Following the successful launch of the Internal Comms Network North for ambitious SMEs in May 2019, award-winning B2B marketing and internal communications agency Engage Comms has announced the date, location and topic for the network’s next event.

The free to attend panel and networking session will be hosted by Clarion at its headquarters in Leeds city centre on Thursday 19 September from 5.45pm. Panellists including Clarion’s Head of Marketing and Head of HR will discuss how ambitious SMEs can ‘break through the growth ceiling’ by laying the foundations of strategic internal communications.

After winning the ‘Best Internal Communications Campaign’ category at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ Yorkshire & Lincolnshire Awards 2018 for their work with Harry Fairclough Construction, the team at Engage Comms identified a gap in the market for high growth SMEs in the North of England to better understand and embrace the role of internal communications in the digital age. They founded the Internal Comms Network North which now has more than 50 members, made up of senior communications, marketing, HR and operations professionals and business leaders from a range of sectors including legal, housing and transport.

Engage Comms’ co-Founding Director Helen Gill said: “At the first Internal Comms Network North event in May, I gave a presentation about the importance of aligning external marketing with internal communications for improved business performance, and attendees fed back that what I said about ‘breaking through the growth ceiling’ which ambitious SMEs often hit resonated with them.

“As successful businesses grow, they often sacrifice what it was that originally made them special and pay the price of going from a close-knit family culture to a disconnected workforce. This can cause a range of issues which stunt further growth potential. Communications is often the biggest business problem that organisations don’t know they have but investing in it can provide a huge return on investment and mitigate potential losses. This next event will give members the chance to learn from those who have overcome the challenges of rapid growth by putting their people at the centre of their business development strategy.”

Jenny Rennocks, Head of Marketing, Clarion, said: “Having worked at Clarion for many years and seen it grow to a 200-strong team which is still rapidly growing, we know the importance of bringing your people on your growth journey with you. Internal communications has been an key element of the  growth strategy, making a significant investment over the course of several years to define the ‘DNA’ of the company and consulting staff on how this is evolving so that it is authentic and meaningful to both long-serving employees and new starters.

“After a year of reviewing, listening, digesting and thinking about it, we launched our ‘Being Clarion’ campaign in January which runs throughout everything we do as a business from HR processes to client service. Internal communications has equal importance to our external marketing efforts and is an ongoing commitment to ensuring that as we grow, we retain what ‘Being Clarion’ originally meant.”

Other panellists at the event will be announced soon and free places can be booked online now. Find out more at: https://engagecomms.co.uk/internalcomms