King's coronation: how world events can shape culture

Read the full and original article in FT Ignites

PA Consulting's Kate Lafferty, engagement and wellbeing lead, discusses businesses leveraging national events to shape corporate culture with Aime Keeley in FT Ignites. 

Commenting on this, Kate says: "Using a public event or international news to engage with staff has always been commonplace but has become more prevalent following Covid as a way for organisations to re-engage their people, many of whom are still working on a hybrid basis,"

She adds: "The pandemic has changed the relationship employees have with their employers and people are looking to their employers for purpose, meaning and emotional connection, now more than ever."

Kate goes on to explain that: "it is important for firms to think honestly about what they stand for and any potential repercussions before using national news events to engage their staff."

Adding: "Aligning organisational communications to a significant external event must be tied to the genuine purpose of the organisation for it to feel like an authentic activity for engagement."

Kate concludes: "If firms get it right, it can bolster employees' positive feelings towards their employer. If they get it wrong, it may only serve to reinforce to employees that the organisation's leaders are disconnected from the reality of organisational life and spell trouble."