Labour Day Lessons: How Consistent Employee Communication Builds Trust and Strengthens Frontline Workforce Relationships
This Labour Day , I’ve been thinking about what the labour movement has meant for all workers. Weekends. Safer workplaces. Limits on working hours. Collective bargaining. Better wages and benefits. Maternity and parental leave protections. A stronger voice for workers. Many of the things we now consider part of a fair workplace were fought for, […]
Empowering Internal Communicators: Unlocking Strategic Impact at CACE Conference 2026
Priya Bates is pleased to be a keynote speaker at CACE Conference 2026 in Halifax, hosted by the Canadian Association of Communicators in Education. The keynote, Creating Impact: Your i5 Report Card, will explore how Internal Communication Professionals can move proactively from tactical implementation to strategic impact. After almost 30 years of building internal communication […]
Remembering 9/11: Honoring Resilience, Humanity, and Connection in Uncertain Times
25 years ago. One week before on September 4th, HP had announced that it would acquire Compaq. We were in shock and as an internal communication professional with Compaq Canada, I quickly worked with our executive team to have our president speak to our employees from his cottage to announce what he knew and what […]
What does Canada mean to me? It isn’t perfection.
It’s the quiet decision to keep trying.Canada has cracks. We always have. We haven’t always lived up to our values, and we continue to wrestle with our history, our differences, and our future. Acknowledging that isn’t unpatriotic, it’s necessary. But what keeps me hopeful is that so many Canadians still believe we can do better. […]
Anyone feeling that Marilyn Denis retiring after 40 years on the ChumFM Morning Show is the end of an era, or are you just feeling old?
I actually think I have been listening to 104.5 Chum FMs morning show for the last 40 years, enjoying Roger, Rick and Marilyn for the bulk of those years on my into-work commute. My favourite memory though is work-related. When working at Compaq Canada, I had the opportunity to spend the day with an MLB […]
From Purpose to Presence: Empowering Leaders to Deliver Impactful Presentations
My voice held out and I delivered the presentation. This week, I had the privilege of working with 24 high-potential leaders as they prepared for the culmination of their leadership development program. The executive sponsor was very clear about the outcome they wanted.They wanted participants to sharpen their strategy, shape their story, and strengthen their […]
Finding Your Voice After a Busy Week: The Unexpected Challenge of Facilitating Training When You’re Self-Destructively Voiceless
Ever have one of those moments where your calendar says “facilitate two full days of manager communication training for a new client” and your voice says, “Absolutely not”? After a week of conferences, networking events, coffee conversations, dinners, workshops, and more talking than any human should reasonably do, I’m feeling that familiar scratch in my […]
Is Your Organization’s Information Ready for AI’s Detective Skills?
I have a theory. I think AI is about to become the world’s greatest organizational detective. Not because it’s smarter than people, but because it’s about to uncover everything we’ve forgotten. Imagine walking into a library that’s been growing for 25 years. Some books are brand new, others haven’t been opened in a decade. There […]
Culture, values, inclusion & strategic communication
Politics might be counting out DEI, but I’m all in In this episode I ask Priya to explain to me the meaning of Equity in DE&I I now appreciate how Equity makes both human sense and practical business sense It’s easy to fall into the trap of employing (and promoting) people who look like us. For me I’m a #PrivilegedWhiteGuy. I’m certainly not representative […]
Free Gets You in The Room. Investment Moves You Forward.
If you want to get something done, ask a busy person. I think the same is true about success. If you want to understand who will succeed, look at who is willing to invest in themselves. I’m always surprised by how many people are eager to take in free content, free advice, free access…but hesitate […]
Unmasking Perception: Seeing Beyond the Surface in a Changing World
Have you noticed that people are starting to show themselves? Not because they want to… but because they can’t help it. And at the same time… something else is happening. People are seeing differently. – What once felt impressive… now feels performative.– What once felt inclusive… now feels selective.– What once felt credible… now gets […]
The Getting Started Template: Unlocking Project Potential Through Connection
We simply need to create connections. I often start all of my projects with what I call my “Getting Started Template.” What does it include? Facts – What, When, Why, Who – What is driving this project? When does it start and end? Why is it needed? Who is impacted and affected? This is the […]