Turning internal conferences into culture shifting moments with Abi Humayun

We’ve all been to internal conferences that promised transformation… but delivered coffee, croissants, and one too many PowerPoint slides. This week, we’re joined by Abi Humayun, co-founder of People Activation, who’s on a mission to change that.

Abi shares how her team creates internal events that don’t just engage the room, they change minds and shift behaviour. Think: employee-led storytelling, co-created content, even a live rap battle. 

From building belief before people walk through the door to sustaining momentum long after it ends, this episode is packed with proof that internal comms can be as bold, human, and high-impact as any external campaign.

LEAP Listens is brought to you by LEAP Create, an award-winning people communications agency.  Find out more at leapcreate.co.uk

Transcript

New Year And Video Format

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hi Roger.

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Hello, Sarah.

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Happy New Year. Welcome to New Year.

SPEAKER_01 0:04

And to you. And to you, welcome back.

SPEAKER_02 0:06

Yeah, series eight of It is.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Now in now in pictures, now in video.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

I know. I'm glad that you did your hair, especially.

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Yeah. Yeah, I think I need a little trim up top there, actually.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Um yeah, and we're heading towards um episode 100 as well. I mean, who would have thought I know, who would have thought it.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

But um here we are.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

Yeah, and it's been fun. But yeah, like you say, now on video, so we have to make sure that we look presentative.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Oh, yeah. You're always camera ready, Roger.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

Excellent. So today we're going to be talking to Abby, and she is the co-founder of People Activation. Super interesting lady. Um, and they help organizations design internal conferences that are that are different, um, and they engage and they actually change behaviour. Um and you know, just moving employees really from awareness to action, which is you know, you don't want to go to an internal conference and have death by PowerPoint, do you? So her conferences are are just really different and um get people interacting and um yeah, drive adoption really. So I'm yeah, super excited to talk about um what she does.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Yeah, me too. I think it's all about disrupting a well, a fairly tired and well-worn format into something that's much more interesting and ultimately more successful.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

Yeah, and I think you know, with the world of internal comms and employee engagement, um, this is going to be a really interesting chat, isn't it, to our listeners?

SPEAKER_01 1:47

So I think so.

Introducing Abby And People Activation

SPEAKER_02 1:49

Excellent. Let's dive right in. So welcome to the podcast, Abby.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Thank you. It's absolutely great to be here. Thank you for asking me.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

Excellent. So, Abby, do you just want to give a little bit about you?

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Yeah, absolutely. Um, I am the co-founder and director of client experiences for um people activation. We have been uh going for nearly 20 years now, and we work with globally networked organizations to essentially move their people to action through brand and business experiences. So for us, we don't just um talk about communication, we activate it, and we do that really through live events and creative communication campaigns.

SPEAKER_02 2:39

Fantastic. So we haven't actually talked about this topic um on our podcast before, so we're excited to hear more.

Global Events And Belief Before Behaviour

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Well, I'm I'm very happy to talk through. I mean, for me, events is um huge passion. We've had some absolutely outstanding experiences with clients across multiple sectors all over the world. We work, we work globally, so we've produced events everywhere from obviously in the UK, but actually um on six out of seven continents. Um, so we we we work extensively. A lot of our clients aren't even based in the UK, a lot of them are headquartered in Japan or Germany or the US. So it really is truly global, and I feel very privileged to be able to kind of um help help all these businesses really to um make their people or help their people to feel more connected to what it is they do and why they do it. And I I really fundamentally believe that um events and getting people together is a really, really important and um dynamic way of really shifting people's belief. Um, and I believe that behaviour change can't um take place unless beliefs come first. So you have to, in my in my um experience, you have to address the belief before you can address the behaviour. Um, and getting everyone together really does get everybody on the same page. So um that is something that we very much advocate for.

From Moments To Momentum: Involvement

SPEAKER_02 4:12

Fantastic. So we've we've all been to internal conferences. Um so what's the difference between one that creates a moment versus one that creates momentum?

