Inside PR Podcast launched

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Terry Fallis and David Jones have launched a new podcast, Inside PR, a weekly podcast on the state and future of public relations. Terry and David are President and Vice-President respectively of Thornley Fallis Communications. (I work there too!)

In their inaugural podcast, Terry and Dave say that want to “take a look under the hood” of public relations. They plan to cover “everything from agency life to the tarnished and dubious reputation of our industry.” The guys say they will talk about “what it takes to succeed in our world and also the latest techniques and best practices.”

In their first episode, topics covered in depth include the newly formed Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms, the upcoming Web2.0 mesh conference in Toronto and a new philosophy for media training.

Inside PR should prove to be an interesting perspective on PR from two of Canada’s most thoughtful public relations practitioners. Congratulations guys!

mesh me in Toronto, May 15 and 16

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I’ve just registered to attend mesh.

mesh is Canada’s Web 2.0 conference, being held in Toronto on May 15 & 16. You will hear from thought leaders, connect with peers, and get a better understanding of the impact of new developments online. mesh brings together people who are passionate about the potential of the Web to change how we live, work and play. Meet the next generation of Web ideas, leaders and companies at mesh.

Some great speakers: Om Malik, Michael Geist, Tara Hunt, Paul Kedrosky, Steve Rubel, Jason Fried, Andrew Coyne, Chris Messina, Amber MacArthur, Stewe Boyd and David Crow.

Should be a great conversation. So, if you’re in or near or able to get to Toronto on May 15 and 16, let’s mesh!

Thanks to David Jones for the heads up.

It's fair to disagree. But please be sure you've read what was written before you criticize

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The Blog Run has written a critical response to my post on Blogging and PR Career Advancement. Blog Run states, “One PR firm is having everyone at its firm blog … but is missing the bigger point: passion. Don’t force employees to blog to “understand” the blogosphere, as it defeats the whole purpose. Blogging comes with passion, and without that passion, it’s astroturfing and forced and … well, crap.”

Blog Run should read my post again. If they did, they’d discover that I said:

I believe that, as an employer, my company has an obligation to encourage all of the practitioners in my firm to explore blogging. As a minimum, everyone must be familiar with it as a communications channel. And those who have the inclination, passion and viewpoint necessary to express their own voice must be given the tools to explore active participation in the conversation.

(…)

We’re making these blogs available behind our firewall so that anyone who has the inclination to test their voice can do it in the safety of our corporate environment. We’re encouraging people to use their blogs to share project information, to express opinions on business issues, to entertain, whatever they want.

I know that many people will not post to their internal blogs. That’s OK. Active blogging isn’t for everyone. But we’re making the tool available in the same way that we offer all our employees media monitoring services, media list generation databases and word processors and spreadsheets.

So, Blog Run has failed to accurately portray what I said. In fact, their point of view isn’t really out of line with what I actually wrote. Active blogging isn’t for everyone. Bloggers must have inclination, passion and viewpoint.

As for making internal blogs available to be used by each of our employees? I’m sure not going to apologize for giving my employees the tools and resources to explore a new communications medium that I believe will revolutionize the practice of public relations.

Blogging and PR Career Advancement

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Every PR practitioner should be familiar with blogging, just as every credible practitioner, regardless of their specialization, must be familiar with the essentials of media relations, effective writing, measurement and the other fundamentals of our business.

Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson had a good discussion of whether blogging gives the PR practitioner an advantage in landing a PR job or in career advancement.

I think that we are still in the early days of blogging. The ignition point, in my view, will be when Internet Explorer 7 hits desktops and the other 90% of the world suddenly start to see the orange RSS button alongside their favorites icon.

When this happens, social media will be recognized as a communications channel as essential to the well-rounded public relations program as are media relations, websites, speeches, special events, direct mail and word of mouth. And blogging will become “business normal.”

I believe that, as an employer, my company has an obligation to encourage all of the practitioners in my firm to explore blogging. As a minimum, everyone must be familiar with it as a communications channel. And those who have the inclination, passion and viewpoint necessary to express their own voice must be given the tools to explore active participation in the conversation.

Understanding and saying this is the easy part. But what do we do to actually help people to explore and engage in social media?

Well, several things.

At my firm, Thornley Fallis Communications, I’ve assumed the role of chief cheerleader for social media. I’ve started my own internal and public blogs to underscore that social media are important to our future and that our firm is totally committed to embracing and using blogs, wikis, podcasts and other tools.

