Welcome to Brilliance@Work, a series of profiles about stellar collaboration professionals and their best practices at work.

Paul Barton, ABC is Principal Consultant, Paul Barton Communications LLC. He’s been passionate about connecting the minds of organizational leaders with the hearts of employees for more than 20 years.

After a successful career at six fast-growing brands including PetSmart and Hawaiian Airlines, Paul authored a book entitled Maximizing Internal Communication: Strategies to Turn Heads, Win Hearts, Engage Employees and Get Results, and he launched his own consulting firm.

He’s a frequent speaker and workshop presenter on the topics of crisis communication, internal communication, and HR communication strategies. Paul also teaches courses in public speaking and business communication as an adjunct faculty member.

Paul is a long-time member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and has earned the association’s Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) designation.

Join Paul at the Advanced Learning Institute’s Strategic Internal Branding Conference, April 19-21 in Scottsdale, Arizona as he presents “Finding the Voice of Your Organization’s Brand.”

In the meantime, read on to learn more about Paul and his insights on winning the hearts of employees to enhance engagement and drive desired brand behavior.

Peggy L. Bieniek, ABC: What are you most interested in and speak most enthusiastically about?
Paul Barton, ABC: I believe employee communication is at the heart of every successful thing an organization does. That’s where my heart has always been. Whether it’s implementing a change initiative to increase customer satisfaction or productivity, recovering from a crisis, or working safer and more efficiently, it takes effective communication to make it all happen.

PLB: What are some of your past and current projects that you are most proud of?
PB: I’m most proud of projects that really move the needle for organizations and at the same time help to better the lives of employees – the well-being, 401(k) and safety campaigns, and the customer service and productivity initiatives. I’m also proud of helping struggling internal communication programs turn things around to be valued by their leaders and internal clients, and become a positive force for change within their organizations.

PLB: How does brand voice affect employee engagement?
PB: Credibility is the foundation of effective communication of all types, and that most certainly includes internal communication. We need to speak to employees in an authentic voice and treat them like valued business partners if we are to be successful. And we need to speak to employees in a tone that reflects the brand behavior we want them to live in their day-to-day interactions with customers. The objective third-party tone devoid of personality that we learned in journalism class to write newspaper articles doesn’t work to inspire Digital Age employees. Organizations have personalities, and personalities have voices.

PLB: What will people gain from attending the Strategic Internal Branding Conference?
PB: This topic is very much needed. People are looking for authentic brands that do the right thing and do right by their employees. If an organization focuses exclusively on external branding and neglects its internal audience, then day-to-day customer experiences won’t match the organization’s brand promise. When an organization’s “do” is misaligned with its “say,” brand promises become nothing more than discredited advertising slogans. Authentic brands are built from the inside out when employees consistently deliver the brand promise.

PLB: What is most important for people to understand from your conference presentation?
PB: Finding the most effective tone for your internal communication is crucial to driving brand behavior and employee engagement within your organization.

PLB: What is your contact information for questions, comments, ideas?
PB: My Twitter handle is @PaulBartonABC and my email is PaulBarton@Outlook.com. I look forward to talking internal comms with you!

Register for the Strategic Internal Branding Conference. Together we’ll learn about using authentic internal branding communications to create brand champions, build culture and engage employees to live and deliver on the brand promise.

Since I’m a conference supporter, just mention Starry Blue Brilliance when you register to receive a $200 discount. 🙂

Please share this information with your networks. The Twitter hashtag is #ALI_IntBranding.