PFIC Masterclass Programme

PFIC Architect - Develop your PFIC Strategy Blueprint

Future-proof your Role: Design a People-First IC Strategy for the Human + AI Era 

PFIC Architect is an immersive course that helps you stay relevant in the age of AI — showing you how to combine human empathy with AI-powered insight to create a strategy blueprint that earns credibility and influence. 
  Bitesize
 4 hours
 Architect

Programme overview

Why this course? 
Internal communication is evolving fast. AI can already draft copy, analyse data, and distribute comms at scale. But it can’t build trust, shape culture, or design experiences that feel truly human. That’s the edge you bring. 

And the timing couldn’t be more urgent. Two powerful forces are reshaping IC: 

  • AI disruption: Campaign plans, audience segmentation, and copywriting can now be automated in seconds. The “expert work” that once filled IC roles is no longer enough. The value lies in what AI can’t replicate - human connection, empathy, and trust. 
  • Rising employee expectations: People now expect consumer-grade experiences inside their organisations: communication that is personalised, frictionless, and authentic. Anything less feels irrelevant. 

PFIC is the answer. It shifts IC from being expert-led — focused on channels and campaigns — to being people-first and experience-driven, where communicators act as designers of trust, meaning, and connection. 

And the PFIC Architect masterclass helps you step into this IC new role. Instead of just managing channels or pushing out content, you’ll learn how to curate journeys, co-create moments, and design communication that employees actually feel. Across five immersive lessons, you’ll move from vision to blueprint, using both human insight and AI-powered tools to create a strategy that connects people-first principles with business outcomes. 

This isn’t another theory-heavy course. It’s practical, action-focused, and designed to get you producing a credible PFIC Strategy Blueprint in just 4 hours. 

What you’ll learn 

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:  
✅ Build a people-first comms strategy that links employee experience to business goals. 
✅ Define Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) that hardwire IC to outcomes. 
✅ Make a compelling business case for People-First IC in your organisation. 
✅ Position PFIC as complementary to AI, not competing with it. 
✅ Lead early-stage stakeholder alignment conversations with confidence. 
✅ Apply experience-first tools like the Life Spiral and Levels of Experience. 
✅ Use AI tools (ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, sentiment analysis) for discovery and planning. 

Who it’s for 

  • Heads of Internal Communication 
  • Comms Leads 
  • EX and HR Leaders 
  • Anyone ready to elevate IC from execution to influence 

Why bother? 
Because strategy is no longer about channels and campaigns. It’s about orchestrating experiences that are human, relevant, and measurable. 

By taking this course you will: 
  • Future-proof your role in the age of AI by focusing on what technology can’t replace - human insight, trust, and experience design. 
  • Move from doer to driver. 
  • Show up as a strategic partner, not just a service provider. 
  • Prove the value of IC through credible measures that matter. 
  • Earn influence and a genuine seat at the decision-making table. 
Course format 

4 hours total 

Take it in one go or in stages.

5 lessons

Each with a short explainer video + tools.

Hands-on resources

Templates, prompts, and a personal Miro board.

Final deliverable

Your completed PFIC Strategy Blueprint.

Course Lessons

Meet your instructors

Emma Bridger

EX Space Founder
Emma is one of the world’s leading employee engagement and experience experts. She is the author of Employee Engagement (2014) and Employee Experience by Design (2021), both published by Kogan Page - and about to publish People First Internal Communication, with Lee Smith as co-author. 

A psychologist and coach, she has been training people professionals in employee engagement, employee experience and Internal Communication for more than two decades.

Through her consultancy, People Lab, she works with a range of global organisations to make a positive difference to the people who work there.

Lee Smith

EX Space Founder
Lee is an employee communication, engagement and EX professional with more than three decades experience spanning both consultancy and senior in-house roles. 

Formerly co-founder of the highly respected UK employee comms agency Gatehouse – now part of Gallagher’s Employee Experience practice – Lee co-created the annual State of the Sector research survey and developed and led the Accelerate strategic internal comms learning programme.

He is a fellow of both the Institute of Internal Communication (IOIC) and Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and holds an MSc in Corporate Communication & Reputation Management.

Lee is about to launch new book with co-author Emma Bridger, People First Internal Communication.
This course is inspired by our new Kogan Page book, People-First Internal Communication, which sets out bold new direction for internal comms. The perfect companion to your People-First learning journey, it provides the context, ideas, tools and techniques that underpin this approach, together with real-world case studies and expert contributions from some of the biggest names in the profession.

Use code AHR20 for 20% off RRP
The key is this: AI can accelerate your analysis, but only you know the politics, personalities, and cultural nuances in your organisation. Use AI to get organised and spot patterns — then apply your judgment to decide what really matters.  

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