Conference 2023 | Seattle, WA – Ragan Communications

Conference 2023 | Seattle, WA – Ragan Communications

microsoft-logo
Microsoft Headquarters
Seattle, WA
Learn how to inform, inspire and engage across two tracks:
Employee Experience & Executive Communications.
Hybrid work models, inflation and economic uncertainty have made it more challenging to keep employees, leadership and stakeholders aligned and engaged. That’s why Ragan’s three-day learning experience, Oct. 10-12, at the prestigious Microsoft headquarters is a must-attend event to discover what’s working and what’s next for internal communicators.
Get ready for inspirational keynotes, informative case studies and crowdsourcing sessions across two tracks tailored to helping you prepare for what’s next. Join hundreds of your fellow communicators for this must-attend gathering!
From Oct. 10-12, we’ll say ‘goodbye’ to the volatility of the past few years and ‘hello’ to confidence and clarity in internal comms. You’ll discover innovative ways to transform every touchpoint on the employee journey into truly exciting, engaging experiences.
Secure your spot to unlock the secrets of a thriving culture — from the frontlines to C-suite.
REGISTER NOW
Register today! Don’t miss this opportunity to:
FEATURED SPEAKERS

KEYNOTER
Senior Director of Collective Impact
WorkForce Central

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Senior Content Solutions Consultant
LinkedIn

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Vice President of Communications, U.S. and Canada
Nissan Motor Corp.

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Vice President of People, Culture and DEI
Seattle Mariners

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AGENDA

Sharing thought leaders’ perspectives and inspiring employees to engage on LinkedIn can help shape the reputation of your company, articulate brand values, build community and draw interest from potential customers, partners or employees. This workshop will provide the strategies and tools necessary to help your leadership and employees become more successful thought leaders and digital citizens on the platform. You’ll learn how to:
Employees want open and timely communication with managers, whom they trust the most. They depend on their managers to translate strategies to help them do their jobs well, to provide the why behind decisions and to confirm that the work they are doing is contributing to the company’s vision and goals. Communicators, HR and the executive team bank on effective manager communication, the most important communication channel in an organization. They rely on their managers to engage people, change perceptions, motivate behavior and positively impact business results. But too often, information gets stuck in the middle as managers face barriers such as lack of training, accountability and collaboration. Join Ragan Consulting Group’s Julie Baron as she delivers strategies and tactics to:
Thanks to a host of new AI tools, you can craft clear, compelling and, yes, even caring content, copy and communiques faster — all without sacrificing personality, voice and results. Join this hands-on, interactive workshop tailored to employee and executive comms pros who want to stay effective, efficient and relevant. You’ll learn how to streamline content creation processes, deliver personalized messages and optimize your messaging for clarity and impact. We’ll cover:
All attendees are invited to join us for a casual dutch meet-up at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse.
7211 166th Ave. NE, Redmond,WA 98052
The era of asking employees to do more with less is upon us. And ultimately, with the rate employees are already working, that won’t be sustainable for long.
Everyday employees struggle to be their most efficient at work, with too much time spent on “low-value tasks,” and notifications that force context switching between multiple applications. Boiling down to a lot of time and productivity, not to mention concentration, lost throughout the workday. Simple to use digital assistants can help streamline employee productivity, and cut down support tickets for your IT, HR and Ops teams, allowing all employees to focus on high-impact tasks and high-value initiatives that better suit their time and skills.  Join LumApps to learn how automation with a human touch can drive real business value and help improve employee enablement and efficiency. Attendees will learn how to:
While marketing and external comms may have a handle on AI, the benefits and best practices for workplace comms are less clear-cut. Not anymore! This exclusive, enlightening keynote will offer insights into Microsoft’s behind-the-scenes experiences — detailing how its internal comms teams have been adopting and adapting to AI in their day-to-day work. You’ll hear:
 