I’ve been joined in this by several of the members of our leadership team. David Jones explores working in and on the PR industry from a Canadian perspective and our 76design team talk about new projects, new ideas and new discoveries in a group blog. Soon, Terry Fallis and David Jones will be launching a podcast profiling the leaders of the Canadian PR consulting community.

So, we’re walking the talk by actively engaging in the conversation.

We’ve allocated resources to research social media and install testbed internal wikis and blogs.

We’ve researched newsreaders and adopted FeedDemon as our corporate standard, encouraging everyone to install it on their desktop.

We’ve subscribed to webinars on social media and organized “lunch and learns” to share our impressions and experiences.

Now, we are taking a next step: We are setting up a blog for each and every one of our employees. Junior to senior. Frontline client servicers to backend accounting staff.

We’re making these blogs available behind our firewall so that anyone who has the inclination to test their voice can do it in the safety of our corporate environment. We’re encouraging people to use their blogs to share project information, to express opinions on business issues, to entertain, whatever they want.

I know that many people will not post to their internal blogs. That’s OK. Active blogging isn’t for everyone. But we’re making the tool available in the same way that we offer all our employees media monitoring services, media list generation databases and word processors and spreadsheets.

I’d be interested in hearing what other PR consulting firms are doing in this regard.

No-Bad-News Fridays!

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Julie Freemen reports that many respondents to a survey in the Nov/Dec issue of CW said that bad news in their companies is delivered by e-mail.

Delivering bad news shouldn’t be the simple act of blurting out a tough message. The deliverer should also watch for the impact of the message on the recipient and be prepared to talk it through after the recipient has had a chance to consider the message and its implications.

The worst possible time to deliver bad news in a work environment is a Friday. This gives the recipient little or no time to consider the news and to have a follow-up discussion to work through its implications (and often the solutions) before the weekend. So, he or she is likely to end up going home and mulling over the bad news through the full weekend. Not a very nice way to spend the weekend. And not a very likely prescription to make someone feel good about their place of work!

At my company, Thornley Fallis, we do not deliver bad news on a Friday. If we must deliver bad news, we try to deliver it early in the week so that we can schedule follow up conversations to work through the implications and positive steps that can be taken to turn bad news into a positive experience – an experience that can be learned from and can form the basis of constructive action.

Julie wants to hear from other communicators about how bad news is delivered in your organizations. Post your comments at the IABC Communication Commons Employee Forum.

We're recruiting

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My company, Thornley Fallis Communications, is in the midst of a very strong year. We need to recruit an Account Director to keep things moving forward. If you live in the Ottawa area or are interested in moving to Canada’s capital, take a look at the position description on our Website. This is an opportunity to join the leadership team of a PR consulting firm that hires only the best and delivers extraordinary results for our clients.

IABC Communications Commons: Is there an appetite for a "Consulting Principles" forum?

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Shel Holtz tells us that the IABC Communications Commons has been launched. The Commons is billed as a “Blog Community for Business Communicators.”

In his initial posting on the Commons home page, Shel says

IABC’s goal for the Commons is to provide a gathering place for communicators to focus on their own areas of specialization and learn about others. … This is the place for communicators to gather to exchange ideas about their craft, guided by experts in the various, diverse specialties that make up our profession.

IABC membership is not required to read or participate in the Commons. In the spirit of the blogosphere, the Commons is an effort provide open access to some of the thought leaders from within IABC’s ranks. These Commons bloggers will share their wisdom, report on goings-on in their field, and — most important — engage in comments-driven converations.

To get things rolling, we’re starting with three corners of the organizational communications world: branding and marketing, employee communications, and communication measurement. More will be added as we iron out the wrinkles of this network of communication blogs. First on the list for inclusion down the road are media relations and communications creative.

Each of the Commons blogs are group blogs. That is, more than one author will contribute posts. This will add diversity of opinion as well as a broad range of experience and expertise within each subject matter area.

Kudos to Shel, Natasha Spring, Chris Hall and all the folks at the IABC who are behind the Commons. It is a great initiative.

