By Gaik Ping (GP) Ooi, SVP, Executive Director

As a transformation and employee engagement practitioner at a public relations agency, I was excited to attend my first Ragan Employee Communications and Culture Conference. For three intensive days, I connected with “my people” – professionals who, like me, place employees at the center of their work.

Beyond the official presentations, the hallway conversations with communicators from across industries and around the world (including one from Cyprus!) provided invaluable insights. This community of generous professionals openly shared both their successes and challenges.

Here are my key takeaways from reading between the lines:

We are operating in a rapidly shifting environment trying to secure employee trust while navigating numerous organizational changes

• Reality check: At any given time, 1/3 of large organizations are undergoing transformation and change[1].
• What counts: “Organizational change” could be anything from restructuring and layoffs, leadership transitions, mergers and acquisitions, new operating systems and technology adoption, return to office, and more.
• The bottom line: We play a crucial role bridging leadership and employees to ensure the organization move forward cohesively.
  • The catch: The work doesn’t only start when the change begins. It requires years of fostering a strong culture grounded in shared values that builds resilience, establishes effective channels, and ensures leadership understands the critical role of communication when uncertainty strikes.

There’s immense potential in leveraging generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to take employee communications to the next level

• Yes, but: We are still lagging behind external communications practitioners in investment and sophistication.
• The holdup: The main challenge that bubbled up through casual conversations was the time to explore and experiment. And many of us are testing uses on our own before we feel ready to implement as new ways of working with our teams.
• At Golin, we’re going all in with AI: Our agency’s determination to upskill our workforce has encouraged my team to test, learn and share discoveries. We’re partnering with our AI taskforce to develop specific employee communications use cases to amplify effectiveness and efficiency.

Data to measure employee communications efforts has matured but concrete business impact is still difficult to demonstrate

• The progress: Organizations are more willing now to invest in technological platforms that offer a plethora of metrics that didn’t exist even a few years ago.
• The persistent challenge: It was still apparent across the various conference presentations and people I spoke to that these metrics are insufficient to address their leaders’ “So what?”
• Addressing the gap: We know what is needed but it’s easier said than done. Starting with communications metrics, we need partnerships with HR, IT, R&D, Sales and others to connect the dots between communications outcomes and impact on employee retention, satisfaction, productivity and performance.

Top of the communicators’ wish list: “More executive buy-in and leadership support”

• Why it matters: Based on our experience with clients, this need is critical in setting the internal communications teams for success. Clients with a seat at the table get access to information that enables them to do their jobs effectively as a strategic business partner while also having the influence and resources to take the right action.
• What we do about this: Earning executive buy-in is a journey we’ve helped multiple clients navigate over the years. It starts with articulating a clear narrative of our role, demonstrating the value we bring to the organization, and strengthening internal stakeholder relationships across functions that influence the C-suite.
• The source: Ragan’s 2025 Communications Benchmark Report

The bottom line: What doesn’t change is the imperative to be authentic, transparent and timely. Regardless of new technologies, challenges or opportunities, the fundamentals of cultivating employee trust in leadership and the organization remain the same. And our role as employee communications and engagement strategists remains that of trusted advisors who balance the art of human connection with the science of strategic communication.

Gaik Ping (GP) Ooi is a senior vice president on Golin’s Transformation & Engagement specialty practice. She can be reached at [email protected] to talk all things employee communications, workforce culture and change management.