Employee engagement is on every communicator’s mind now that remote workplace models are here to stay. But engagement and even employee wellbeing don’t have to take a hit — not if you apply the latest best practices for fostering a thriving hybrid work community that combines the best of remote and in-person collaborationJoin to hear hard-won lessons from Seattle Children’s Hospital and others. We’ll cover:
Ever wonder how “big tech” unifies a global workforce? Come learn from Salesforce, as they share how they supercharged their internal communications and built a strong culture and brand, using Haiilo’s 360° communication platform. Discover the best practices and strategies for clear messaging and team collaboration that will help you develop empathetic, resilient, and people-centric approaches to build strong relationships with your employees. Don’t miss this opportunity to get ahead of the curve in creating a healthy and productive work environment.
In this session, you will learn:
More employees are carefully evaluating their next move in today’s tumultuous labor market. This session outlines how to create a strong employer branding program that puts you back in the driver’s seat. With 20 years of employer brand experience between them, two Microsoft execs will help you level-up your employer branding strategy in this session — so you can attract and retain the best and brightest for your brand in any job market. Join us to explore:
A staggering 80% of professionals experience high levels of workplace stress, according to recent research. Join this fun, interactive experience led by mindfulness consultant and director of HR for the Memphis Grizzlies to lighten your stress levels — and those of your teams. You’ll discover how to apply the latest mindfulness techniques to cultivate a more harmonious work environment and unlock greater wellbeing and productivity at your organization. By the end of the session you’ll:
Enjoy a networking lunch with your colleagues, and then take a trip to Microsoft’s Visitors Center where you’ll have an opportunity to explore interactive exhibits, put your gaming skills to the test, and learn about the future of AI.
Get ready to get interactive! Join this fun, illuminating activity where we’ll unveil an innovative “Employee Journey Board Game” designed to entertain and educate. Not only will we play the game together — but you’ll also get new ideas on how to improve the overall employee experience at your company when you return. Together, we’ll discover and enjoy:
Your brand’s biggest cheerleaders may be hiding in the org chart. But activating and supporting them can be difficult. If you want employees to be stewards of the brand, you need to build trust and demonstrate an authentic understanding of their needs. Only then can you create the care and commitment that inspires them to be vocal and proud ambassadors for your brand. In this session, you’ll learn:
Crafting effective internal communications that engage employees in a diverse workplace can be tricky at best. The easy part is penning the message, whereas the challenge comes in determining if it resonates. Join this session to explore tricks, tips, and effective channels:
Deciphering data in today’s hybrid workplace can feel like drinking from a firehose. The good news is that new approaches can help you cut through the clutter and decode your data for the insights you need to boost engagement and foster a high-performance culture. Join to discover how to more efficiently measure your workforce efforts and campaigns — and how new tools like AI can help you create an “engagement gauge” tailored to your organization. You’ll learn:
In today’s ever-changing business landscape, effective and measurable communication is the foundation for a robust internal culture. Discover how to strike the perfect balance between driving business results and fostering a strong sense of culture and belonging through a harmonious blend of human touch and cutting-edge tech. Join to explore the transformative power of leveraging the latest commtech and AI-driven solutions to enhance organizational culture and create a sense of shared purpose. We’ll explore:
Email, Teams and Intranets are the top three corporate communications channels, yet communicators struggle with knowing what’s going on and how effective their messaging is, while employees struggle with communications overload and either missing or ignoring critical messaging. Join Michael DesRochers, Managing Director of PoliteMail, as he covers key findings of PoliteMail’s annual benchmark report, insights and best practices to measure and improve strategic corporate communications in Outlook email, Teams, and intranets.
During this session you will:
From the pandemic to economic freefall and AI, the future is moving fast. The military calls it the age of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity). So how do you manage constant uncertainty for leaders and employees amid exponential change? This session empowers you to flip the script on VUCA — so your workforce can thrive no matter what’s next. You’ll learn:
Formality is out and humanity is in when igniting and building a strong internal culture. Execs are now challenged to reimagine their communications style using authenticity, honesty and empathy—as well as aligning employee and organizational values. Join Katherine Cheng, vice president of culture and DEI for the Seattle Mariners, as she shares how to make a difference for your employees, your execs and your stakeholder communities. You’ll hear:
In today’s hybrid workplace, clarifying your employer value proposition (EVP) is more important than ever. Beyond perks, organizations must provide a differentiated experience that engages, rewards and supports prospective and current employees. Discover how Yale University is reimagining its EVP and promoting its community, culture, tradition and more. You’ll learn: 
In today’s rapidly evolving workplace, the C-suite is realizing that attracting and retaining top talent is just as important as attracting and retaining customers. The result? More internal comms leaders are adopting marketing strategies to better connect with their audience. Join this practical session for a peek into a marketer’s mind and methods to help you create more personalized, targeted internal communications (and better results). You’ll learn:
Looking to rethink or revitalize your employee experience — while sidestepping the pitfalls, roadblocks and headaches? Then join this session where you’ll see exactly how CBRE researched, defined and then transformed its digital workplace based on detailed employee personas and employee journeys — all anchored in a mission to create “moments that matter” for over 115,000 employees. This is where you get to put real-world best practices behind the concepts you learned in the “Employee Journey Board Game” yesterday. You’ll discover:
Leslie Letts is passionate about delivering a stellar employee experience (EX) and serving as a bridge between corporate and Amazon’s frontline employees. That’s why she was recognized as a “Bridge Builder” by Ragan’s Top Women in Communications Awards program. Hear how she and her team helped stand up communications in Amazon’s A to Z app for front-line employees during the pandemic — and have since transformed it into a complete “one-stop shop” for all associate communications. It’s an amazing journey that now even includes a world-class broadcast studio and other technology on the horizon designed deliver a 360-degree “surround sound” experience. You’ll be inspired to hear:
Social media is no longer a “nice to have” for C-suite leaders. It’s an essential tool that gives them a direct line to customers, prospects, employees, partners, media, policymakers and more. And when it’s more than just the CEO taking an active role on social, other execs can tell a varied and specific story to a curated audience. Join this session to see how execs can put a human face on your brand and tell its story through a personal lens. You’ll learn:
Following a company merger – and faced with challenges around communication, culture, and a failing intranet – Audacy, a multi-platform entertainment company, embarked on a simultaneous transformation of its name, brand, values, and internal comms function. At the heart of these changes was a new company intranet, AudacyAtWork; an essential workplace platform that elevates communications, celebrates employees, and gives everyone access to the information they need to do their work. In this session, you’ll learn about:
Look no further than the challenges of the last few years and it’s clear that any sort of crisis can have a significant impact on employee wellbeing and performance—whether it’s an internal or external issue. As the landscape of employee comms continues to evolve, leaders must utilize internal messaging tools and intranets to address any crisis-induced challenges, support their employees and foster resilience no matter what issues or transformations arise. Join this session to learn:
Effective employer branding can build your reputation internally with employees — and externally with prospects. After all, it doesn’t just attract talent — it also helps boost employee satisfaction and morale, especially if it’s grounded in organizational values. But to get the most out of your strategy, executive comms needs to be actively involved in your internal comms ecosystem — and not just as a C-Suite megaphone. In this session, you’ll hear:
Feedback is in, top-down communications is out. The benefits for execs and employees include higher productivity, increased initiative and a workforce that feels essential, valued and heard. When done right, it fosters a more collaborative culture. But it doesn’t happen on its own — it requires an organizational listening strategy from the C-suite to the cubicle. Join to hear:
When measuring your internal comms efforts, external marketing metrics like opens and click-through rates aren’t the only set of data you want to look at. After all, you aren’t dealing with hundreds of thousands of leads or contacts; this audience is particularly unique. This audience is made up of the people you work with on a daily basis, your coworkers, and your team!
Join us as we dive into the internal comms metrics that matter. We’ll cover everything from direct measures of success (like email analytics, campaign effectiveness, and employee advocacy) to indirect measures of success (like employee engagement data, progress toward company goals, and more).
Shockingly, 91% of employees believe their managers are poor communicators (Inc.) and 74% feel left out of crucial information (Gallup). In this session, you’ll be invited to share your most pressing manager comms challenges—and discover practical solutions so you can better serve leaders, managers and employees. Together we’ll cover:
 
Fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion is essential in today’s frenzied, fractured workplace. Going beyond performative measures, this session explores how DEI storytelling initiatives can empower employees, foster connection and ensure everyone feels supported and seen. You’ll explore storytelling strategies and how to harness the power of stories to enhance employee engagement, break down remote silos and drive meaningful DEI progress. You’ll hear how to:
There’s been a lot of thought leadership about values-led brands. But there hasn’t been much conversation about what values-led communication looks like — from the C-suite, to managers to your front-line employees. Until now. Join to learn how REI responds to major cultural moments to create a culture of belonging and sense of purpose across the organization. You’ll learn:
Traditional intranets are often digital wastelands — often because they’re siloed as internal comms vehicles and a repository for humdrum announcements. The good news is that you can re-envision your intranet as a lively, can’t-miss hub infused with more than HR priorities and internal comms initiatives — including the POVs and personas of leadership. Join to learn how to integrate your executive and employee comms in one platform that gives voice to your two most important assets. You’ll learn:
In today’s fast-paced world of internal communications, leaders are constantly juggling presentations, AMAs and town halls to disseminate key messages and drive initiatives. The challenge lies in delivering these talks with an authentic voice that resonates across all channels. Join us for an exciting session where we delve into the secrets of crafting compelling TED-style Talks that truly captivate your audience and propel ideas into action. You’ll learn:
Leslie Letts is passionate about delivering a stellar employee experience (EX) and serving as a bridge between corporate and Amazon’s frontline employees. That’s why she was recognized as a “Bridge Builder” by Ragan’s Top Women in Communications Awards program. Hear how she and her team helped stand up communications in Amazon’s A to Z app for front-line employees during the pandemic — and have since transformed it into a complete “one-stop shop” for all associate communications. It’s an amazing journey that now even includes a world-class broadcast studio and other technology on the horizon designed deliver a 360-degree “surround sound” experience. You’ll be inspired to hear:
SPEAKERS
 
INTERESTED IN SPEAKING?
Please reach out to Director of Conferences
Alyssa Smith.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
You’ll learn proven methods to keep today’s hybrid workforce happy, engaged and productive.
RESERVE YOUR SPOT
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SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Want to become a sponsor? Get in touch with our team to discuss sponsorship opportunities.
Let’s Partner!
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
You should attend if you spend at least a quarter of your time in any of these areas:
Here’s what past attendees are saying about Ragan and PR Daily Events!


Attending a Ragan conference as a communications practitioner is like going to summer camp. You find “your people,” bond, and vow to come back again. I can’t wait until next time!
For communications professionals seeking tangible, actionable takeaways, Ragan events are the gold standard.
Great speakers and great ideas throughout the conference. From start to finish, the sessions were insightful and efficient – I have added a few tips and tricks to add to my communications toolbox!
This event provided me with creative insights and a sense of kinship with the comms community. I return to work with new tools and a refreshed sense of purpose.

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registration
For questions related to event registrations, please contact:
Shallon Blackburn
Director of Client Services
[email protected]
sponsorship
If you’re interested in sponsoring this event, please contact:
Hannah Lavelle
312-960-4628
[email protected]
program
For information on programming and speakers, please contact:
Alyssa Smith
Director of Conferences
[email protected]
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