Pre-Event Crowdsourcing Across 16 Countries

Designing Disruptive, Interactive Formats

Post-Event Activation And Follow-Through

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Um, I would say there's one fundamental word here, and I'm gonna say it's involvement. So um I would say I think we've all been to conferences where you arrive, there's a there's an agenda, you get a croissant and a coffee, and then you sit. Um, if you're lucky, there might be uh a couple of breakout sessions, so you kind of get to move around, then you've got lunch and networking, and then it's like a few more like plenary sessions, and then it's time to go home. And um, actually, you know, when you leave the conference, you might have a lot of notes and you might feel momentarily like you've got things to consider, we've got a few ideas, um, but then usually what happens is within a few days you're back to the back to the grind, and nothing's actually really changed longer term. How we differ, I would say, is we engage people from before the moment that they even arrive. So we um on a massive scale, we did this with um uh a global organization across their Amir region, 4,600 employees all the way from South Africa to Russia um and from uh Portugal to Dubai, and there was I think 16 uh locations all in all in the middle of that area. And we went out to all 4,600 people before the event and we said, okay, um, out of your vision that you've now achieved, well done, what is it that's like made you feel most proud? What is it that's made you feel most inspired, and what has surprised you the most? And out of those 4,600, we had over 550 responses that came in. And what we did was we used every single one of those responses, we sorted them into categories, um, and then we developed the content from there. So the entire event was designed by the people for the people. Um, that particular event was um a simultaneous two-way broadcast across 16 countries worldwide. So that was a huge um hybrid event with live audiences in the 16 countries, um, all and it was just a three-hour programme, but no one content segment was longer than about 10 minutes. So it was like really, really short and punchy and exciting. But that same principle that we applied to that AMIA region, we do pretty much across the board with all of all of our events. So um, it's always about like consulting, engaging, understanding, and then creating something that's truly unique, and then that feeds into the event, then. So the event is never a sit and listen, it's always uh how can we do this differently? How can we disrupt people's mindsets? How can we disrupt the status quo? And then um, let's have a look at that. We did um we did an event in Lisbon a few years ago, and it was actually um a post-merger event um for uh for two businesses, and they were in Lisbon for four days, and we only had 14 slides. The whole of the rest of it was unexpected, it was um working together, really getting to know each other, um, developing crowdsourcing ideas for like, you know, what was their vision going to be as a newly formed organization, as a leadership team, how are they all going to work and operate together? So um, yeah, it's just really kind of I don't think anybody went to that event in Lisbon thinking that that was gonna be what it was going to be like, but that's what they that that's what they got, and the the um the sort of feedback from that was phenomenal.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

I absolutely love this approach because I think it is one of those areas that um isn't looked at enough, and exactly as you described it. I think I've been to events where you either feel like it's a bit like you you're on holiday because it's a you know it's a different location, it's a different experience. You've you've had a bit of fun while you're there, but then uh set Sarah knows I love I love an analogy.

SPEAKER_02 8:35

Right.

Leadership Vs All-Employee Design

SPEAKER_01 8:35

So this one is it's it's it's all it's not very nice, but it's like where you go past um you're on the motorway and you might go past a sort of accident on the other side of the road, and you think, Oh, I better, you know, I better slow down for a bit. But then you know, it's not long before you've you've sped back up again, and it's like that. So I see like those sorts of events as like that, aren't they? They kind of like a for a for momentarily they'll they'll kind of have an effect, and it's obviously why they do all the feedback immediately. So you you know you might have some endorphins or or they abdicate it to some uh someone who's uh you know an in a motivational speaker or whatever, and it's so it's kind of like well let that that'll be sufficient, we'll get them in and they'll make a few points that uh you know you've kind of heard of before. I I've been up on stage breaking breaking bits of wood in half um before, I think. Wow. Yeah, I know. I haven't heard this story, no, oh yeah, no, that was it. And then you kind of like so you'll sort of leave, and it's like, yeah, whoa, you know, that was great, but as you said, there's then it's back to you know, say yeah, yeah, yeah, back to exactly as things were, and there was no real impact. So I I love that idea of the interactive.

