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Monthly Archives: June 2015

Are You Prepared For A Crisis?

25 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Ann S. in The Technical Side

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activist protests, audit, Business Communications, communications, crisis communications, crisis response, mitigating risk, natural disaster, planning, product safety, strategy

whats the planThe first stage of a good crisis management plan is preparation.

When asked, most companies who do not have a complete and vetted crisis management communications plan reply they will be able to handle or respond to a crisis when it occurs.

Unfortunately, when an event does occur in a company without a set plan and educated key internal groups, it may result in a negative experience. Adverse results may include:

  • crisis-communications-planning-1-638diluted or unfocused messaging
  • inability to respond/react in a timely manner
  • lack of shared and relevant information and inability to deliver materials to internal and external audiences
  • negative media coverage
  • confusion by internal and external audiences and
  • other crisis pressures triggered by consumer concerns, activist groups, and discussion in social media.

Develop your Crisis Communications Plan

The first step to a solid crisis communications plan is to assemble a crisis response and communications team. The team should conduct an audit to assess the company’s or association’s situations, including:

  • documenting procedures and policies
  • collecting information on the perception of the company (which may help identify resources for information)
  • identifying locations and resources and
  • identifying crisis scenario modules.

The crisis scenario module should include a myriad of potential situations that ultimately compose the bulk of your plan. Crisis scenarios may include a natural disaster event, a product safety issue, or even an activist protest. Each module is structured to define key messages, statements, resource materials, an information chain, and a spokesperson, but the specific situation will determine which and how each of those elements are used and when.

Going through a crisis is never a pleasant experience, but planning and developing a solid communications plan may produce beneficial results and potentially lessen an impact by mitigating on-going risk. Developing an effective crisis communication response plan is an important first step.

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I AM THE UPHOLDER

18 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Ann S. in Musings

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blog, blogging, communication, deadlines, Expectations, Gretchen Rubin, habits, happiness project, nails on a chalkboard, non-fiction, Obliger, purpose, Questioner, Rebel, tendencies, Upholder

It may only be June, but I have already begun prep work on the course I will teach this fall. One of the nonfiction writing assignments is to compose a blog post. Oftentimes the students will discuss a situation or event that relates to the Topic they choose for the semester. One requirement of the assignment is that they reflect on their experience in a way that readers might learn from it.

In my research to find strong examples of good bloggers, I came across a link to the Happiness Project, which took me to Gretchen Rubin’s site. Ms. Rubin, a thought-provoking and influential writer on building habits and happiness, is a New Times Best Selling Author. Her blog consists of personal stories collected from her work in contemporary science and ancient wisdom.

One of the posts on her site focuses on how to make good habits and break bad ones. As part of her research (and book), she offers the opportunity to take a quiz to find out if you fit into one of four (habit) tendencies:

  1. Rubi_9780385348614_roughpages_8.25.14.inddUpholder
  2. Obliger
  3. Questioner
  4. Rebel

Once you’ve taken the short quiz, your habit tendency – or combination of – is revealed.

What’s the purpose? I look at it as continued learning. It’s also about remembering who we are and why we do things. We’re all hardwired differently, operating on individual planes. Sometimes that means we don’t mix or mesh easily with others, but by understanding the tendencies and differences it may lead us to interact in an easier way.

So, I am an Upholder. I like clear expectations, to meet deadlines and enjoy habits. But I think I should be a mixture with the Questioner, because anyone who knows me knows I ask a ton of questions, am looking for the best way to accomplish a project, and find the “but that’s the way we always did it” response as irritating as nails on a chalkboard. (Does this prove my point in that I just resisted the outer expectations like a true Questioner?)

So, which are you?

@gretchenrubin

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Motivating Your Team

04 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Ann S. in The Technical Side

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advertisement, budgets, Doug Ouellette, dream, fire trucks, Jamestown, knowledge, marketing, marketing communications, motivation, recognition, Rhode Island, team building, teamwork, trade show, Treatment Plant Operator, wastewater

I have always dreamed of leading a marketing organization that has too many staffers and extra budget to spend – because it’s something I never had and most likely never will. My brother, who is also in marketing, used to flaunt that his website budget for one product in one product line was nearly twice the size of my entire marketing and communications budget. I shut him down quickly when I replied it did not matter because fire trucks were much cooler than paper products.

So even though people loved our products better than his, his words stuck with me. Sure, while I wished for an extravagant (or even respectable) budget, I had something better. I had a strong, smart, marketing team who knew how to achieve results while working in the confines of limited resources.motivate-2

My team did a tremendous job and produced great work that sold products, elevated brand recognition, and made our customers, employees, sales staff, and shareholders happy. We were proud of the work we accomplished.

FDIC_img2 jamie thompson

Photo credit: Jamie Thompson

I was fortunate in that my employees experienced recognition from success – a simple “That was the best trade show booth we ever had!” comment from one sales rep or “Our customers really responded to the new ad!” from another could elevate a mood. They wanted to continue to receive acknowledgement of good work, so they maintained a high level of performance. Recognition is a great motivator.

How many times have you found yourself working to motivate your employees to do more with less? If you’re in a small department, it’s even more important.

In Jamestown, R.I., I spoke with a leader who understands when you’re faced with challenges of limited resources, knowing how and when to build your team can improve efficiencies and increase productivity. Team building is key to achieving goals and developing staff. Read more here in Treatment Plant Operator magazine to learn how Doug Ouellette motivates his team.  http://www.tpomag.com/editorial/2015/02/doug_ouellette_believes_teamwork_is_all_the_more_important_at_smaller_facil?ref=related_img

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