Employee Communications

» Employees are one of the most important audiences for any organization. Change management and change communication are therefore ongoing priorities. For the Infinigate Group, Siemens Mobile Acceleration (smac), and MTU Aero Engines, I helped build or launch intranet platforms, while at Universal-Investment I managed and maintained the intranet. For Löwenbräu and MTU, I relaunched the employee magazine. At MTU, both the employee magazine and the intranet became the company’s most widely used internal media. Connecting corporate messages with the topics that matter to employees: effective internal communication.

» Following a series of acquisitions, the Infinigate Group brought me in to build group-wide internal communications, alongside external communications. Within just a few months, the company grew from around 480 employees in 11 locations and €813 million in revenue in Europe to nearly 1,300 employees across approximately 45 offices in 30 countries and around €2.3 billion in revenue across EMEA. Before the acquisitions, however, the group had only very limited internal communications structures in place.

For the acquisitions, we first established regular internal communications structures that could then be used effectively when the transactions were announced. As a member of the Integration Management Office (IMO), I also helped shape change communications throughout the transformation. Regular pulse checks and a one-time culture assessment provided an important basis for this work. To support the transformation, we created the Sounding Board, a group of around 50 selected employees from across the company’s locations and key functions. Meeting roughly once a month, the group served as a network of change agents and actively contributed to shaping the transformation.

The assignment also included building a group-wide intranet in less than eight months, organizing company-wide Town Hall meetings twice a year, and providing event-driven communications through recorded videos, live updates via Microsoft Teams, articles, newsletters, and other formats. Learn more »

» Universal-Investment initially brought me in to support and advise its Internal Communications function. My assignment focused in particular on establishing more consistent and effective intranet reporting and regular communications, including extensive use of video, integrating new locations – including one acquired business – organizing Town Hall meetings, and planning the company’s Christmas event. 

As the assignment progressed, I also took over interim leadership of the Internal Communications function. Learn more »

» After a number of assignments and projects in external communications, Osram brought me in to support Internal Communications during a major organizational restructuring. 

I had initially handled media relations and PR for Osram’s largest business unit on an interim basis – at the time, the business focused on traditional products such as light bulbs and fluorescent lamps. I then supported the carve-out of Ledvance and subsequently handled media relations and PR for the newly established company. This was followed by an assignment with Osram Opto Semiconductors, where I helped strengthen trade media communications around automotive sensing technologies. 

In my most recent assignment for Osram, I supported the newly formed Digital business unit in strengthening its media positioning. Learn more »

» I supported IDT Biologika, a pharmaceutical and life sciences company, with internal communications around a range of compliance requirements. Visit website »

» I was brought in through a service provider to support communications for the company-wide rollout of new software at Audi, reaching around 70,000 primarily internal users. We supported the group-wide Product Data Management initiative (KPD-M) end to end – from developing the communications strategy to implementing operational measures. Visit website »

» As part of my interim responsibility for media relations and PR at Tech Data Germany, later expanding to selected areas of marketing communications and work for Azlan EMEA, I was soon also asked to strengthen Internal Communications. 

My responsibilities included maintaining and further developing the intranet, organizing employee and leadership events, and strengthening regular internal communications, including the introduction of systematic cascade meetings. Learn more »

» Improving collaboration between two closely interdependent departments was the goal of a communications project I carried out for DaimlerChrysler. A communications analysis identified clear opportunities for improvement – a different approach to employee communications. Visit website »

» For Linde Gas, I developed the concept and copy for “Learning to Learn.” The project had two primary communications objectives: increasing employee acceptance of the company’s newly introduced e-learning offering and strengthening employees’ ability to learn effectively.

Commissioned by Linde Gas’s Learning & Development function, the content was designed for use both online, as part of an e-learning module, and offline, for example as a brochure on the topic. The online concepts also included a range of interactive learning games. Learn more »

» During the restructuring of Corporate Communications at Siemens Mobile Acceleration (smac), a wholly owned Siemens venture capital subsidiary focused on the mobile sector, I led the development of the company intranet. I also supported Internal Communications by contributing articles and updates to Siemens’ internal media.

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» For nearly four years, I led the development of Internal Communications at MTU Aero Engines, then a DaimlerChrysler subsidiary and an internationally active aircraft engine manufacturer with around 7,000 employees at seven locations worldwide. My responsibilities included:

» building the editorial team and relaunching the employee magazine
» producing special editions and leadership communications
» developing and launching the intranet
» developing and launching corporate television
» supporting major internal communications projects

Internal campaigns and events also gave me the opportunity to broaden my experience in marketing communications. The effectiveness of MTU’s internal media was later confirmed through an employee survey conducted by the Roland Berger Research Institute. Learn more »

» » As an internal communications advisor, I also supported projects of major company-wide importance where communications could make a direct contribution to success. One example was MTU’s employee survey. To build broad acceptance and encourage a high participation rate, I developed a comprehensive communications concept combining informative and motivational measures. Depending on the project phase, these were implemented through both regular internal media and dedicated communications channels. The survey was conducted as a full census at the Munich, Hanover, and Ludwigsfelde locations. Around three quarters of all employees at these sites participated within the three-week survey period. In a follow-up survey in fall 2000, which was conducted without supporting communications measures, participation dropped to just under 50 percent. I also supported the implementation of the company’s corporate vision and values, environmental initiatives, and the company-wide rollout of SAP R/3. MTU Munich’s 30th anniversary provided another opportunity to bring the company’s history to life. This included a ten-part series in MTU aktuell, a comprehensive intranet feature with a virtual tour of the anniversary exhibition, and a special edition of MTU aktuell.

» I gained my first experience in employee communications in 1994 at Löwenbräu, where I worked as a freelance contributor while still at university and was responsible for the employee newspaper Wir Löwen. For many articles, I handled the entire editorial process myself – from identifying topics and conducting research to writing the final copy. Most story ideas came from an internal editorial board or from the HR department, where Internal Communications was based. Learn more »