Case Study: Vision To Reality Over Three Years

SPEAKER_00 9:45

And it it doesn't, it doesn't stop, you know, when the event ends either. So whilst it like starts before the event, and obviously it's very interactive and engaging and involving during the event, but actually it's what what also follows on after that as well. And you know, usually it's like the slides are distributed. Um, and you know, there might be, I don't know, a couple of like little follow-ups, but actually, how do you keep that in the engagement and the activation going um afterwards? And um, it's always for us, it's always about what are people gonna go away and do differently as a result of this? And more than just an action, how are they gonna, how is it gonna change how they maybe feel as well and what they believe about what they do? And we all spend so much time working, you know, don't we? We all you know, we're all going off and leaving our loved ones or whatever, you know, and actually what what can you say at the end of it all, you know, is why you've done it. And I think that's a really powerful um thing to not just feel occasionally, but to actually experience, and that's I think what events do.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

That's so so I've got a couple of questions. So, firstly, um, what do those interactive sessions look like? Have you got an example of what one of those would be? And how do you then interact with people after the um the event? So, how do you engage? So, again, just some examples.

Shit Just Got Real: Solving Live Business Issues

SPEAKER_01 11:15

Um I'm gonna tack a third question on the end, which is also how you then measure that. So, if you're saying, Well, we want to encourage behavioural change, do you make yourself accountable? Is there metrics around how you can prove your way is better, not just different?

Rap Battles, Panels, And Audience Voting

Task Forces And Implementation Outcomes

Investment, ROI, And Attrition Reduction

Practical Adoption By The Hosts’ Team

Bold Ideas: From Kidnapped CEO To Energy Lifts

Reading List And Resources

Closing Reflections And Next Guest Tease

SPEAKER_00 11:35

Yeah, that's really interesting. So, um, I'll start if if it's okay, I'll start with the measurement one um to start with, because we do we do actually have a measurement framework which we've trademarked and it's called Atom. Um, and it's very much designed to be run before and after the um the event, and it it measures um seven stages of activation. So it starts off very much with looking at the conviction that people have. So, how convinced are you by um the organization, its purpose, its uh strategy, vision, etc. And then it goes into comprehension. So, how how well do you understand the strategy, vision, purpose, and how well do you understand or comprehend the impact that your role has on that? You know, how how much understanding do you have about your participation in that bigger picture? Then it goes up to uh trust, energy, rapport, advocacy, and um and endurance. So endurance is like looking at the resilience, the rapport is like measuring um, you know, how much camaraderie there is within your team, the buzz, etc., energy similar, and then trust is how much trust do you have in your team, how much trust do you have in your in your leadership as well. And obviously the top one is advocacy. So, you know, when people are advocates for their organization, we would say well they are activated, um, and that sort of, and you know, things can fluctuate within organizations, it's never a continual sort of upward cycle. There's always, you know, business challenges, economic challenges, global, socio-political challenges that affect everybody, you know. So it's it's it's never just like, oh, we're here now, done it. Everyone's an advocate, great. You know, obviously it kind of like, you know, you're constantly reacting in business, aren't you? So it's it's a kind of a gauge as to where people are at that moment in time and the impact that the the event can have on them. And then going to your points, um, Sarah, the um you know, examples. I would say the the big thing for us is to, you know, well, it's different audiences, first of all. So what you would design for a leadership audience is not always what you would design for an all-employee audience. Obviously, it's it's very different. Um, and when when you're doing an all-employee, I think generally you can you can you know really sort of like disrupt, I say, their day-to-day and like you know, um shake them out of a few kind of like ways of thinking or doing things and like getting everybody to work together. Um one example that we did was um a few years back. We um we did an event for a financial services organization, um, and it was it was an all-employee activation, um, and they got a they had a phenomenal um UK CEO who had launched a new vision and wanted to essentially integrate that um really fully and embed it within the um the workforce, the whole employee UK employee base of about 1100 people. Um, and we did a couple of years. The first one was actually getting people to understand this vision, the second year was um, okay, you understand the vision, um, but you know, can you actually um see it in action? You know, what are the stories that are um alive within our organization that you know maybe you can evidence as the as reality that the vision is is happening. And then by the third year, the vision was coming under stress. So people were starting to say, well, if we're really living this vision, why are we doing this, this, and this for our customers, you know? So, anyway, we we actually um created an event that was really, really straight talking. It was like not trying to sugarcoat the messages, it wasn't trying to gaslight the employees and say, oh no, it's all fine, you know, we we are doing this. Um, so the event was called Shit Just Got Real. And it was um it was all 1,100 employees working on the business problems in small groups. Um, and in the morning, they kind of started off in small groups, we gave them evidence inside packs, and they had to actually start thinking and working around like a number of issues that have been identified. So we had five issues that uh teams were working on, one of those five, and then we kind of we made it bigger, we made it bigger, and we made it bigger, and groups started coming together, and then they started working together. It was really high impact, really high energy, and then eventually they were ended up in a group of a hundred, and they had one final idea as a group of a hundred. And at that point, the unexpected moment was that um they uh a rapper essentially came into each of the rooms. So we'd auditioned 10 like urban poets and rappers and and all of that, and um, they briefed the rapper on what their kind of challenge was and what their potential solution to the challenge was, and then the rapper had 45 minutes to create a piece of of um artistry really that brought that like message to life. And we did a rap battle live on stage. We brought in a panel which was like made up of some of the most junior people in the organization, like people from the customer services teams, but also included um the uh a gentleman from the financial ombudsman, and it um also included uh Miss Moneypenny from the Financial Times. You know, so it was a really varied uh panel. We had a beatboxer, we had um a world champion DMC on the decks, and the rap battle took place, and we'd um we'd kept part of the venue covered. So in the morning they were working very much on a floor of a venue, it was a big stadium, and in the afternoon they were in the rape seating, and that was where they watched and observed the rap battles. Um and the each each one, like each rap battle for each um issue got a winner. So the audience voted, and there was obviously the sort of X Factor style panel judging it as well. Um, and then afterwards, what happened? Well, first of all, everybody was beyond excited because they felt like they were really contributing to something that they had maybe been a bit of a naysayer about, and realizing and recognizing the role that they each had in making the lives better for their customers, essentially. Um, and so afterwards we got together task forces. So for each of the five issues and the winning kind of ideas, nothing was ever nothing was lost, but you know, we kept obviously everything that was ever done, but like the five winners essentially got task forces and they got implemented within the business, and those task forces were made up from different people across different levels of the organization. Um, and then after that event, they all went off and had a really great uh great party, you know. So it was kind of like they got to have that sort of fun and let their hair down, you know. But the event itself, it was working on real business challenges, but in such a fun way that nobody felt like they spent a day at work, you know. So brilliant. Yeah, it's it's doing things like that that really kind of can have um an impact, and yeah, and actually when we were working with that organization, they actually were the number one great place to work in the UK three years running, and the number one great place to work in Europe after that event. So, you know, I would say that tangibly there is impact, there are results, um, and it's just having, I would say, having the sort of confidence as an organization to invest in your people in this way and to create that like ripple effect. Um, you know, it's unparalleled.

