“The Nomad” is a fortnightly published series where I talk to expat PR and Comms professionals, then delve into the insights which inform and help other people to live or to do business in an intercultural world. If you or someone you know would be happy to share their perspective, please get in touch! I’d love to hear from you.
*The graphic design is inspired by Kyoorius Designyatra 2018
And we’re back after the summer break!
The sun might come for three minutes, give us the vibes and be like: “I’ve done my job here” then disappear. The winter collection might be ready *ASOS is reviewing your order*, but we are not ready for gloomy days ahead.
If there’s one thing we should be excited about for the next few months, it should be the return of The Nomad. Obviously I am biased! But we are back for Season 2 with amazing guests in PR and Comms around the world. And it starts now!
“It is through communication that we make sense of life – through the stories we tell each other. These stories give life to our experiences and make us who we are.”
As part of my series about how we can learn from intercultural insights to embed them into PR and Comms practices and help create positive social impacts, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Shalini Gupta, Colleague Experience Communications Lead at BT, who knows more than many about the importance of establishing clear internal communications protocols to effectively engage with employees in the workplace.
Shalini Gupta has worked internationally for over 15 years in various communication roles in the financial services and telecommunications sector at top FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies, which include GE Capital, Aviva, RBS/NatWest Group, Royal & SunAlliance Insurance and British Telecommunications.
Overseeing the company’s mission to create a better working environment for one of the biggest companies in the UK, Shalini keeps a keen eye on how this is being achieved through understanding the intercultural insights.
Creating a fantastic employees’ experience is paramount for Shalini, especially after a challenging year. She shares her insights about the cultural shift, the hybrid-working model and what it means for internal communications.
Thank you so much for joining us! Congratulations on hitting your running goals! So, what do you talk about when you talk about running?
Thank you so much for thinking of me for your second Nomad series! Running goals ah yes – it’s what has kept me going in what’s been a tough last year.
I’ve never enjoyed a specific exercise regime and I’ve certainly never been a runner. But with lockdown restrictions last year, like many other people, I was looking to spend more time outside and I felt that this was my best chance of committing to an exercise routine. I completed the Couchto5k plan in December last year and I’m since committed to running short runs a few times each week.
When I talk about running, I always think of how training your mind for any sort of goal setting is just as important. So to this day, I’ve been surprised by just how impactful committing to running has been for me. It’s given me so much more purpose and drives for everything else that I do. It’s been a good reminder that you’ll have good days and bad days, but if you keep at it, you’ll eventually find those “finish line moments”. Here are a few of my running mantras:
- Don’t be afraid of setting yourself a challenging goal
- Knowing your ‘Why’ is important because ultimately knowing why you achieve your goals—not simply knowing what your goals are—is what motivates you to chase your ambition
- Break it down into micro goals and create a timeline
- Make yourself accountable, journalise it/track it/share your journey with others
- Most importantly, if you fail, try again!
In a nutshell, for me, having big goals and having big dreams are both important. One doesn’t simply get off the couch and get to 5k. Believe in what you’re doing and, you’ll be motivated to push yourself to succeed.
Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path in PR and Comms?
I have been intentional with my career choice in Internal Communications. My keen interest and strengths in creative storytelling, building strong, trusting relationships with a diverse group of people introduced me to the world of PR and internal communications. It was then about making the right choices to get me where I wanted to.
Following the first few years in my career, I was selected for the first international secondment to the UK. It was a huge global project working with HR/IC leads from 15 countries. It was my intro into the world of internal communications in the UK. It took me time to find my feet, but the perspectives I brought here with my intercultural outlook really put me in good stead with this global role.
Talking of what brought me to this specific career path and the UK, I have learned over the years that taking small steps, being bold early on in making your intentions known to the key influencers/decision-makers in your organisation far overweigh the discomfort of hearing no. So ask for what you’re looking for, no one will hand you an opportunity – in the end, you have to manage your own career.
If you can use three words to describe India, the UAE and the UK, what are the words? Do you miss anything about India and the UAE?
- India – Incredible
- UAE – Bold /Audacious
- UK- Theatrical
What I miss:
India – My family and spending time with them on festivals!
