Track Four of our People-First IC podcast, The Stuck Record, has officially dropped — and it’s a big one.
Lee Smith
Minutes
28th November 2025
Internal Communication Social Media Employee Experience
The latest episode of our new podcast goes right to the heart of a long-running issue in internal communication: our collective habit of leaning on campaigns to solve problems that campaigns were never designed to fix.
For years, many of us have been operating in a “launch-and-leave” rhythm - rolling out messages, toolkits, and cascades tied to deadlines, milestones, or leadership asks. And yet, when we look honestly at how people actually experience work, almost nothing meaningful happens in neatly packaged bursts. Real change plays out in the messy middle: the moments, interactions, frustrations, misunderstandings, and tiny nudges that shape how people feel day to day.
Track Four invites us to pause and reflect on that.
We explore why campaigns often fail to create lasting behaviour change and why, in contrast, experiences do the heavy lifting. We talk about what it really means to design for the human journey — not the project timeline — and how communicators can start shifting the energy away from “What do we need to tell people?” towards “What do people need to feel, understand and do… and how do we help them get there?”
Of course, we didn’t keep things too serious. You’ll hear about Pot Noodles, flying kettles, and some highly questionable student cooking decisions — the kind that remind us how chaotic and human life really is. We even take an unexpected detour to Stonehenge, complete with a very Spinal Tap-esque moment!
But woven through the fun is something absolutely central to People-First IC – The People First Design Loop...
This is the core methodology from our new book, and in this track we break down how it helps practitioners design communication as an experience. It’s a practical shift, but also a mindset shift: from broadcasting information to shaping the conditions for clarity, confidence, and connection.
If you’re feeling the limitations of traditional campaigns - or you’re ready to experiment with a more thoughtful, human-centred approach - Track Four is a great place to start. It’s reflective, useful, fun, and (we hope) a reminder that IC is at its best when it’s more than messages… when it’s a meaningful part of the employee experience.