And now a suggestion. One of the best things about PRSA/CPRS membership is the Counselors Academy. The Counselors Academy runs a great program of seminars and conferences on topics of interest to senior communicators and agency principals. I think the IABC Commons could provide a similar service to its members by adding a “Consulting Principles” section that would enable principals and senior practitioners to talk about the principles and practices that the leading public relations consultancies have adopted or are moving toward.

What do you think? If IABC hosted it? Would you be prepared to contribute to this type of forum?

Another good reason to freelance between full-time jobs

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A report in the London Telegraph by way of For Immediate Release states that

A study from the Royal Economic Society underlines the received wisdom that the longer someone is out of a job, the harder it is to get work.

…Using new evidence from the German jobs market, the researchers discovered that the wage offered to someone who has been out of work for six months was on average 14pc lower than they previously received.

After a year, the amount they can hope for is 19pc lower, and it is some 33pc lower after two years.

This erosion of potential workers’ pay prospects occurs quickly, and those who are unemployed for just three months could see their salary prospects fall by 7pc.

The research found that although unemployed people do not necessarily look for fewer jobs as time goes on, the higher paying jobs gradually become closed to them.

Public relations practitioners are in the lucky position that we never really need to be “out of work.” In fact, many résumés of PR practitioners that cross my desk show a history of interspersing freelance work with full-time jobs.

Neville Hobson speaks about the difference between people who adopt the mindset that they are out of work and looking for a job vs. those who engage in either volunteer or ad hoc project work while conducting their job search. He says that this tells you something about the person and affects how they are perceived by others, including potential employers. Shel Holtz adds that, given that better paying, more senior positions take longer to land, communicators are well-advised to position themselves as consultants and attempt to pick up freelance assignments while looking for a permanent position.

I think that Neville and Shel are absolutely bang on in their observations. And while they are talking primarily about people seeking corporate positions, their observations are even more apt for those looking for positions with consulting firms.

In fact, public relations practitioners who use the time between jobs to pursue and land freelance work can increase their value to consulting firms. When reviewing CVs, I interpret freelance time as an indicator of initiative on the part of the job applicant. Moreover, I feel that having to handle the business fundamentals – negotiating a contract, setting a fair rate of compensation, tracking time and issuing invoices and, yes, managing receivables – gives the freelancer valuable insight into the business of PR. It can also translate into better service to our corporate clients through communications practitioners who can relate to the business realities facing those clients.

So, my advice to those who have just found themselves out of a job: Hang out your shingle and pursue freelance assignments while you are looking for the right full-time job fit.

Manager Tools – practical advice for leaders

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David Jones tipped me to the Manager Tools podcast. Every week, Michael Auzenne and Mark Horstman discuss techniques and practical tools that listeners can use to become more effective managers.

Topics of particular relevance to building an effective public relations consulting team include the importance of the one on one meeting, giving effective feedback, delegation, coaching, effective hiring, and performance reviews.

Manager Tools. It’s worth a listen.

The Impostor Syndrome

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Virginia Gault’s article in today’s Globe and Mail provides good advice on what both management and employees can do to combat the impostor syndrome.

The impostor syndrome – “the constant fear of being exposed as a fraud despite a solid record of achievement” – afflicts “any demanding workplace culture, where high achievers are left on their own to sink of swim,” according to Diane Zorn, a faculty development director at York University.

High achievers left on their own to sink or swin. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, this is the reality in all too many consulting companies. And I’d be dishonest if I didn’t admit that it is also a challenge for my company.

So, what do we do about it?

First, we have replaced the standard performance review process with a career development process that puts a tight focus on our employees’ own objectives. We bring employees together with their managers no less frequently than every six months to discuss what is going well, what is not going as well, what each employee wants to achieve in the coming year and how we can support this.

But career growth is a day by day affair. So, we encourage managers to meet regularly on a one to one basis with the people for whom they are responsible. And we make employee retention and career growth a criterion on which managers’ own performance is assessed. Managers have part of their compensation at risk based on their success in retaining employees and helping them to grow on the job.

We also have established a relationship with a career coach. When people indicate an interest in having a career coach, the company will engage the coach to work with that person. We established this relationship about six months ago and we’re hoping that, by having a relationship with one coach, she will gain extra insight into our work environment that she can apply as she coaches our employees.

These are just some of the things we do to create a supportive environment that will counter the “sink or swim on your own” culture. We know that we’re not perfect and that we have much more to do. I’d be interested in hearing about what others are doing in this area.