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Archives for February 2012

Aging, Death And The Workplace

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Credit: Srinivas Rao, Kikolani.com

Everywhere I turn, I hear about someone who has committed suicide — all ages. And, I listen and watch as friends say good-bye to parents. My heart saddens with the news of my own friends passing on. This news is not random; it’s frequent and sometimes twice daily.

In your life, are you dealing with the emotions about losing someone special or hearing about your managing their loss?

As we all continue to grapple with the passing of loved ones and friends, we need to be sympathetic and empathetic in the workplace about these emotions.  I’m not going to give tips on the best way to manage workplace situations because I’m really not qualified to do that.

This issue has been affecting me and bothering me more and more, especially because my college roommate just said good bye to both her parents.  And, I have heard of four suicides by teenagers and fathers of young children (hitting very close to home).

In the workplace, when we hear our peers have lost someone special in their life, the doors open with sorrowful messages of condolence, and the recipient is too shocked to hear. When these people return to work and act “normal,” colleagues aren’t sure what to say or whether to bring up the issue. It’s awkward.

Then, after five months or so, when it really hits home that a loved one is not coming for dinner, making a phone call, or coming to your birthday party, more of grieving occur and stress rears its head with odd workplace behavior. Depression happens. It’s one day at a time to get through the raw sadness and grief. Time heals wounds slowly.

In our workplaces, we’re not prepared for the “onslaught” of the passing of an aging population. Coworkers are not trained in sensitivity around this issue. The challenge is that everyone deals with death in their own way. Which means nothing, really. That’s a mask of an excuse because EVERYONE is grieving. It’s how they show up to others that makes one suggest we all with death differently.

As our population ages and passes, will their families in workplaces be able to work efficiently? Will there be lost productivity? Will there be greater absenteeism? Should there be temp workers standing in the wings in the event that…?

For we who are small businesses and self-employed, this issue is out of our control. We don’t dictate when someone leaves our world to continue their journey elsewhere. We also can’t control the impact that loss has on our own ability to manage productivity and deliver quality service. But knowing there is no one else to carry the ball, we will get up and go…because there is no other option.

If anyone has thoughts to share on this, please do.  I have no expectation how this topic will be received, but it’s been bothering me enough to write on.

(Post-Script: In searching for links to add herein, the author of one I selected has the same name of my dear friend I said good bye to this week. What are the odds? Rest in Peace Patricia Johnson.)

 

Thanks For Listening, PRSA

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I have been a vocal blogger detractor as soon as I saw the three definitions recently revealed by PRSA as a result of its  Public Relations Defined project. I’ve not been the only one. The blogosphere has been a hotbed of dissension, and PRSA was doing its level best to disperse task force members to respond and issue on the most important blogs with the largest communities.

Blog posts have been written by Gini Dietrich, , Paul Roberts, , Anthony Rodriguez, Ken Mueller, , PR Daily and so many, many more. I never saw anyone supporting the three definitions during this process.

Today, just a bit ago (that’s the beauty of blogging!), a comment from PRSA was posted on Spin Sucks where PRSA had guest posted and the community erupted in anti-sentiment.

PRSA has read, contemplated, heard, listened, and its response is right here by Arthur Yann extracted from Spin Sucks:

We know our Public Relations Defined project has caused angst and even some indignation among communication professionals. We tried to approach the project with fresh thinking, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. But, that’s how innovation happens, and how we learn to do better in the future.

We’ve read the articles, blog posts and comments like these, which have made it clear to us the discussion mustn’t stop with the vote on three candidate definitions that currently exist. PRSA is going to keep its Public Relations Defined blog up after the winning definition is announced, with the hope that we can continue to engage professionals, including those who’ve commented in this forum and elsewhere, in a discussion about the definition of public relations.

Consider this your invitation and your opportunity to come up with something better. We’ll provide any and all data from the first go-round. Our minds are open. If we can collectively move closer to a consensus definition of public relations, PRSA will support it. You can read more about our plans for moving forward here: https://bit.ly/xKiHhd.

