2025 Communications, HR & Legal Workshop

Data, data, data. Agencies have access to copious amounts of customer demographic data which presents both opportunity and challenges. The opportunity is to leverage the data to improve efficiency and the customer experience. The challenge is to ensure data is managed and used responsibly and legally, to ensure customer privacy. This session will explore how Agencies can leverage data responsibility to inform pricing strategies, offer targeted discounts and analyze the social impact of tolling practices on different population groups. What innovative approaches can be used and how do you successfully communicate it to customers. More data, less drama.

Creating a culture of employee engagement and preparedness is critical across many organizational functions, including Human Resources, Legal, and Communications. These functions play vital roles in fostering and sustaining such a culture, and their involvement can significantly contribute to its success.

Today's employment market demands a comprehensive and forward-thinking workforce strategy. Preparing employees to be employable, broadening the talent pool, capturing institutional knowledge, and ensuring effective succession planning are all interconnected and essential for an organization's long-term success. By creating a culture of employee engagement and preparedness, organizations can unlock the full potential of their workforce, which is essential for driving long-term growth, innovation, and sustainability. The relationship between the company and its employees becomes a win-win where both sides benefit. When employees understand that their development benefits not only the company but also themselves, it leads to a shared sense of purpose, higher productivity and a more fulfilling work environment.

This session will showcase programs, guiding principles, and strategies that are being utilized to develop, empower, encourage, retain and sustain an engaged workforce.

Human Resource, Legal, and Communications Professionals – they have the hardest job of us all! Employees are often hesitant to seek advice from this group because they are either embarrassed or afraid of the answer they’ll receive. As a result, questions often start with “I have a friend who needs some advice on _____ (fill in the blank).” In this session, attendees will be able to ask HR, Communications and Legal professionals questions (on behalf of a friend or themselves) regarding any and all topics that come to mind. Attendees will also get insight into the unique challenges faced by HR, Communication, and Legal professionals and how common some of these circumstances really are, and why many answers to audience questions may begin with “it depends.” This session was first organized during the Communications, Legal, and HR Workshop in 2023, and is now back by popular demand.

This session will serve as a collaborative forum aimed at enhancing preparedness in response to recent record-breaking natural disasters, including the catastrophic fires in California and Hawaii, flooding in North Carolina, and Hurricane Idalia, which collectively caused over $73.8 billion in damage. Presentations will share insights into disaster preparedness and business continuity addressing critical issues in Legal (Risk mitigation strategies, insurance coverage gaps, evolving regulatory requirements), HR (Emergency workforce protocols, remote work challenges, employee safety and support), and Communications (Multi-stakeholder crisis management, public information systems, response coordination). Attendees are encouraged to share their real-world experiences and explore practical approaches to strengthening organizational resilience.

The way consumers search for and obtain information in the digital landscape is evolving rapidly. AI guides are revolutionizing how businesses interact with their customers and manage public relations. Customers can simply ask a variety of devices and receive immediate responses. The social landscape, once driven by consumer choice, is now influenced by constantly changing algorithms that dictate what or whom our consumers see. By integrating AI-driven tools, companies can provide personalized, real-time responses to customer inquiries, ensuring a seamless and engaging experience. In this session, you will learn how to transform these changes into opportunities to effectively communicate your story, enhance customer interaction, improve PR efforts, and recruit your workforce. Additionally, you will discover how to leverage these advanced technologies to your advantage and avoid legal pitfalls.

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, cyber threats continue to pose significant risks to organizations and their customers. This session will explore some of the most prevalent forms of cyber-attacks—Phishing, Smishing, Vishing, and Card Testing—and examine the critical role of Legal, HR, and Communications teams in responding effectively. Attendees will engage in an interactive tabletop exercise designed to simulate real-world attack scenarios. Experts will guide discussions on best practices, legal considerations, and communication strategies, providing actionable insights to enhance organizational readiness and response.

This interactive session will explore strategies to help employees cope with stress and enhance their well-being in the wake of ongoing pandemic challenges, changes in work/family dynamics, and societal disruptions. Effective actions to prevent mental health risks, protect and promote mental health at work, and support employees with mental health conditions will be discussed. To cultivate a high-performing and highly engaged workforce culture in this new environment, organizations must revise their approach to building a culture of innovation and inclusion by addressing stress and mental health issues prevalent in today's workplaces. Attendees are invited to share their programs and experiences that tackle critical issues such as recognizing mental health concerns, tailoring wellness and benefit strategies, creating a wellness culture, fostering work/life balance, preventing stigma, celebrating mental health successes, learning from setbacks, and developing supportive policies and procedures.