5 Things I Took Away from Ragan's Employee Communications & Culture Conference

I'll be honest. When I headed to Ragan's Employee Communications & Culture Conference this past April, I knew I'd come back with a few solid ideas on how to uplevel our communications strategy both across Greenough and for our clients. But what I didn't anticipate was leaving with a genuine shift in how I think about internal communications, AI adoption, and what it actually means to build a culture people want to show up for.

If you're a communications professional — whether you're in PR, marketing, HR, or internal comms — there was something at this conference for everyone. Here are my five biggest takeaways.

1. AI Is Here to Complement, Not Replace

This was the theme of the conference, and it's one that the data backs up: according to Ragan's own Benchmark Report, fewer than 5% of communications teams plan to reduce headcount because of AI. That's a number worth sharing with anyone who still feels uneasy about what AI means for our industry.

What was most interesting to hear about at the conference were the creative ways organizations are driving AI adoption from within, including companies that are actively rewarding employees for their best AI use cases, prompting skills, developing their own AI agents, and more.

This got me thinking how we could spotlight our own employees at Greenough who are exceling with AI. It might be celebrating someone who nailed a prompt on the first try or took 30 extra minutes to sit down and teach a co-worker something new. These are the types of moments behind the scenes that deserve recognition and were being distinguished at the conference.

2. A Strong Prompt Changes Everything

If there was one practical skill that came up again and again throughout the conference, it was the art of the prompt. Whether you're working in Claude, Copilot, Gemini, or another tool, the quality of your input directly shapes the quality of your output.

There are a few frameworks that I’ve taken back with me from the conference to improve my own prompting skills, including the following:

• The Know-Feel-Do model – Before you write a prompt, get clear on what you want the reader to know, how you want them to feel, and what you want them to do. It's simple, but it completely reframes how you think about the ask.

• Context + Task + Style/Format + Objective – The more specific you are, the more useful the output. Think of AI like a very capable new teammate. They can only do great work if you give them the full picture.

• Ask AI to improve your prompts – One of my favorite suggestions from the conference was after you've written a prompt, ask the tool, "I want to maximize the value I get from you. How can I improve my prompts?". It's a really helpful exercise.

AI needs to be used strategically, not just tactically. It's a thinking partner, not a shortcut.

3. Data Means Nothing Without a Story

A session on using data effectively made the case that the best communicators don't lead with numbers, as fewer than 5% of people remember statistics, but 63% remember stories. As comms professionals, numbers support our narrative for clients, but when presenting reports, recaps, or internal decks, stories will stick in our minds longer.

A few ways to amplify our stories, and not just the numbers, could include focusing more on not just what happened, but why it happened, leaning more into transparent reporting (such a sharing wins but also opportunities for growth), and making outcomes more actionable by always pointing out what comes next.

4. More Communication ≠ Better Communication

This one hit close to home. In a world where Teams notifications, emails, and meeting invites compete for attention all day long, the conference was a helpful reminder that volume is not the goal — resonance is.

To stand out in the noise, conference leaders shared a few tips and tricks to ensure you’re sending the most impactful and purposeful message to your team.

• Pause before you hit send. Ask yourself: does this need to be said right now, in this channel, at this length?

• Informal channels (like Teams or Slack) often drive more genuine engagement than formal emails.

• Content that gets read most is typically 28 words or fewer. This stat, in particular, is a useful gut check for subject lines, newsletters, and social captions alike.

5. The Future of Work Is About People First

Conversations at the conference also hit on All Hands meetings, company culture, and what it looks like to create spaces where people are genuinely engaged, not just present.

The conference made clear that a great culture isn't a perk. It's a strategy, and maintaining it takes the same level of intention as any client campaign or business development effort.

I came back from Ragan’s conference energized and with a running list of ideas I want to bring to the team — from how we think about AI adoption internally to how we show up for each other in our communications. If any of these takeaways sparked something for you, I'd love to hear it.

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