I’ve already voiced my support at Spin Sucks in comments, as this comment from Arthur Yann was directed at me and my peers. I support this effort to keep the conversation going. I encourage each of us who expressed anti-remarks to keep this project front and center and participate.

Because of the collective voices  and on all our blogs and comments, we have been heard. This is the fix that will hopefully lead to furthered discussion with everyone participating to reach better consensus on  how we define PR.

Thanks for listening, PRSA. I applaud.

When Social Media Collides With Plumbers’ Customer Service

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From Media Vine Marketing

There are still so many companies that allowed the social media revolution to pass them by. I am having regular conversations with a variety of business owners from solo lawyers and insurance brokers to start-ups, mid-sized companies and larger corporations.

For all intents and purposes, we are in the post social media era. Social media marketing is now part of the larger marketing mix, and it’s here to stay.  What that means is that companies must engage all customer-facing services and orient employees to what social media is all about. I’m talking about impression here; what first impression is your company sending to prospects who engage your company verbally?

  • How is your company projecting its brand via good old website marketing, search engine marketing and social media marketing?
  • Does your company website have good navigation and information about the products you’re offering for sale?
  • Is your site optimized so search engines can crawl your information and inform potential customers about your products?
  • Do you have the necessary social media icons on your site so people can connect with you on social media channels (or the interwebz, as they’re now known)?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes? Awesome.

Here’s the kicker…think about your frontline customer service team and those who answer phones. Are you extremely satisfied with your representatives tasked with selling to social media savvy consumers? If you’re still confused about what I’m getting at, let me tell you a story about what happens when customer service collides with, in this case, plumbers’ customer service.

My hot water heater is 10-years-old, and rather than wait for an emergency, I decided to be smart and buy one before a crisis. Knowing nothing, I began web research for local plumbers from which I could buy and install.

I learned a little and selected a plumbing company that had a decent website with Facebook icons, testimonials and simple navigation. Armed with my information gleaned from a Google search on “how to buy a hot water heater,” I dialed.

To my chagrin, the man who answered the phone was chewing cud, he had a sleepy drawl that was anything but professional. He said, “huh? huh?” every time I spoke. After repeating myself a number of times, I asked my final question, “Do you carry XX brand of water heater because your website says you do?” And, the coup de grace…”nope, but we can order it.”

I went to Lowe’s.

This is the absolute missing link. Companies are doing a great job impressing upon consumers that they are social media savvy. What’s wrong? The disconnect arises when consumers engage with companies and the customer service teams fail to live up to basic marketing standards. When the website and social media channels indicate a company is savvy, there is an expectation that customer service should meet or exceed that standard.

Here are a few pointers to consider if your company is falling into a collision trap:

  • Encourage (read require) all employees to read, learn, and recall the company’s website when a customer is on the phone.
  •  Messaging is critical for anyone on the frontlines, and this platform needs to be shared with those in social media as well as in customer service.
  •  Train company employees, especially those responsible for customer service, to be knowledgeable about social media and what happens. Teach them how new leads come in!
  •  Get back to the basics with phone etiquette and customer service. That plumbing company lost my business forever (the man on the phone told me $1000 to buy and install a hot water heater; that price wasn’t even close to what I paid.)
  •  Consumers now have an expectation; they want high-end customer service to MATCH the impression a company gives on its website, SEO and social media channels. When that fails, prepare your customer service teams to know more than a customer about your company’s products.

I know there are many companies doing this well; got any stories to share?

 

 

We Cannot Define PR

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I am pretty much over this topic of redefining public relations, my core profession. Last year on this blog, we set out to do that very thing and engaged the globe in the best crowd-sourcing activity I’ve ever facilitated. It was high energy, awesome to have people on board, it was heady, and it was the coolest spur-of-the-moment thing I’ve ever done on my blog.

The outcome was a definition that came to be from a variety of sources, words, disciplines, expertise, practitioners seasoned and newbie, and those not in public relations.

“Public relations helps people say the right things to the right audiences at the right time and in the right way.”

Simple; no jargon; acceptable to a variety of professionals working in a variety of ways and with a variety of clients and industries. Perfect? Nope, not at all, and there was no expectation it would be.

