Communicators can have an outsized impact on their organizations, especially during uncertain, turbulent times. The year 2020 was certainly one of those times!
Our alumna, Jessica Kline, was recently honored as one of Ragan’s Top Women in Communications for her efforts throughout 2020 in leading her organization’s response to COVID-19 and social unrest.
Through this recognition, Ragan honors “female communicators who are making a significant impact in their day-to-day job and career, advancing the profession while accelerating growth for their organization.”
How did Jessica go above and beyond? Read Ragan’s verbatim award statement.
It was two years ago when Jessica Kline joined Blueprint Medicines as head of the company’s employee communications effort. She immediately made a difference through efforts like introducing the company’s first intranet.
In 2020, as the company prepared for regulatory approval of two medicines, the pandemic struck. Those product introductions proceeded despite the spread of the
virus, which led Kline to develop a communications plan at the center of which was an intranet information center and a twice-weekly newsletter that provided employees with timely and actionable information on safety, employee support and well-being resources. A year after the pandemic began, these newsletters still deliver an open rate greater than 80%.
As the company’s COVID-19 task force project manager, Kline managed all dimensions of operational response while maintaining the company’s culture through a number of activities, including Zoom town halls, a Parents Group and a virtual version of the company’s annual Core Values Week.
When racial unrest followed a series of killings of unarmed Blacks by police officers, Kline initiated and co-chaired a new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. None of these crises deterred her from maintaining communication about business milestones, all of which accounts for high levels of employee engagement despite the challenging year, just one factor leading to her designation as a Dynamic Do-er in Ragan’s 2021 Top Women in Communications Awards.
To learn more about the Top Women in Communications Awards, click here.
Posted by Carl Zangerl, Faculty