How Fortune 500 Communicators Are Rethinking Employee Communications And Culture

From manager enablement to video storytelling that employees want to watch.

No business can succeed without buy-in and dedication from its employees. That’s especially true at Fortune 500 companies, which frequently manage tens of thousands of workers across diverse functions with varying needs.

At Ragan’s Employee Communications & Culture Conference, held in Boston April 21-23, leaders from Fortune 500 companies Honeywell, Cisco, M&T Bank and Humana will share how they’re keeping employees engaged as they build company culture.

From manager enablement to video storytelling that employees want to watch, these sessions offer a look at what’s working inside large, complex organizations right now.

Activating managers as communicators

Managers are one of the most underused and most critical channels in any organization.

Brooks Newkirk, director of executive and internal communications at Honeywell, will lead an interactive session focused on building toolkits managers will actually use.

Newkirk brings experience from Honeywell, Compass Group USA and VF Corporation, where she led communications, engagement and internal digital strategies across large employee populations.

In this session, communicators will learn how to:

• Build simple, usable manager toolkits with templates, FAQs and clear cadence
• Create message cascades that connect the C-suite to the front line
• Establish feedback loops that measure real impact, not just participation

The session includes hands-on exercises, giving attendees a chance to draft manager briefs and practice consultative conversations.

Making internal videos worth watching

Employees are increasingly consuming information the same way they do outside of work: through short, engaging video.

Allison Murry, director of communications at Cisco, leads internal communications for a 10,000-person global operations team. Her work focuses on creating high-impact, scalable experiences that connect.

In her session, Murry will break down how to bring binge-worthy video into internal channels without large budgets or production teams.

Attendees will learn how to:

• Script short-form videos with clear narratives and recurring formats
• Produce polished content using phones, templates and AI tools
• Distribute video across email, collaboration platforms and intranets

Proving the value of internal communications

Measurement remains one of the biggest sticking points for communicators, especially when it comes to tying engagement data to business outcomes.

In a hands-on workshop, David Ciommo, data storytelling lead at Humana’s Visualization Center of Excellence, together with Catenya McHenry, chief marketing and communications officer at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, will share a practical framework for data storytelling.

The session focuses on turning metrics into narratives executives understand and act on.

Participants will learn how to:

• Connect communication objectives to business outcomes like retention and readiness
• Build dashboards that surface meaningful insights, not just activity
• Present data in concise, executive-ready formats

The workshop includes an interactive exercise where attendees build a KPI map for an upcoming campaign.

A fresh approach to town halls

Town halls are one of the most visible and resource-intensive communication channels. But are they delivering real value?

Russell Evans, head of communications for M&T Commercial Banking, will share how his team redesigned the company’s town hall strategy to focus on business impact.

Evans brings more than 20 years of experience across organizations including PwC, CAAT Pension Plan and Foresters Financial.

In this case study, attendees will learn how M&T Bank:

• Restructured agendas to focus on the topics employees care about most
• Introduced financial dashboards to connect updates to performance
• Used consistent survey design to track behavior and comprehension over time

The result: a more focused, measurable approach to one of the most common and often overlooked communication formats.

The common thread is clear: communicators are being asked to deliver results, not just messages. To learn how to bring home ROI, join us in Boston. Use code SAVE300 for $300 off your registration today.

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