We did this on a blog; no one spoke or researched or sat around the table debating words; this was done over four or five weeks of blogging on this topic and this topic alone. It was challenging and tedious, and I had to find an end so it didn’t drag on.

All along I encouraged PRSA to redefine public relations and delete its 1982 archaic definition.  They weighed in on my blog, and I’d like to say I affected their decision to pursue this further. At Thanksgiving 2011, PRSA embarked on a poll to submit ideas for definitions. Even the New York Times ran an article on the process. Yippee! (Voting is open until Feb. 26; you can find the link in this paragraph.)

There were snags along the way and extensions and who knows what else. Then, three definitions appeared on @SpinSucks, and Gini’s community erupted. PRSA wrote a rebuttal in a guest post and the dissension was even louder; kinda like screaming.

I politely provided our collective definition above and was also politely shut down by the PRSA dude who said he didn’t like it. Who am I? A 27-year public relations practitioner who has seen the changes in this profession since before the fax machine. I’m no one special, but I am darn certain I know that his three definitions we’re supposed to vote on do nothing to define public relations.

To paraphrase Gini exactly, “the definitions suck.”

  1. Public relations is the management function of researching, communicating and collaborating with publics to build mutually beneficial relationships.
  2. Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.
  3. Public relations is the strategic process of engagement between organizations and publics to achieve mutual understanding and realize goals.

I am so disappointed. The jargon provided here does nothing to energize a profession that is part of the backbone of organizations’ strategic positioning to external audiences and one that influences sales while working in tandem with marketing and advertising.

Pfffhhhhfttht.

That’s the wind that died from the sails. I’m not the only person thinking this way, and the emotions are strong. Please do read all the comments at Spin Sucks if you’re interested in this debacle.

When an entire profession cannot agree on what it does, then how shall companies and clients regard our credibility?

I don’t believe there will ever be consensus on a definition for public relations. I tried in my little corner to tackle a beast. An 80-year-old+ professional accrediting body and organization ought to be the one to generate agreement and consensus nationally because it means that much.

This is not a four-month project that ends in a vote for three same-sounding definitions; this should take at least 15 months to vet definitions chapter by chapter across the country.

This is not about me; this is about the respect for my profession. When the discontent in the profession speaks louder than the cooperation among its practitioners, then there is a PR crisis in the PR profession. Who’s going to fix that?

 

 

Producing My First Video With Animoto

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I just got a tip about Animoto from Scott Quillin (am I giving away your trade secrets, Scott?) of New England Multimedia. As part of our package to redo my site and integrate the blog inside, he was going to take all my cool world-travel snapshots from the website and package them into a slide show/video.

I had no expectation what that would look like; in fact, it made me nervous. Late two nights ago, Scott turned me loose on Animoto. I first attempted the free unlimited :30 clips; then I upgraded to Plus and finally took the nosedive to the Pro version (all in 30 minutes) to create this video below — Hire Soulati Media.

I used my own photography to create each screen shot — I’d like Sean McGinnis to watch for some pickle action in this movie!  I added text to tell the story and transition to each image. Where there were too few images, I combed my collection for something else handy, but went off to Fotolia to purchase three extra images. (I also love Fotolia for blog images, website photography and now my first professional video.)

I also owe a huge thanks to eCairn for the image of my cloud tag shared in a blog comment recently by Arthur Huynh. If you haven’t checked these guys out; they’re worth a few visits. eCairn is doing some amazing work in the sector.

With no tutorials or hours spent trying to figure out what to do, I built my minute-long movie in about five hours total (tweaks, embedding code, waiting for software kinks, buying images, writing text, etc.) The initial phase of the project was the most fun – selecting a background template and music to coincide with the images. The Pro version provided the most versatility with these important elements – more templates in high definition and certainly hundreds more songs to choose from.

I had no idea what I was doing; had never done anything remotely similar. It was like making a scrapbook – you look at a blank canvas and start. I’m going to try my hand with a few more of these, and then take a closer look at client needs. Animoto is a wonderful find; I hope you’ll check it out, too.

And, Scott? I think you unleashed a monster.