WHO WE ARE

Mission

To help organizations enable, engage and empower their employees to manage change and deliver business results successfully.

Values
 

We help our clients:

  • Engage employees

  • Communicate to connect

  • Build Strength from the inside out

  • Collaborate to deliver results

Team

Our team of communication strategists and practitioners deliver culture, engagement and communication programs that help organizations manage change and deliver business results. Our philosophy is to help set every program up for long-term success. We bring a variety of industry experiences and proven results to help you deliver your programs effectively. Whether you need strategic leadership during transformation, or implementation support when your strapped for resources, we’d love to help!

Priya Bates

President

Priya Bates is an award-winning professional communicator with a passion for driving strong performance from the inside out. As President and owner of Inner Strength Communication, Priya builds strategic internal communication, engagement, branding and transformational change plans that help connect the dots between business strategy and employee delivery. In her 20+ year career, Priya has led communication for organizations including Loblaw Companies Limited, HP Canada and Compaq Canada.

Priya is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) and recently became one of the first Certified Communication Management Professionals (CMP) in the world. In 2010, she received the Master Communicator (MC) designation, the highest honour bestowed upon a communication professional from IABC Canada. In 2016, she became an IABC Fellow, a lifetime achievement from the International Association of Business Communicators and the highest global honour bestowed on a professional communicator from the association.

Andrea Bannister

Senior Communication Strategist

Andrea is a strategic communicator with 15+ years experience leading integrated communication programs. Passionate about the power of internal communications, Andrea helps organizations inform, engage and inspire employees.

Andrea has worked for global companies including Sun Life Financial, RSA and Deloitte. She has successfully led internal communications for diverse business areas and managed the communications for high profile global programs including mergers, reorganizations, brand and strategy launches, and culture initiatives.  A skilled corporate writer, Andrea also has extensive expertise developing programs and messages for C-suite leaders aligned with their business objectives and the needs of their employees.

Lisa Bélanger

Change Communication Strategist

Lisa is an award-winning strategic communicator with 15+ years of experience leading corporate and change communication programs. Lisa helps organizations inform, engage and inspire employees by delivering communications that have impact and purpose.

Lisa has served as a key communication strategist and tactician for global companies including Manulife Financial and Standard Life, and national companies such as Purolator Courier and Bell Canada. She has successfully led internal communications for C-suite leaders and managed internal communications for acquisitions, reorganizations, financial results, strategy launches, and culture initiatives.
A PROSCI certified Change Manager, Lisa has extensive expertise developing change communication programs that help achieve organizational change vision while increasing employee engagement.

Steven Gangbar

Digital Transformation Strategist

Steven Gangbar has over 20 years of experience developing, executing, and managing communications programs for large global financial and professional services organizations. His focus has been on leveraging strategic communications to advance communication, brand, reputation, marketing, public affairs, and employee engagement goals. He has particular expertise in digital communications, change management, brand, culture, and issues management.

As an employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Scotiabank, Sun Life Financial, and CPP Investment Board and as an independent consultant, he has transformed communications programs to a digital-first approach, led communications for digital transformations, implemented employee value propositions and engagement strategies, and led brand programs aimed at delivering a consistent customer experience. He has expertise in assessing and transforming cultures to support transformations, integrations, restructurings, and brand redesigns.

Andrea Tubbs

Andrea Tubbs

Communication Specialist

Andrea Tubbs, owner of Swansea Communications, has a breadth of experience in marketing, communication and public relations in a variety of sectors. Her nearly twenty career has been in high tech, non profit, post secondary and for the last eight years in the real estate, tourism and hospitality industries. Andrea takes a hands-on approach to her work with all clients and thrives on executing successful and measurable campaigns within her disciplines of practice.

Andrea is an active member of the business community as President of the Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce. She also chairs and is involved with various committees focusing on business in her region.

Andrea is an IABC member, holds a Diploma in Public Relations from the University of Victoria and a Diploma in Business Administration from Capilano University.

GLOBAL PARTNERS

Inner Strength partners with internal and change experts around the world in order to deliver globally.

Mike Klien

Mike Klein

Mike Klein is Principal of Changing The Terms, a Netherlands-based consulting practice focusing on internal and social communication.

An MBA graduate of London Business School, Mike has been an internal communicator since the late 1990s, working for major UK,  European and US organizations, including Maersk, Shell, Cargill, easyJet, Barclays, and the US Department of Transportation. He is the author of From LIncoln to LinkedIn, a book on organizational and community influence combining learnings from internal communication and his previous career as a political consultant in the US.

In 2018, Mike was commissioned by intranet and digital workspace vendor Happeo to conduct a seven-part research series looking at The Present and Future of  Internal Communication. Mike has subsequently conducted workshops based on the research in Toronto and London and is a frequent speaker and blogger on global internal communication trends.

A dual US/UK citizen, Mike is the past chair of the International Association of Business Communicators in the EMENA region.

Jason Anthoine

Jason Anthoine

Jason Anthoine is the managing founder of Audacity, a consulting firm focused on employee engagement, internal communications and culture change.

With more than 30 years’ experience, Jason’s career includes leading global communications for GE Energy Management, an $8 billion manufacturer of energy and electrical components with more than 20,000 employees, and Newell Brands, a $16 billion manufacturer of consumer packaged goods with more than 30,000 employees. Earlier in his career, he also led internal communications for Southwire Company and Siemens Energy & Automation. His client work includes employee engagement and change management assignments for CIBA Vision, The Coca-Cola Company, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Johnson & Johnson, Mars Chocolate North America and Time Warner Cable.

TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS

Inner Strength partners with technology firms focused on improving the employee experience in order to understand solutions. We pride ourselves on being technology agnostic which means we recommend the right solution, at the right time, based on your budget and support structure. Call us today for the technology review and recommendations.

staffbase.jpg

It’s time to bridge the gap. Your people are your company’s most valuable asset, but they can only contribute the full measure of their talents and skills when they are informed and engaged. Traditional channels are missing the mark. Today’s communication is digital and “digital” means mobile-first. Invest in a platform that prioritizes your people and purpose. Revitalize company culture with communication that hits home. Brand your employee experience. Boost engagement by enabling bottom-up communication. Make a tangible difference with your employee communications platform.

https://staffbase.com/

sparrowapp.jpg
In an increasingly mobile workforce, the way we do business is changing. Sparrow enables organizations to keep connected by pushing relevant communication directly to employee mobile devices. Sparrow’s easy-to-use interface pushes communication from the company intranet and other platforms to employee mobile devices

https://www.sparrowapp.io/

 

DevFacto
Bonfyreapp - Employee Experience Platform
Contactmonkey - Email Tracking and Employee Engagement Tracking
Dynamic Signal - Your Employee Communication and Engagement Platform
Poppulo - Internal Communication Software
Tembo Social - Employee Recognition, Employee Feedback

Please contact us if you are a technology company wanting to partner on internal communication solutions.