A candid conversation with Anindita Bagchi

Welcome to Anindita Bagchi, Chief General Manager – Corporate Affairs & Communication, Pipeline Infrastructure Limited as our first Candid Conversation guest of 2023.

Anindita has over 12 years’ experience, working across both internal and external communications and lives in India and is here to share her personal views.

If you’d like to share your internal comms stories and experiences for our candid conversations blog series, complete our submission form and one of the team will be in touch. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve worked in comms or where you are in the world, we’d love to hear from you.

Over to you Anindita…

A Candid Conversation with Anindita Bagchi. Chief General Manager - Corporate Affairs & Communication. Pipeline Infrastructure Limited.

How did you discover internal communication as a profession?
Internal communication as a career was random. I never knew it was a profession until I was offered the role. I have been handling internal communications from my very first job and it has been a joyful experience. I have always been passionate about people and their stories, enabling me to give my best each and every day to both the organisation and the internal comms fraternity for the last 12 years.

What do you love most about working in the internal comms profession?
Like my peers would say, no two days are same. Each day brings a new set of challenges, pushing us to build a strong organisational culture.

As a communication practitioner, I am entrusted to put ideas and thoughts into words that resonate with all stakeholders.

Do you have a memorable moment to share about when an IC project didn’t quite go to plan?
I am smiling as I pen this down, but at the time I was embarrassed and stressed. After a hiatus of two years of hybrid working, I was conducting the quarterly town hall face to face for the very first time in the organisation (I joined them during the Coronavirus pandemic). The session was being attended by the senior management, site employees and management team from our parent company.

The site employees were to connect through Microsoft Teams. However, the IT team and I noticed that with every single login, we could hear a beep. As we were running late, we somehow managed to find a quick fix and got along with the entire event. I was embarrassed since I couldn’t give an error free experience, especially it was the first time in two years that all of us came together in person.

What’s been a highlight of your internal comms career so far?
I had joined my current employer in 2020, amidst all the chaos the world was experiencing due to COVID-19. We were to shift to our new facility, which got delayed due to the lockdowns. However, the work was initiated in July 2020 and other project members and I were able to complete the project and inaugurate the office in December 2020. The opportunity to contribute towards internal branding, look and feel of the office premises, planning the inauguration and everything; big or small was exciting and memorable.

What do you feel has been the biggest change to our profession you’ve seen or experienced in your career?
It is VISIBILITY and IMPORTANCE of the role. It is ironic on how a worldwide pandemic became a golden era for internal communication. It was during this crisis organisations globally realised the significance of timely and effective communication.

How would you define internal communication to someone who didn’t know about it?
Listen, Deliberate, Act, and Measure.

Internal communication is about engaging every individual within your organisation around the organisation’s purpose and value system.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about starting out in internal comms?
Internal comms is all about people. Invest in building true and long-lasting relationships and the rest will follow.

What are your top tips when it comes to continued professional development to stay up to date on everything internal comms related?
I am still work in progress. My two cents include the following:

  • Read as much as possible irrespective of the genre.
  • Follow internal comms experts such as Rachel Miller and Aniisu Varghese for continuous learning
  • It is imperative to understand the nuances of your business
  • Take pride in being an internal comms practitioner

If you could go back in time and speak to yourself when you started your IC career, what advice would you give?
Speak up about what will work and what won’t in the favour of the organisation, including challenging senior peers (respectfully). You know best when it comes to communication. Follow your instincts and do the right thing.

Thank you Anindita for sharing your candid conversation with us.

You can connect with Anindita on LinkedIn.

Learn about internal communication with All Things IC Online Masterclasses

Learn about internal communication in 2023 with All Things IC Online Masterclasses.

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Post author: Dan Holden
First published on the All Things IC blog 24 February 2023.

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