The Inspiring Workplaces Summer Series is a two-week long virtual event of award-winning case studies – showcasing 2023 Inspiring Workplaces award winners.
With the aim of sharing insight, inspiring you and injecting a daily dose of energy into your routine. Giving you that spark to help deliver more for your people and organization.
Reasons to attend
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Knowledge and Skill Enhancement
It will help you gain new knowledge and skills, contributing to your professional growth and increase your value as an employee and/or leader.
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Professional development
Attending our events allows you to stay abreast of the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in your field. This is particularly crucial in rapidly evolving industries.
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On-Demand access
You often have access to the wealth of insights the event provides On-Demand too. So you can revisit some or all of the content later on.
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Inspiration and Innovation
Hearing from other professionals and thought leaders can spark new ideas and inspire innovative thinking. You can gain insights that help you approach your work in new ways.
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Networking Opportunities
Our events bring together diverse groups of people, creating opportunities for networking online.
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AND IT’S FREE!
Thank you to our
2025 sponsors
Without their support, we would not be able to provide the community and events for free.
Your Host
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Matt Manners
CEO and Founder
Inspiring Workplaces
Week 1 Speakers
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Clare Mohan
Internal Communications Manager
H&H -
Sudha has 17+ years of experience at companies like P&G, Nielsen and PayPal. She is currently a Director of Product Marketing at LinkedIn where her team helps employers across the world hire and develop strong talent. She is a trained coach who is passionate about codifying inner leadership and talent development skills to help leaders bring out the best in their teams.
Sudha Ranganathan
Director of Product Marketing
LinkedIn -
Just a small town girl living in a fabulous world, Kristin is always looking for magic moments in the employee experience. Her 15+ years in corporate communications have given her a unique perspective on work, life, and how human connection improves both.
In 2020 Kristin revitalized the ICology brand, alongside its founder Chuck Gose, her partner in life and work. ICology is now a thriving community of internal communicators who are leading the change in our industry and transforming the future of work, one office at a time.
Kristin is a Canadian immigrant living in Indianapolis and learning how to America. When she’s not connecting communicators, she is probably handing out dog biscuits at her local animal shelter.
Kristin Hancock
VP, Community & Engagement
ICology -
I am a self-proclaimed Skyline Chili connoisseur and Duran Duran fan with nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, corporate communications, and internal communications. My unrivaled passion and enthusiasm for the communications profession began early in my career at General Motors and Rolls-Royce, where I became fascinated by the positive impact internal communications can have on a company’s success.
I am the founder of ICology, a resource dedicated to the internal communications profession. The network is all about starting the conversation about how communicators can do more. Can be more. And usually are more than they realize.
I am the co-creator of the Periodic Table of Internal Communications and the co-author of “The Very Hungry Communicator.” I live in Indianapolis but stay true to my Buckeye roots. I attended Butler University and am a diehard Butler basketball fan. I also got to fly in a blimp once.
Chuck Gose
Head of Community and Industry Insights
FirstUp -
There is only one sustainable competitive advantage in business today—company culture—and Josh Levine is on a mission to help organizations harness its power. As one of North America’s leading voices championing culture as a business tool, Levine is known for the unique perspective and style he brings to his book, his podcast, and his clients.
Josh Levine
Culture Strategist | Author | Podcast Host
GreatMondays.com -
Lindsay loves to dream big about the future of work. She’s led People Operations for some of the smartest companies out there—XPLANE, Ziba Design, Frog Design, Square, and most recently, hospitality startup LOGE Camps. A pundit for employee engagement and workplace culture, she’s driven modern HR practices across industries, from rocketship startups to the Fortune 100.
Lindsay Wolf Logsdon
Culture Design Strategist and Human Resources Consultant
Week 1
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26th June
Clare Mohan
Internal Communications Manager
H&HEmployee Value Propositions
Keen to attract the brightest talent to your organisation – and hold onto the shining stars you already have? Maybe it’s time to supercharge your Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
From the Great Resignation to Quiet Quitting, over the past three years talent mobility has been a burning hot-topic. Join us for this thought-provoking session and discover practical ways to enhance your EVP – including a look at how the art of selling a home could teach us some invaluable tricks about getting talent through the front door of your organisation.
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27th June
Sudha Ranganathan
Director of Product Marketing
LinkedInThe 4G Manager – Helping your teams Glow, Grow, Get Things Done and Go their own way
We all know the profound impact that managers have on employee engagement and retention. But there’s a million different theories on what makes great managers great. In this session, Sudha distills lessons from multiple sources and shares a simple 4G framework that managers can leverage to bring out the best in their teams.