SPEAKER_02 19:39

That sounds incredible. It's really interesting actually, because we Roger and I, you know, we you know stand up each year, we talk about our strategy, and um actually we've shifted this year slightly. Obviously, we do have a strategy, but what we've done instead is created an initiative where we talk about we haven't done a rap battle.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Yeah, just say you've not yet anyway.

SPEAKER_02 20:01

Well, that's always time 2026. Here we go. But we've what we've done is exactly that is just identify um challenges, frictions, and and got the whole team involved because it's all very well having you know, standing and presenting your strategy as a as a company um to your team, but they'll like you say, they'll go back to their desks in their day-to-day and they'll still have those same frustrations, won't they? So um, if you are really listening, like this company has done, and then get their team involved, you'll you are gonna get that motivation. And it just sounds the way that it's been done is incredible. And is that something that you come up with, Abby? You and your team. Yeah, oh yeah. You brainstorm that brilliant.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Yeah, we come up with the whole idea. So basically, typically what happens is a client just says, We've got a problem with this, and then we will go, okay, right. So, and usually we'll come up with a few ideas, like depending on how brave they want to be, you know. And with this particular client, they were like, more, give us more, we want more. So, um, I mean, one year with this client, we actually kidnapped the CEO. It was the year prior, actually. Um, he was very popular, and we we um we brought in, we created almost like a secret, it was like an MI5 type um you know agency, um, but we called it the MLB agency. And uh they they had to, this was when they were uncovering the stories. In order to release the CEO, they had to undertake a number of tasks and um essentially release release him. So uh yeah, assuming they wanted to. They did. They absolutely loved him, absolutely loved him. It wouldn't work with every CEO, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

I can I can see a flaw in this with certain organizations. Never to be seen again. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

That's pretty it sounds amazing. I mean, I want to come to one of these, um, one of these events. Yeah, um yeah, do. How do you how do clients jump? justify the investment because I can't imagine you know it's gonna be um sort of yeah cost on prices.

