📰 Internal Communications Introductions: Meet Megan Dold

Head of Corporate and Internal Communications, Financial Times

About Megan

Megan is Head of Corporate Communications for the Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organizations, recognized internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Megan oversees corporate communications, internal communications and employee engagement for 2300 staff worldwide, including 600 journalists. She is also a founding trustee of the FT’s new charity, the Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign, and sits on leadership committees for sustainability initiatives within the FT.

Megan has worked both in-house and as a consultant for media and nonprofit organizations in the US and UK. She has a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. A Chicago native, Megan currently lives in London with her family. 

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What sparked your professional path into Internal Communications? 

I spent my early career working in media relations in Washington, DC and only started dabbling in internal communications when I moved to London in 2011. At the time, I had just joined a corporate charity to do external relations. The leadership team needed someone to cover internal communications, so I raised my hand and offered to do both. Much to my surprise (and delight) I found the internal work both challenging and rewarding, and stuck with it. 

How do you describe internal communications to others?

Internal communications binds an organisation together and keeps people moving in the same direction toward a common set of goals. That’s a very high-level description, but it is especially true during times of growth or uncertainty. 

In 2020, as the world went from one crisis to the next and many organisations were forced to shift to remote working at scale, internal comms proved essential to business continuity and employee morale. A solid internal comms strategy can have positive ripple effects inside and out, from staff loyalty and momentum through to brand reputation and trust.

For that reason, I would argue that ‘internal communications’ doesn’t really capture what we do. External and internal communications used to be very distinct roles, with the latter sometimes based in the HR department. But news never stays internal these days - which is not a bad thing if you’re prepared - and that’s why I have a blended role managing corporate and internal communications. Whether I’m drafting a company report, an intranet blog or a staff memo from the CEO, I always think about the potential impact on our reputation and employer brand.

What is one project you are particularly proud to have accomplished? 

I think many internal comms pros will tell you they get involved in projects that don’t exactly fall into their remit. I’m pretty good at saying no to things, or at least asking why something requires communications support, but inevitably, some projects come to my team because there’s nowhere else for them to go. The upside to this is that I get to scrutinize more ‘fluff and stuff’ within the company. So I’m actually really proud of instigating profound changes within the FT’s social responsibility portfolio.

The FT used to run a seasonal appeal for a different charity each year, with our journalists writing about the charity’s work in order to solicit reader donations. The appeal in itself was obviously a worthy cause, but the issues we covered never aligned with our core company purpose or in-house expertise, and reader engagement began to decline. I also found myself roped into doing fundraising, which is definitely not my skill set.

Last year, I walked into the editor’s office with a radical-ish proposal: we should scrap the longstanding appeal and replace it with something more aligned with our company values and mission. Many months and discussions later, our new corporate charity focused on financial literacy and inclusion was born. Our readers and employees are supportive and engaged, it fits our brand perfectly, and we’re much more likely to have a real impact.

That’s all to say, if you get an internal comms person involved in a project, be prepared for lots of questions and some pushback!

What are the skills that are most important for someone to succeed in Internal Communications?

Stakeholder management is essential. Take the time to find out what your stakeholders really care about, how they prefer to get internal updates, and what demanding projects and stresses are on their plate. 

Shadow another business unit or department for a week. I shadowed our B2B sales team a few years back, and it really helped me understand what factors (e.g. time of day, channel, length, tone, etc.) were most important to them when it came to engaging with internal comms content.

Also, some useful skills and attributes to have, in no particular order, are writing, editing, listening, empathy and honesty.

How do you continue learning about the field of Internal Communications?

Apart from the usual suspects (LinkedIn, PR conferences, etc.) I regularly check in with my peers at other media companies to share insights and best practice. One great thing about internal comms practitioners is that we don’t have to compete with one another for media coverage like our external comms colleagues might do, so there’s nothing to lose in seeking out wisdom from peers in your particular industry.