Voice

With an ageing workforce, businesses must value employees over 60. Five experts share insights on mentorship, reinvention and inclusion – highlighting how experience, empathy and learning can challenge stereotypes and make age a powerful asset in today’s workplace.

Age generalisations in the workplace persist, but our content and career choices are shaped more by our formative years than age alone. As communication styles evolve, businesses must find harmony between generations. From tone of voice to shifting mindsets, understanding these differences is key to keeping teams and workforces in tune with one another.

Helen Connolly (pictured), head of internal communication, and Terri Hargreaves, diversity and inclusion adviser, from Sellafield Ltd share tips from the company’s employee-led networks, which support neurodiverse colleagues, for communicating with autistic employees.

What’s the secret to making an impression when hundreds of people are applying for the same job? Internal comms hiring pros share their top tips for serving up an irresistible application and keeping your cool throughout the process.

TAQA UK, a North Sea oil & gas business at the forefront of late-life operations and decommissioning, aimed to reduce the risks of heart disease, while ensuring its people were ready to take immediate action in the event of a cardiac arrest. Ultimately, more than 1,000 employees were trained.

Even the smoothest-running, most positive companies experience the odd reputational bump in the road: a press article throwing shade on a senior leader; social media comments from a disgruntled employee; poor product reviews… It’s not quite a crisis, but it can be a distraction. Here, four experts offer their thoughts on talking to employees about negative press.

Endometriosis requires flexibility, understanding and open communication to create inclusive workplaces where employees feel supported, says Julie Burns, Endometriosis Friendly Employer Scheme Manager at Endometriosis UK.

How do you engage employees on urgent topics that come on top of their daily remit? This was precisely the challenge faced by the Royal College of Nursing in the lead-up to the NHS nurses’ strikes.

Employer activism is on the rise. Partner Rachel Mathieson and senior associate Suhan Rajkumar from law firm Bates Wells consider the risks of speaking out on today’s big issues.

At its worst, a crisis can hit your organisation like a whirlwind and cause significant chaos. Saying the right thing to your workforce can be a challenge. Employees value openness from leaders, so the language and tone you use for clarity and reassurance is important.