SPEAKER_00 22:06

Yeah yeah no I mean well it it very much depends. I mean first of all um not everything we do is a big investment for them. We do um we do some some events that are almost like they've already got an agenda and we we do what we call is uh we elevate it. So um and that obviously is where we're tapping in with some really cool ideas to just like bring that sort of energy and get some activations going within what potentially might be a little bit drier. So we've done that um over the past year for um a huge travel uh organisation and um it was their top 400 leaders and they do the event very well but they just wanted to sort of like bring that bring that extra layer of energy I suppose. So yeah so it's not always a big investment but how I would say it is well if you were to break it down as a per employee cost you know how much actually is that really you know so if you're actually only spending say I don't know 50 or 100 pounds per employee it's not really that and and if it's something that would change the impact of that employee that they're able to make the contribution they're able to make and maybe that employee's belief about why they do what they do well that's um that's surely um a good investment and with regard just keeping on with this financial services company just because obviously I've I've given that example but I've got lots and lots of other ones but um there was an absolute reduction in attrition whilst we were working with them. So you know you could probably say that the savings in like what they were saving in recruitment was I'd say 10 to 20 times what the um what the cost of that event was. So it's not just the recruitment and the fees related to that it's all of the onboarding the training the you know the time the energy so I think you know if you're looking at investing in your people and that is they are your biggest asset your people are your brand so you know we talk about brand activation but actually the people are the brand so if you're activating your brand you really ought to be activating your people 100% totally on board with that.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

Yeah this is one of those ones where um we almost wish it wasn't a bite-sized podcast because I feel like I've got so much more to say so I'm having to sort of hold my my tongue yeah but we have come to time in fact we've probably come a little bit over but it was honestly Abby it was uh really interesting chatting to you and hearing your stories and like Roger said I feel like we could go on and on but um we it these are bite size so um we do have one final question oh yeah and um I feel like we haven't prepped you for this so it might come out of the blue slightly but hopefully you'll be able to answer it.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

It's fine it's not it's not too bad but what your current um reads or or listens are okay um well I would say um oh well I'm actually reading a book um that is actually about quantum physics at the moment um so um it's uh it's called uh reality transurfing by a Russian guy uh called Nadim Zeland his name is um and it's essentially about how I suppose it is connected in a way it's about how um our sort of we can essentially choose the reality that we want to experience in life um so whilst it might not be your typical business book it is definitely something which is quite empowering I would say uh for anybody so it's a huge book um is it yeah I think it's do you read or listen? I tend to read um yeah I tend to read um so I'm wading my way through that at the moment um and yeah but um in terms of other books I mean um obviously this there's there's loads that um I could probably uh think of um there's a book by uh priya priya Parker and it's all around the art of gathering um and that would be something that I would definitely recommend um for anybody that's interested it's one I've read recently um it's yeah definitely one I would recommend for anybody that's interested in like organizing an event um and getting uh getting themselves prepped for it um I've also recently um contributed to a book by Emma Bridger and uh Lee Smith as well which is all around employee experience um so um yes I've just had a little little contribution in that in that book um as well so it's what it's called people first internal communications um and it was uh published in December um but it's well worth a read that's great well thank you so much yeah thank you yeah excellent well that's it so yeah we're um yeah it's been a brilliant conversation and um thank you so much for joining us Abby oh you're very welcome thank you for inviting me I've really enjoyed it it's been great to meet you both thank you well that was fascinating wasn't it it really was Abby was brilliant and I'd love to attend one of her conferences they sound much more interesting than the usual fair.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

Yeah I bet you were dying weren't you to tell your anecdotes of internal comms events that you've been to of which I have many but you know Sarah you know me I I don't want to make it all about me we don't want to uh double the length of the podcast no so next time um we are talking to someone called Sarah Farrow um and she actually was the Gallagher's internal communications leader of the year 2025 amazing so um we're gonna be talking about the role of internal comms um in crisis management so I'm looking forward to that I think that'll be a really interesting conversation great that sounds wonderful excellent is she gonna dish the dirt on Liam and Noel who knows oh god Roger unfortunately we can't cut that out can we now that we're video oh no we can no let's leave it in yeah all right fantastic all right until next time cheers thanks for watching bye