping mashups, GPS, Location based Services (LBSs), haptics (eg. Wiimote hacks), 3D modelling (Blender, Sketchup) and all things 3D.

And if you don’t understand what all these terms are (I certainly don’t), then it’s a good reason to attend 3Dcamp!

Here are the details:

DATE: Saturday 24th May 2008

VENUE: Engineering Research Building, University of Limerick

TIME: 10am start, 5pm finish

SPEAKERS: Go here for the curriculum and line up of speakers

REGISTER: Register to attend 3Dcamp online

What’s interesting about the registration process too is that 3Dcamp are integrating social media into their registration page asking for the following information:

• Your Twitter username: For notices and discussion on 3Dcamp
• Your Jaiku username: For notices and discussion on 3Dcamp

In addition, you’ll be asked where you are travelling from so that they can calculate the carbon-offset calculation and plan carpooling.

So if you are interested in learning more about virtual worlds, 3D modelling, mirror worlds and mashups and what benefit they can bring your business, head on down to Limerick for 3Dcamp later this month.

Remember, like all non-conferences, it’s FREE to attend.

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One of the social networks that I’m a member of here in Ireland and recommend to any female entrepreneur or would be entrepreneur is Irish Business Women, founded by the CEO of County Mayo Enterprise Board, Frank Fullard.

It’s a great community of women and a few men who support each other with tips about starting and growing their business - many of them work at home moms (WAHM’s).

I was fortunate to be a key note speaker at the first ever Irish Business Women conference back in 2006 and since then their membership has steadily increased to almost 2000 members.

They have recently announced the 2008 conference details which will be taking place on the 29 May 2008 at the Mullingar Park Hotel. 

The theme for this years Conference is “Inspiring Women” and speakers include Sue Stockdale, author of“Secrets of Successful Women Entrepreneurs”,  Senator Mary White, co-founder of Lir Chocolates, Newstalk’s Karen Coleman and Celebrity Chef Jenny Bristow.

Unfortunately I’ve a prior commitment so won’t be able to attend. But if you are thinking of attending, register soon, as I am sure it will be a sell out.

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If you are a coach working in Ireland you might be interested in the forthcoming conference being hosted by the Coach Institute Of Ireland.

DATE: 17 and 18 May 2008

VENUE: The Radisson SAS Hotel, Dublin Airport

REGISTRATION: Details are on the Coach Institute Of Ireland website or see the booking form here

PRICE: €120 per person 

Some of the subjects to be covered at the Coach Institute of Ireland Conference include:

• Alive at Work: How Coaching can help re-build Employee Engagement
• The Inner Game of Life, Business & Executive Coaching
• CEO’s At The Performance Edge: What Corporate  Executives Value in their Coach
• The Inside Story: Coaching Within the Police Service of Northern Ireland
• Managing Your Career in the 21st Century
• Self Esteem & the Coaching Process
• Core Creativity in Coaching, & Learning Music
•  Perception: How to See the Invisible

I’ll be speaking on the subject of executive coaching and will be sharing how in an increasingly competitive world, more executives and CEO’s are working with a professional coach to support them both professionally and personally.

In the session I will be drawing on my 20 years of executive coaching experience and recent research I have undertaken about what executives look for and value when they work with a coach especially when they are facing the “performance edge” – the tightrope that we all tread between breakthrough and breakdown and how can we as professional coaches ensure that we are equipped to support them.

I’m looking forward to attending the Coach Institute of Ireland and especially to hearing about coaching in the Police Service in Northern Ireland.

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Are you looking for resources to help you start of grow your small business? Do you need to attract more clients, find financial advice or want to know the next step you should take to thrive through a downturn in the market?

Well the BT Small Business And Franchise Show is back for 2008, Ireland’s premier exhibition for anyone running a small or medium sized business or considering franchising is going to be back in town.

The BT Small Business And Franchise Show takes place at the Industries Hall, RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 on Friday 9th May 2008 from 1pm to 7.00pm and on Saturday 10th May 2008 from 11am to 5.00pm. Tickets are available at the Door €10.00.

As with last year, you will find me at the BT Small Business and Franchise Show on the Business Clinic stand where you can pop along to access free advice. I’ll cover any questions relating to branding and marketing online and offline so if you are planning to be at the show, do come along and say hi!

And this year the show is also going to be taking place in Cork on the 16 and 17 May 2008 and in Belfast on the 14 and 15 November 2008.

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