Julia Lloyd is a Change Communication Expert who has led communications for major transformation programmes across insurance, finance and technology organisations.
Having successfully transitioned into interim leadership roles, she shares insights into organisational change, employee engagement, storytelling, leadership communications and career progression in a rapidly evolving communications landscape. Julia also shares her experience working with BIE over the past 8 years.
I think change communication professionals need strong writing, stakeholder management, storytelling and the ability to stay agile as organisations move faster. It is very tempting to spend most of your time managing the expectations of leaders, and that matters, but it should not come to the detriment of really, really looking at the difference you can make through good content and effective messaging. Content and creativity will always matter hugely.
Great content matters because it helps people understand the business in a fresh and useful way. The reason most of us want to be communicators is the ability to create really great content and help people get to grips with their business because they’re seeing something in a fresh or unusual way. Even when budgets are cut, and communication teams face pressure, I think it would be a pity to “dial down on that too much.”
Internal communications has changed massively because the speed, channels and expectations around content have all accelerated. When I started, we used to plan print and production timetables a year in advance, whereas now content can be created, read and disposed of extremely quickly. The arrival of social media, AI and perpetual transformation means communicators need to stay agile, keep learning and understand how messages land in fast-moving organisations.
The arrival of social media, AI and perpetual transformation means communicators need to stay agile, keep learning and understand how messages land in fast-moving organisations.
My advice is to remain agile, look at the market and keep honing your skill set. You can’t beat market forces, so it is important not to get stuck or become too stubborn about a fixed idea of what you want to achieve. I would also tell communicators to practise storytelling, look after their own CV or LinkedIn profile because every word matters, and get a career mentor if they can.
My advice is to remain agile, look at the market and keep honing your skill set. You can’t beat market forces, so it is important not to get stuck or become too stubborn about a fixed idea of what you want to achieve.
Interim work was one of the most important risks I took because it helped me progress much more quickly than I expected. Becoming an interim felt like a leap into the unknown, and I remember being told it might limit my progression. In fact, the opposite proved the case, and I used the interim route to move rapidly into senior roles, including my first head of internal communications role within a few years.
BIE has played a pivotal role in my career since 2018, helping me secure three significant roles at Tesco, Clear Channel Media and Hiscox. They know the transformation landscape inside and out, and my relationship with Simon Cordrey has become a trusted source of advice, market insight and support. I have had lots of impromptu conversations with BIE, not only when I am looking for a role, but to understand trends in change and transformation.
I would absolutely recommend working with BIE, and I already do. I have recommended BIE to many of my interim contacts and to client-side teams because they have supported me through some of the most important moments in my career. Without that support, my career would have felt far more daunting and riskier, and I am grateful that BIE had some faith in me when those big opportunities came along.