UAE: Very few cities in the world can offer as multicultural an experience as Dubai. I miss working with people from around the world and the close connections that people make with each other despite their differences, with so much ease.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began having the opportunity to live and work in different countries?
I think it’s the idea of “home” that’s kept developing for me over the years.
Some feel “home” is the country you were born in, others feel it’s the place your family is based, and still others simply believe it’s where you feel most comfortable. And then there’s the question – “Does it really matter?”. Home is where you make it. Home has also to do with your heart.
Every year when we go for our annual holidays to India, we experience a slight culture shock. It’s strange. We know everything and at the same time, feel slightly displaced. We speak the language and know the culture, but many times it feels odd to catch others noticing us or our UK-born children do or say things differently.
But in some ways, when you have children, this whole issue develops another layer. I often say that for my kids, the UK is definitely their “home” in all senses of the word. And my home is where my heart is – with my children, where I work and where I live!
Moreover, I have a global nomad extended family (some who live in the UAE too!), so we cope up with the various definitions of ‘home’ when we get together. But on the lighter side, it actually helps with our air miles and easier decisions for our holiday destinations too!
How would you describe your journey in PR and Comms so far? How have the intercultural insights helped you in your career, and to what extent?
I’ve been lucky that my journey has been packed with lots of learning opportunities!
Making the decision to live and work abroad has helped me to step outside of my comfort zone – it has opened up a growth mindset to develop new skills and embrace new challenges.
Working with people from other backgrounds has given me exposure to different working styles.
Working interculturally or having the CQ (cultural quotient as many call it) has also really helped me with the ability to have more comfort with diverse work styles and in becoming less judgmental about perspective on differences. As the world is becoming a smaller workplace, this is such a critical skill to have today!
I have briefly worked in India where I started working in the radio and national television both in front of and behind the camera – the vibrance of the media and PR industry always excited me! This was quite distinct from my role in the UAE where very early in my career I found myself as the comms lead for the 5 Middle East countries with the opportunity to shape the comms strategy from scratch while learning all about internal comms and the 5 countries on the job! The curiosity and initiative that I took in that role led to my move to the UK for my international secondment.
Initially, I missed the cultural vibrance of Dubai in my London workplace. But over time having the CQ, it has become my strength.
Are you working on any exciting projects now?
I’ve recently changed roles within the organisation to lead colleague experience communications. After a couple of years of doing Leadership communication working in teams supporting C suite leaders, their top leadership teams and helping in shaping and delivering their comms strategies, I decided it was time for a change. This was also following a competitive selection process at work where in September I’ve started a fast-track future leaders talent programme at work.
I believe the entire dynamic and what employee experience looked like has shifted since the pandemic. There is a more pressing desire to do work that provides personal meaning while working for an organisation that respects their individuality and has a meaningful social purpose. Prospective employees have an increasingly competitive shopping list of what they are looking for and this dynamic has largely changed in the favour of job seekers
So it’s an exciting time to take up this role and shape an attractive employee experience while building a culture that prioritises the needs of the people with the same value it places on creating a wow experience for its external customers. But we know from our experience over the last 18 months that people expect their leaders to put their needs first and hear first-hand from them too, so I won’t be that far from Leadership comms!
Let’s talk about internal communications. What is special about it and what makes it special?
A very cliched answer but it’s true that Internal comms is the glue that keeps the organisation together. It is through communication that we make sense of life – through the stories we tell each other. These stories give life to our experiences and make us who we are. In today’s world, there’s such a crisis of disinformation and fake news. As a society, we’re losing our ability to respectfully communicate, and we don’t even know it. The 2021 Edelman’s Trust barometer report showed “communications from my employer was most believable’ over what people heard from the government or social media. That’s quite something! Over the last 18 months, ‘businesses have gained the most trust by being a guardian of information quality”.
(source: 2021-edelman-trust-barometer.pdf)
And to answer your question – this is exactly what makes internal comms so special – the business case for internal communication within organisations has never been clearer.
What is communicated internally in an organisation directly represents the culture – of “the way we do things around here” and is linked with how engaged the people are. And that engagement where everyone is working towards a common purpose won’t happen without clear, consistent and empathetic internal communication.
Companies shift to hybrid; what does that mean for managers in newly hybrid setups?