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28th June
Kristin Hancock
VP, Community & Engagement
ICologyChuck Gose
Head of Community and Industry Insights
FirstUpCommunity Over Competition: the state of connection at work
Always ready for a hot take, Kristin Hancock and Chuck Gose are bringing their thoughts, predictions, and commentary on the state of community when it comes to internal communications and the workplaces we serve. How much responsibility do we hold for building and fostering community at work and what does that entail? We’ll explore how our professional networks can support us and how we can channel that energy into our 9-5 lives.
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29th June
Josh Levine
Culture Strategist | Author | Podcast Host
GreatMondays.comLindsay Wolf Logsdon
Culture Design Strategist and Human Resources ConsultantRemote Work is a Red Herring
There continues to be much ado about when and where employees should be allowed to work. However, hidden beneath this conversational froth is a more productive and instructive lesson: the future of how we’ll work. Regardless if your team is adopting a hybrid approach, keeping everyone remote, or tinkering with a 4-day workweek, leaders should pay close attention to the emerging experience principles and workplace practices behind these headline-grabbing trends.
Week 2 Speakers
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Gamiel Yafai
Founder & CEO
Diversity Marketplace -
Ally has nearly 25 years of experience leading internal communications and employee recognition programs for large matrixed organizations across healthcare, finance and professional services. She currently leads teammate communications and recognition for Advocate Health – one of the largest US nonprofit healthcare systems with 150,000 teammates across six states. Prior she led global internal communications for Russell Reynolds Associates and spent nearly a decade at Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare employer, among other roles.
Ally Bunin
VP HR Innovation, Teammate Comms & Recognition
Advocate Health -
Taking chaos out of organisations | Business Communications Strategist | Author | International Speaker | Award-winning podcaster | Chartered Practitioner | Certified Company Director
Jenni helps organisations go from chaos to calm by taking them through The Field Model. As a Business Communication Strategist, Jenni works with organisations to help them understand how to get teams to work together better and operations to work more efficiently. Jenni is an international speaker and author of Influential Internal Communication that was published in April 2021.
Jenni Fields
Business Communications Strategist
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Helping leaders and professionals to have more impact and influence as they work, lead and live. Leadership coach | Consultant | Podcaster | Speaker | Strategic communications | Director Colinear
Trudy helps leaders, professionals and their teams to develop influence and create impact by using a blended approach of executive coaching and communication consulting. Trudy specialises in leadership, strategic communication, purpose, engagement and change and has developed a framework called EDGE to unlock people’s potential, and effectively connect and engage as they lead at work. She is also an international speaker and presenter, whose goal is to enable people to confidently take their leadership to the next level.
Trudy Lewis
Communications Consultant / Executive Coach -
Business Internal Communications & Inclusion Strategist doing things differently| Director of CommsRebel | Co-Founder A Leader Like Me and CalmEdgedRebels | EDI advocate | Internal Comms| Podcaster| Coach | Author
Advita supports organisations by helping them cultivate an inclusive culture, through effective communications, so all colleagues can thrive in their work. As a qualified confidence coach and mentor Advita works with teams and individuals to help them build their confidence, personal brand, raise their leadership visibility and manage their inner critic. Advita is also the co-founder of A Leader Like Me and the author of the newly published book, ‘Building a Culture of Inclusivity’.
Advita Patel
Business Internal Communication and Inclusion Strategist -
Marcel Schwantes is an international speaker, author, executive coach, and syndicated columnist, attracting over 2 million readers monthly to his thought leadership. Marcel speaks passionately about the human side of business and how cultures of care, connection, and belonging power companies to thrive and outperform the competition. Visit Marcel’s website: http://www.marcelschwantes.com/
Marcel Schwantes
Global Speaker, Author, Executive Coach
Week 2
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3rd July
Gamiel Yafai
Founder & CEO
Diversity MarketplaceTowards Conscious Inclusion
Insight into how the DE&I landscape is changing and what we can do to speed up the process.
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4th July
Jenni Fields, Trudy Lewis & Advita Patel
aka The Calm Edged RebelsTime to Refocus
Bring together themes from their latest podcast season and The Calm Edged Rebels cover on our one-day Coaching Retreats in London. Over the last few weeks they have all been talking about that feeling of overwhelm, how we keep going and the need to stop and refocus to push forwards with our goals. It’s easy to get lost in the noise. The session will be in the format of a mini podcast episode where Jenni, Trudy and Advita will introduce the topic, have an unscripted conversation and will share advice when we answer questions from the audience.
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5th July
Break
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6th July
Marcel Schwantes
Global Speaker, Author, Executive CoachThe Six Building Blocks of a High-Performing Organization
Discover the evidence-based Servant Leadership practices resulting in a positive, engaging, high-performing organization. Leaders will walk away with a practical framework to help design the best work environment for their people to flourish.
Week 3 Speakers
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Jill Katz is an Influencer, Speaker and Strategy Coach that is passionate about shifting the workplace to be more #PeopleFocused. She is the Founder and Chief Candor, Courage & Care Officer of Assemble HR, a Talent Strategy & Communications firm that focuses Culture, Communication, Conflict, and Change in the workplace.
