Elizabeth Christian & Associates Public Relations Blog

How Safe is Your Workplace?

As a PR professional at an agency with a varied roster of clients, I have had the opportunity to learn about countless industries and topics. I joke that with my client experience, just a few of the things I am capable of are:

• Performing surgery
• Putting on a circus
• Determining pricing for water
• Teaching a college class

I enjoy working with all of my clients and I especially appreciate learning from them. We are privileged to work with true experts in a number of fields.

One topic that I’ve had the chance to learn about lately is workplace safety. Texas Mutual Insurance Company, the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, is an expert on workplace safety. This month I’ve had the opportunity to work with Texas Mutual as they present grants for $100,000 to three Texas colleges to fund Risk Management Institutes that provide free education on workplace safety to area employers.

I also had the opportunity to hear Dr. Steve Berkowitz, chief medical officer of St. David’s HealthCare, speak about personal health and wellness (including workplace safety).

As a result of these opportunities, I took a look around my office and was pleased to see that we have a culture of safety. We have clear policies and procedures and we have never had a workplace accident in our office.

Some questions for you when considering the safety of your workplace are:

• Who in your office knows CPR?

• Does your office have an automatic electronic defibrillator or AED? We see them in airports, schools and other public venues, but can you find one in your office? And if you can, do you know how to use it?

• Does your office have a plan in place in case of fire?

• Have new employees been trained on safety protocols and procedures?

• Do workers receive proper breaks when they work long hours so they stay mentally sharp?

• Have office machines been updated with the latest safeguards?

These questions are just the tip of the iceberg. To get comprehensive information on workplace safety, go to www.osha.gov

-Kristin Marcum

Eight Heads Are Better Than One

There are many things I enjoy about working in public relations-the fast pace, the people, the big ideas and the writing. But one of my favorite things to do is brainstorm. And yes, I know people brainstorm in many professions, but in the field of public relations, we are free to generate grandiose ideas.
 
Public relations professionals must be creative, and brainstorming is a huge part of our responsibility. All it takes is one small idea to serve as a catalyst for a large media pitch or event. There’s the brilliancy. Collaborative ideas that stem from brainstorming are the building blocks of great campaigns.
 
Here are some good brainstorming practices. These are not scientific, just personal observations.
 
Write Down Every Idea
It’s true that not every idea will be realistic, and some may not even be close to achieving your goals, but you should write each one down. This practice lessens intimidation for everyone, especially if people are afraid of being judged. Trust me, I mentioned something in a brainstorming meeting as an intern once and when it wasn’t written down, I felt deflated! The anxiety from that session stuck with me every time we had another brainstorming meeting. Thankfully, it made me determined to contribute better ideas, but at the time I was crushed!
 
Make the Ideas Visible
It’s not enough to just write the ideas down. You should also make them visible around the room. My favorite way to do this is using giant Post-it notes. Use colored markers to make the ideas stand out and write in large fonts. When you’ve filled one sheet with ideas, tear it off and stick it to the wall. I’ve noticed when the room gets quiet and I’m trying to think of something new, I review what we’ve already said-picking a word from one idea and then another to generate new thoughts.
 
Ignore Titles
Equality benefits brainstorming. If you can get a mixture of people in the room, from your “higher-ups” to your interns, you’ll practically guarantee variety! Interns often bring a fresh perspective. Sometimes their sheer enthusiasm can energize a room! Executives bring background. They know the client, what has been done and what will not work.
 
Eight People Max (Well, Maybe Ten)
Innovation Tools says six to ten people are ideal for brainstorming, so I just split the difference. The basic rule with this suggestion is yes, you want a large group, but don’t make it too big. Too many cooks in the kitchen make for a messy and unorganized kitchen. Keep brainstorming sessions efficient.
 
Have a Clear Objective
You want the team to work together towards one goal. It may be a general goal (national media pitch ideas) or a specific one (a media event to launch product X). Make sure the goal is clear to everyone. Write it down so when people are stuck, they can remind themselves what the team is trying to accomplish.
 
Most importantly, keep the idea generation and evaluation separate. You certainly may conduct them in the same meeting, but brainstorming should be fun. Save evaluations for the end of the session. Encourage each other. Compliment each other. It’s not a competition. It’s pure collaboration.  
 
Happy Brainstorming!
 
Levente Smith

A New Year, New Social Media Opportunities

In just the first month of 2010, we have witnessed the Longhorns play an historic BCS Championship game against the Crimson Tide (and suffer a heartbreaking loss, ending an eight-time winning streak against that team) and record-breaking temperatures in Austin (the coldest in nearly 20 years; ten degrees at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on January 9).

While the new decade has brought quite a bit of excitement in just the first two weeks, my guess is 2010 has much more in store for us.

Take social media, for example. Studies show that while many businesses “explored” social media in 2009, it appears they have merely scratched the surface. According to a new survey by Weber Shandwick’s Social Impact team (conducted with KRC Research), 61 percent of nonprofit and foundation professionals view social media as an effective method of reaching broad external audiences. Because of this, most of them (a whopping 85 percent) plan to use social media more extensively in the next two years, and most will increase their budgets for this type of marketing in 2010. Companies are quickly learning that they need additional employees (and, in some cases, departments) to implement their social media campaigns and to track their effectiveness.

Geotagging, which enables people to add their exact location to their “tweets,” for example, may also increase the value of social media for marketers this year. (This option is already available on Twitter, under “settings,” then “account.”)  What will that mean for us, as social media users? Well, for one, I’ve read that it could allow restaurants to “buzz” our phones as we pass by, alerting us to specials or discounts.

Bottom line, social media campaigns won’t work unless you commit to them. How many times have you visited someone’s social media page (or even a company’s page) only to find the last “status update” or “tweet” was posted three months ago? Using social media for a business can be time-consuming, but studies show it may be well worth your time. So take the time to keep things current. In fact, why not make it your New Year’s resolution?

I’ll see you around the social media scene in 2010!

-Erin Ochoa