Hybrid working is perhaps one of the biggest cultural shifts we’ve seen in decades. But for many people, hybrid working feels like a natural evolution of flexible working.
For managers, it’s important to take on board that ‘we did it that way when we were all together in an office’ is not necessarily going to work in a hybrid world. The office is no longer just about a meeting space; it’s about how you get people together and collaborate with a purpose. Managers must explore, experiment with various ways of working with an open mind.
People will also look for the clarity that having a structure brings. Co-creating this new connected culture is within the managers’ gift through honest and open conversations with their teams. It’s about giving everyone a voice in shaping the hybrid working model.
Managers must also remember that their team members are likely facing vastly different personal situations – some with limited childcare or more caring responsibilities, some may have health issues that stop them from returning to the office, and some who are simply eager to head back to their office. As the manager, how do you manage these while treating everyone fairly? How do you help your employees manage their stress levels through this transition?
Managers shouldn’t beat themselves up, or shy away from showing their human side. Being open with their team about how they’re coping with the challenges they’re personally going through will really help them gain trust and build deeper relationships and go a long way.
There will no doubt be bumps along the way. It’s important to remember to be patient and be able to adapt. On the brighter side, this crisis is helping managers develop skills that will stand them in great stead for the rest of their careers.
How has internal communications changed since the COVID-19 pandemic?
The biggest differentiator between companies who successfully managed to engage employees during the past year and who didn’t was how and who communicated to them on what’s going on and what it meant for them as individuals. This is a window into how valuable IC is when an organisation navigates change. The value goes beyond the pandemic, and right now everyone sees that.
During the initial pandemic days, employees were flooded with information via emails, virtual town halls, video messages and ‘we are in this together’ tone of voice that helped soar the engagement rates for most organisations. The challenge now is to bottle up this engagement for the longer term.
The coming months will be the real moments of truth for internal communication!
Then come new ways of interacting. How do you see the workplace technology stack replacing traditional employee communication tools like emails and messengers?
Heard of the “sounds of silence”? Remote workers can often feel just that
To make everyone have the same experience, frequent two-way conversation is necessary for a stronger working relationship. However, the notion of communicating with “all” employees as an audience is not accurate. But that alone is the reason why we need to get really intentional with our channels and truly understand the situations employees are working in. A reminder again that there is no one size that fits all.
A key action is to look at the channels mix in your organisation. Is it fit for purpose? Do you need to make any changes to it to reflect the various employee groups in your organisation – the split between on-site, hybrid and remote working.
Secondly, establishing clear communication protocols with your hybrid teams – which channel is being used for what purpose i.e. Teams, Zoom for document collaboration and virtual meetings or Workplace by Facebook, Yammer for giving everyone the opportunity to contribute to conversations, or sharing ideas regardless of whether they’re working from.
Delivering content and channels thinking about how, where and when people want it will really define effective internal communications.
Can you share five things that managers and executives should be doing to improve their company work culture?
- Creating purpose and the sense of Why? By infusing purpose into people’s work and creating a sense of positive meaning and pivoting from just talking about share value ‘‘our shared values” and purpose.
- Make transparency a priority: Sharing not only your organisation’s successes but also challenges to present opportunities for the team to come up with solutions together.
- Don’t shy away from having tough conversations: Tackling tough topics that create an inclusive workplace like discrimination, microaggressions, racism, gender equality etc.
- Give everyone a voice: Encouraging employees to voice their thoughts and give them a way to do so.
- Model the change you want to see: Leading the change to build a culture that sticks and to walk their talk.
What is your advice for managers and executives to communicate with employees in an intercultural context?
It is essential for the manager to take the time and get to know each team member. Learn about their journeys. Use this knowledge to build relationships within the team. Don’t let assumptions and biases shadow your decision making. For instance, the Aussie team is not as responsive, the Singaporean members don’t take directions well or the American team wastes many hours in the morning waiting for the Dubai office to wake up and so on…
These types of biases can be huge ‘trust-repellents’. Instead, a leader should pause and attempt to understand why certain locations or members of a team operate or communicate differently. If you really take the time to understand the local cultures, considerations, and needs that impact each team member, you can certainly avoid unnecessary friction.