Jill brings candid insights, brave questions, humor and empathy to her advisory practice. She is a seasoned human capital expert, facilitator, and executive coach with more than 20 years of success in the fashion, retail, digital technology, media, and banking industries. Jill is best known for her #CandorCourageAndCare™ Feedback Model, which changes the way teams communicate, and allows for more honest and productive relationships.
Jill Katz
Founder Chief CandorCourageAndCare™ Officer
Assemble HR -
Melody Wilding, LMSW is the best-selling author of Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work. Named one of Business Insider’s Most Innovative Coaches for her groundbreaking work on “Sensitive Strivers”, her clients include CEOs, C-level executives, and managers at top Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Amazon, and JP Morgan, among others. Melody has been featured in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal and is a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Psychology Today, and Forbes. Melody is a licensed social worker with a masters from Columbia University and a professor of Human Behavior at Hunter College. Learn more at melodywilding.com
Melody Wilding
Best-selling Author, Award-Winning Executive Coach & Speaker -
David P. Kasperson has been building high-trust partnerships and innovative solutions for clients of FranklinCovey’s Global Trust Practice for more than 15 years. Most of that time has been spent in collaboration with Stephen M. R. Covey, managing his speaking business, and custom client solutions as the Director of Business Development. An expert on trust, he has served clients via consulting, coaching, program design, and keynote speaking in more than twenty countries. He is co-author of the bestseller, Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others.
David Kasperson
Co-Author, Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others -
For well over a decade Craig’s work has been driven by a singular professional purpose: to help the world work better by improving the places we work. Working for and learning from some of the most highly successful and human-focused organizations to help companies build healthy, effective workplace cultures.
Craig spent six of these years as the Lead People Scientist at Culture Amp where he helped to build one of the most influential and impactful organizations in the people and culture space.
Craig Forman
CEO / Founder of CultureC Consulting (Formerly Lead People Scientist, Culture Amp)
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Roslyn Fordyce
Internal Communications Manager
H&H
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James Cotsen
Account Executive
Achievers
Week 3
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10th July
Jill Katz
Founder Chief CandorCourageAndCare™ Officer
Assemble HR
How I had to lose it all to gain back my life
The story of a “corporate success” who risked it all to take a risk, be a mom, and put health first. A weight-loss journey of 77lbs.
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11th July
Melody Wilding
Best-selling Author, Award-Winning Executive Coach & SpeakerRethinking The Quiet Power of Highly Sensitive People
In a work world dominated by increasing incivility, the need for sensitive leaders has never been greater. Yet all too often, we equate sensitivity with weakness, fragility, and emotional instability. In this talk, Melody Wilding, LMSW will discuss why it’s time we start embracing highly sensitive people and how we can value the attributes and skills they bring to workplaces.
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12th July
David Kasperson
Co-Author, Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in OthersThe Future of Leadership: From Command & Control to Trust & Inspire
Our world has changed, but our approach to leadership has not kept pace. Even leaders and organizations focused on inspiration tend to revert back to the “command & control” approach that seems the only option for results. Strategies systematically rely on varying forms of motivation, micromanagement and compliance to drive performance—and employees aren’t having it. People are creative, collaborative, and filled with potential, but today are over-managed and under-led. To draw out performance at the highest level, Trust & Inspire leaders bring out the best in others, and get their very best in return. They do it on purpose, as a matter of course. In this session, Wall Street Journal bestselling author, David Kasperson, will share the framework and process for unleashing greatness in others, and in ourselves.
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13th July
Craig Forman, James Cotsen, Roslyn Fordyce
Inspiring Culture – How to create workplaces people truly believe in and belong to
Employees who feel a strong sense of belonging are twice as likely to be engaged, productive, and satisfied. This Power Hour will dive into what organizational culture truly means in today’s hybrid world. And will examine whether employees’ expectations have shifted post-pandemic.
We will share H&H’s proprietary research, which uncovers the current trends and misnomers about organizational culture as well as Achievers Workforce Institute (AWI) research that shows creating conditions for belonging has an immediate and lasting effect.
Attend the session to learn how to shape and communicate a culture their employees can believe in – regardless of geography or working style as well as a tactical and practical perspective on how to ensure that every employee feels welcomed, known, included, supported, and connected.
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14th July
Ally Bunin
VP HR Innovation, Teammate Comms & Recognition
Advocate HealthMIXternal Communications – your internal message is no longer internal
Mixternal communications embraces the concept that internal communications are no longer internal – what’s internal is usually external (and thanks to social media, internal messages often go external before employees hear about it!). Every employee is a consumer and a community member therefore, your messaging must reach them in relevant ways they prefer. This makes channel strategy critical. Whether it’s the message, channel or tone of voice, a mixternal communications approach breeds consistency, which ultimately strengthens brand integrity and trust.