Drink more water, less wine – and other (more useful) PR & Marketing resolutions for 2015

Allow me a little bit of self-indulgence, if I may.

I’m feeling sorry for myself because the festive season has been ruined in my house by me coming down with mumps.

The wider family couldn’t come near me so Christmas Day hosting was cancelled – leaving me, the husband and 3 kids faced with consuming more sausage rolls and M&S belly pork ‘bites’ than we knew what to do with.

To make matters worse, the XBoxOne hackers spoilt the kids’ day as it took over 24 hours to download new games. I then went and caught another lurgy.

Quite frankly, it’s left me yearning for a new year and a fresh – healthy – start.
I’ve been reading quite a few blog posts about PR and marketing predictions for 2015, including inspirational posts by industry heavyweights Sarah Hall and Stephen Waddington.

They’ve got me thinking about my own personal resolutions for work and career this coming year.

Naturally, I need to chant “drink more water, less wine” and “sit less, move more” every day.

But there are 5 other resolutions on my 2015 to-do list:

1. Go for CIPR Chartered status and finish it (this time)
   Chartered Practitioner status is a benchmark of professional excellence. It involves a rigorous application and interview process and is not an automatic right for members.
   I started the application process in 2014, but was always ‘too busy’ to finish it. I won’t make the same mistake this year.
2. Make the most of my mentoring experience
   Selected to be a part of the CIPR’s new mentoring scheme last September, I’ve been matched with a great mentor – a Director of Communications at a leading UK Housing Association.
   I’m determined to get as much as possible out of this professional relationship in 2015. It’s an excellent way of breaking out of the in-house PR comms bubble, of which I’ve blogged about before.
3. Focus on what works and dispense with what doesn’t
   I was approached by the lovely @danslee from @comms2point0 fame the other week for a blog he’s crowdsourcing on what changed for public sector comms teams in 2014.
   Last year we made our comms more relevant and accessible by introducing new digital channels – Pinterest, Facebook, a blog platform and Yammer (for staff).
   This also helped us sharpen our approach to evaluation. We can now gather even more intelligence about what works and what doesn’t.
   I’m looking forward to continuing to learn the lessons that better evaluation brings and to applying them in 2015.
4. Meet with other comms teams, offer ideas – and steal theirs!
   There’s nothing like a bit of legitimate ideas theft – ahem, I mean sharing good practice – to make the quality of your work even better.
   We met with some great people last year, including comms teams at the DVLA, Public Health Wales, Audit Scotland, Community Housing Cymru, Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, Estyn, Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and Older People’s Commissioner.
   We’ve been inspired to take on new approaches and I know that many of those we’ve met have adopted ideas from us.
5. Finally, crank up the mojo
   Much of 2014 for me was about managing the work/home juggle after returning from my final maternity leave towards the end of 2013– I blogged about this last year and was overwhelmed by the positive response it received.
   I’ve pretty much mastered it now. I’m really pleased with what I achieved professionally and personally over the last 12 months and am determined to crank up the pace even more next year.

Sometimes a bit of self-indulgence is what’s needed to refocus and progress your career.

And, I think my festive sick bed has given me the space to do just that.

So, what are your personal PR/comms resolutions?

I’d love to hear them!

 

---

Pictures reproduced under Creative Commons license:

Strawberry Splash by Christian Gibson

2015 by Artis Rams

Mojo by Neil Pennington

The comms crystal ball: What should the in-house PR team of 2020 look like?

A chap called Geoffrey Hoyle wrote a book in 1972 – predicting that, by 2010, everyone would be wearing jumpsuits, work a 3 day week and would have electric cars delivered in tubes of liquid.

He also predicted the widespread use of ‘vision phones’ and doing your grocery shopping online.

I was reading a BBC article about it the other day. Apparently, a facebook campaign managed to track Hoyle down, which led to his book – ‘2010: Living in the Future’ – being reprinted (with the year in the title changed to 2011).

I find the whole thing fascinating and I’m not alone. Futurology is big business. It even has its own twitter handle @the_future – and hashtag #futurology.

The thing that seems to excite all futurologists, more than anything else, is the changing nature of communication – with many predictions, which seemed outlandish when first made, becoming commonplace years later.

David Brin’s 1989 novel – ‘Earth’ – for example, predicted citizen reporters, personalised web interfaces and the decline of privacy. We’re not laughing now.

I do wonder whether we consider this sort of thing enough when trying to future proof our organisations. If I look back just 6 years ago, to the shape, skills and project work of my team – compared with now – it’s almost unrecognisable. What will it be like in another 6 years?

I don’t have all the answers, but I know that if my team is to work brilliantly in 2020, I need to be gearing up for it now and doing a bit of my own futurology.

‘Workforce planning’ is such a yawn phrase. But, whether we like it or not, it’s an absolutely crucial aspect of comms management and it happens to be something I’m focusing on at the moment.

There are 5 key principles I’m working to:

• Link to strategy

No workforce plan is worth the paper it’s written on if it doesn’t link to your organisation’s corporate strategy, your own comms strategy and your departmental action plans. What are you trying to achieve over the next few years? Is your team equipped to deliver? If not, how will you address it? You need evidence to back up your proposals.

• Scan the changing landscape

You need to get attuned to the latest comms trends and be aware of what’s on the horizon. Having a focus on the long term, and then planning for it, is a darn sight better than reacting to short term requirements all the time. The future of the PR industry project, run by the PRCA, explores topics such as globalisation, social changes, and new comms platforms and channels and is worth a look as there are some useful online videos available.

• Plug the gaps

Once you’re clear on your strategy, the future direction of comms and how your organisation should respond, you need to identify any gaps you have that could hamper delivery. Do you and your team need to learn new skills? Is a new post required? Are there comms activities which aren’t needed anymore? Can staff be freed up from old tasks to pursue new priorities? All of these, and more, need to be considered and built into your workforce plan.

• Consult your team

It should never be done in isolation. Workforce planning needs collective input and your team are best placed to provide feedback, ideas and offer up solutions. They know their department better than anyone.

• Evaluate as you go along

Regularly review your plan and amend and adjust as you go along. It should be a living document, not shelved away to gather dust for the next 6 years.

 

My future-proofing priorities are all about developing a team of hybrid professionals, multi-skilled communicators, with a greater emphasis on digital skills.

It’s about banishing outmoded and unnecessary activities, freeing up time to pursue more dynamic techniques. And, it’s also about building greater comms skills amongst the wider organisation and securing greater contribution from grassroots staff.

What does your comms crystal ball reveal for the future?

And, do you have a workforce plan to deliver?

Photo credits:

Crystal Ball by Mark Skipper (creative commons)