The Future of Work Friday – Vol. 29: HOSTING

Friday mornings hit different when you're the host.

Mar 28, 2025

Hi Everyone

This week, I tried something new. For the first time, I hosted a Linkedin live session (by myself -with no tech support*) — diving into a topic that’s quietly becoming one of the biggest drivers of change in the modern workplace:

Internal Communications.

At the heart of the discussion? Me, Wayne Aspland (communications strategist and data whisperer), and a bunch of bright minds chatting about AI, trust, and what happens when your team’s inbox is louder than their voice.

And also, what are the implications, therefore, for everyone in the future of work… It is mind blowing when you think about it all…

Interested?

You can watch the whole interview and my “interesting” hosting style here.

And here's the thing: we’re only just getting started.

(Not me with hosting things without tech support.)

Internal Comms Is Having Its Moment

Wayne’s research made one thing very clear:
Internal communication is more than just messaging — it’s culture.

Yet, in too many businesses, it’s still treated like an afterthought.
Email blasts. Awkward announcements. Leaders thinking they’re "good at communication" because they have a Slack channel.

But employees? They’re overwhelmed. The signal-to-noise ratio is brutal.

And now, Gen-AI enters the mix.

If AI Didn’t Create Content, What Would It Do?

That’s what I asked this week in a piece I wrote for Strategic-HQ — read it here.

Let’s be honest. The default way most people think about generative AI is this:

💡 "It writes stuff."

But what if that’s not its most useful role in internal comms?

What if AI could help us listen better? Summarise feedback. Spot patterns in employee sentiment. Turn chaotic chat threads into clear insights.

That’s where the real potential sits. Not just speeding up content creation, but helping humans understand each other more deeply.

And this is MY point about the future of work. It’s isn’t less human - its MORE.

As I talk about in my book - we need more emotional intelligence than ever.

We also need the right data - to make the right decisions.

We’re Doing the Research — And We Need You

Alongside the brilliant Natasha Gonsalves, I’m collecting real-world data on how internal communication professionals are actually using Gen-AI at work.

If you’re in comms — or know someone who is — we’d love your help.

Here’s the quick ask:

👉 Take this anonymous survey: https://bit.ly/InternalCommsSurveyOnAI
🗓️ It’s open until Friday April 4th
📊 We're looking at tools, use cases, challenges — the works
🗣️ We want stories from the front line, not just strategy slides

Whether you’re experimenting, dabbling, or fully embedding Gen-AI into your processes — your voice matters. It only takes a few minutes, and it could genuinely help shape how we move forward as a profession.

The Bigger Picture

What’s all this got to do with the future of work?

Everything.

Internal communications is the connective tissue of modern organisations.
And as AI takes on more of the grunt work — from data analysis to personalised updates — we need to rethink the human layer.

🧠 What decisions still need a human touch?
🎯 How do we rebuild trust inside companies where people feel unheard?
🛠️ And how do we use AI to help every voice count — not just the loudest?

This is what we’re exploring in these new articles:

And if you missed the live session with Wayne and myself, you can catch the replay here: 🎥 LinkedIn Live Recording

Want to Collaborate?

If you’re a leader, a comms professional, or just trying to make sense of this new world of work — I’d love to help.

Whether it’s keynotes, workshops, or deeper strategy sessions, you can book time with me over at: 👉 www.dansodergren.com/i-ai

You can also learn more through my courses on AI and marketing at
📚 www.aimarketingcourse.co.uk

Or dig into the research and insights I’ve bundled here in my books:
📦 futureofwork.gumroad.com

One last thing...

Please do fill in the AI & Internal Comms Survey — and share it with anyone in your network who works in IC, HR, or internal strategy. Because if we want to design better ways of working — we need better data.

And that starts with listening.

Here’s to the future of work.

And you and yours

Dan Sodergren 🙌

References for further reading:

The Fifth Industrial Revolution And You.

Discussion about this post