Active Listening: Employee Focus Groups and Pulse Surveys

Laura Wylie is the Global Director of Internal Communications and Employee Engagement for William Blair, where she oversees planning, creation, distribution, and measurement of messaging from all corners of the organization. Her focus is project management for large-scale comms and change efforts, working with stakeholders on initiatives like strategy development and goal setting, new technology roll-outs, webcasts/events, and retention. These days you’ll find her deep in the process of building and launching a new intranet.   Wylie has 15+ years of experience in internal communications and change management. Prior to joining William Blair, she led communications for PwC’s Tax practice, in addition to roles supporting Assurance and Private Company Services. She has an MBA from Loyola University in Chicago and serves on the board of directors for Open Books. She and her husband have two girls, and live in an old Victorian house that is basically as demanding as another child. One of her favorite things is coaching and developing future communications professionals. One of her least favorite things is when people use two spaces at the end of sentences. 

Melissa Kanter joined ING in June 2020 as Head of Communications & Brand Experience for ING Americas and as a member of the Americas Management Team.  She is responsible for leading all external and internal communications and branding efforts across the Americas while working closely with the global Communications & Marketing function. Kanter is also the chairperson of the ING Americas charitable committee where she oversees all community impact activities from building partnerships with organizations to supporting employee-wide charitable activities. ​ Over the last two decades, she has led integrated communications teams across industries including financial services, technology, and manufacturing. Kanter joined ING from ​Signify (AMS: LIGHT), formerly Philips Lighting, where she served as Head of Integrated Communications for the Americas and was a member of the leadership team. Prior to that, she was Head of Global Communications for Liquidnet, a global institutional investment network for more than 1,000 institutional investors.  Kanter began her career working at leading public relations agencies including Edelman, Weber Shandwick and RF Binder. ​ Kanter has participated in a number of Advisory Boards including the Museum of American Finance, Seton Hall's Transformative Leadership program and the Northern New Jersey chapter of Girls on the Run. She graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana with Bachelor of Art degrees in both Journalism and Psychology. ​ ING Americas is a member of Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council.