About the Book
Implement a digital communications strategy that boosts engagement, retention and productivity in a hybrid workplace.
Digital Communications at Work is the practical guide for internal communications managers, HR business partners and mid-level leaders who want to optimize how employees connect, collaborate and access essential information. Written by two leading digital communications experts, it combines proven principles, actionable frameworks and real-world examples help you deliver measurable results and strengthen your professional credibility.
Drawing on examples including from universities, global banks, professional institutes and international charities, this book will enable you to:
- Develop a tailored channel strategy aligned to business goals and culture
- Build and present a compelling business case to secure leadership buy-in
- Apply frameworks to select, integrate and optimize digital tools effectively
- Implement content plans that sustain engagement and talent retention
- Measure, analyze and refine for continuous improvement and ROI
With step-by-step guidance and actionable tools, Digital Communications at Work equips you to navigate the planning, politics, finance and IT challenges and create a seamless digital employee experience that supports organizational performance.
Themes include: Internal communications strategy, hybrid workplace engagement, content planning, channel optimization, employee experience, communications ROI
Table of Contents:
- Chapter - 00: Introduction;
- Section - ONE: Discover;
- Chapter - 01: Discovery – identifying internal communication needs, barriers and pain points;
- Chapter - 02: Platforms – choosing the right digital communications and digital workplace architecture;
- Chapter - 03: Building the business case – costs, benefits and ROI of digital internal communication channels;
- Section - TWO: Develop;
- Chapter - 04: Publishing – the role of the intranet in digital communications and employee experience;
- Chapter - 05: Distribution – reaching the right people at the right time across digital channels;
- Chapter - 06: Governance – digital workplace communication processes and management;
- Chapter - 07: People – building capability and skills for digital internal communications;
- Section - THREE: Deliver;
- Chapter - 08: Content – best practices for internal communication content design and publishing;
- Chapter - 09: Communities – enterprise social networks and employee communities;
- Chapter - 10: Launching channels – how to launch internal communication platforms and digital tools;
- Chapter - 11: Measurement and management – evaluating performance, engagement and impact in internal communication;
- Section - FOUR: Future;
- Chapter - 12: The future of digital communication and employee experience;
About the Author :
Sharon O'Dea is co-founder of Lithos Partners. With over 15 years' experience, she has advised some of the world's best-known organizations including banks, global corporates, world-class universities and leading charities. She is a member of the Institute of Internal Communications, the International Association of Business Communicators and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Jonathan Phillips is co-founder of Lithos Partners. With more than 20 years' experience he is a regular speaker and writer on digital workplace and communications, adviser to the UK, government and former senior leader in digital communications in the Coca-Cola system.
Review :
"Digital Communications at Work is an evidence-led and practical guide that gives internal communicators the frameworks and confidence to design effective digital channels. At a time when hybrid working continues to test organizational productivity, effective digital communication has never been more important to productivity and performance. O'Dea and Phillips provide a route map that is highly readable, practical and grounded in their own extensive expertise."
"Most books about digital workplace tools tend to treat the technology as the hero. This one doesn't and that's exactly what makes it so useful. Sharon and Jonathan get that the real challenge isn't only about choosing the right platform, it's building the conditions for it to work. From governance to measurement to the unglamorous daily reality of how to deliver comms with confidence and impact, Digital Communications at Work covers the full picture with clarity, rigour and refreshingly honesty about what actually fails and why. This is the kind of book you'll keep going back to over and over again."
"Some business books get bogged down in the theory of organizational change. This book is not one of them. With Digital Communications at Work, Sharon and Jonathan don't just acknowledge the forces reshaping modern internal communications - they give you the tools to navigate them. What you hold in your hands is a practical guidebook, complete with case studies, frameworks and actionable tips, that helps comms leaders build credibility, momentum and stakeholder support at every phase of the internal comms lifecycle. I've never been so glad that ChatGPT hallucinated."
"Sharon and Jonathan have distilled their decades of experience and expertise into a readable and practical guide. Whether you're looking to upgrade or start from scratch, this book will take you through the process to help you make the most out of your digital employee experience. The book takes you through how to uncover the right problems to solve with your discovery process, through to planning and delivery. You'll consider the importance of getting the right people and processes in place along with the right channels. This book will help you to make sure your intranet doesn't become a digital dumping ground, as you consider governance from a programme, platform and content perspective. Through their 5 M Framework (Meaning, Momentum, Measurement, Maintenance and Maturity) you'll consider everything you need to build an effective digital workplace for your organisation."
"In an era where AI is redefining our workflows, the foundations of our digital workplace have never been more critical. Sharon and Jonathan have delivered a pragmatic and timely guide that bridges the gap between high-level strategy and daily execution. It is a vital resource for any internal communication professional who needs to optimize the digital employee experience for their organization's and people's unique needs. More discovery and less audits. As communication professionals, where we shine is in providing context and managing our stakeholders. Digital Communications At Work gives you the guidance on how to do just this. Regardless of your AI use or how mature your digital workplace is Sharon and Jonathan show you what good looks like and how to adapt best practices to suit your needs."
"Having been familiar with the inimitable style of Sharon O'Dea and Jonathan Phillips over a number of years, including their popular Intranetizen website from years ago, I was excited to review their new book, Digital Communications at Work. With Sharon's off-beat and opinionated communication style and Jonathan's analytic and scientific approach to problem solving, I had high expectations. I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed. The book is highly readable and, at the same time, gives you all the information you need to be an effective digital communicator.
Structured in four parts - discover, develop, deliver, future - it provides a nice framework you can apply to all aspects of digital communication. However, the chapters also work on their own, making it easy to pick and choose particular areas to focus on if that suits you better. Most insightful are the real-world examples and advice frequently scattered throughout the book; probably the most valuable parts, if I'm being honest. You can tell they have both been in the trenches implementing the approach they advocate, and the hard-won wisdom from those battles is like gold. Being someone who likes to make evidence-based decisions, I was also happy to see many cross-references and third-party research used frequently to support their viewpoints.
They also don't shy away from talking about AI, its impact, and how best to adapt as a digital communicator. For example, there's a section on new skills internal communicators will need, such as prompt engineering, and the importance of managing content in such a way that AI can deliver effective results - not just regurgitate rubbish that already exists within an organization.
Overall, a mandatory addition to the library of any self-respecting communications professional. While largely directed towards internal communicators and digital workplace professionals, many of the lessons apply to all aspects of communication.
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"This book delivers an invaluable contribution to the field of internal comms and digital workplaces more broadly. Taking a considered and structured approach, it will help comms teams better understand business needs and then shape in response strategic approaches that makes the most of modern technology options. This work generously shares insights from two authors who've played award-winning roles in complex organizations, bravo!"
"I've had the distinct advantage (and honour) to work with Sharon O'Dea and Jonathan Phillips on a variety of communication endeavours. I'm a writer and editor, so what I write next is much more meaningful than it may sound: They write like they talk. Clearly. Concisely. And with passion. You don't often find those qualities in the world of digital communications and the employee experience. And that makes this book a must-read for anyone in the field. Even better, from my point of view, it's a good read, too."
"Digital Communications at Work is a practical, no-nonsense guide that offers a clear methodology for approaching digital communication at both a strategic and solution level. Sharon and Jonathan provide structured guidance and practical tools that will benefit both new and experienced practitioners. A must-read for anyone with an interest in designing better a better digital employee experience."
"This book is an absolute must-read for anyone working in digital communications. Whether you're in the early stages of planning an intranet, or managing a complex suite of digital platforms, Jonathan and Sharon's practical, accessible and sensible advice will make a real difference for you and the people you communicate with."
