The office debate: concentration v collaboration

Working from home – a chance to plough through your ‘to do list’ without distraction or an opportunity to watch daytime TV with your feet up while occasionally responding to an email?

Perhaps Yahoo! considers it to be the latter, after last week circulating a memo to all staff, banning them from working remotely. Unsurprisingly this didn’t go down well with everyone.

In today’s high-tech age when we have super fast broadband, webcams and more mobile devices than you can shake a stick at, it’s never been easier to ‘telecommute’ so why has Yahoo taken such a strong stance? It’s especially perplexing given that they operate in the very sector which has helped create these technologies which have improved flexible working.

They argue that "speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home" and "some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings."

At the risk of sitting on the fence, I can see both sides. Working in a creative PR agency, we constantly bounce ideas off each other. It’s an integral part of the way we work and something which is far more difficult to achieve when you’re sat at home alone.

However, there is surely an argument for balance? We recently conducted a survey on behalf of our client Saint-Gobain Ecophon which asked 2,000 office workers questions about their working environment. As manufacturers of acoustic ceilings, office design is a topic which is very much front of mind. Almost 80% of those surveyed worked in either an open plan or shared office yet more than half (54%) said that working like that sometimes made it difficult for them to concentrate and do their job.

As Ecophon’s survey illustrates, open plan working is the norm for most people yet there is clearly a need to limit the distraction caused by background noise. Yahoo’s reasoning that speed and quality are sacrificed when working at home can surely be challenged based on the fact that home working is likely to be much quieter.

However, there’s no doubt that open plan working also has its advantages, particularly when it comes to helping promote collaborative working. You simply cannot re-create this kind of environment at home and if you’re struggling with a campaign idea for a new business proposal, having three of four colleagues on hand whose brains you can pick is very valuable.

I can count the number of times I’ve worked from home on one hand but every time I’ve done it I’ve found it productive and worthwhile. Without the distraction of phones constantly ringing or getting drawn in to a conversation about what happened in last night’s episode of Homeland, I was able to concentrate deeper, for longer.

So, will Yahoo’s actions signal the beginning of the end for remote working with other companies following suit? Will their zero tolerance approach make them a less attractive employer? They clearly think it will have a positive effect on their business but I’m not sure taking such a hard line will have the desired effect. In the words of Oscar Wilde, everything in moderation.

Bethan Simkins
Account Manager

Beauty – is it really skin deep?

It seems our quest for eternal youth is stronger than ever.  Or maybe I’ve been content to bury my (frown-lined) head in the sand, avoiding the needle, in the hope that the ageing process will just pass me by.

If this week’s Professional Beauty event (targeting the beauty trade) is an indicator of the shape of things to come – then aesthetic cosmetics is what it’s about.

Nearly half the show was taken up with exhibitors from this field, offering a variety of invasive and non-invasive options to plump, de-line, fill and smooth skin.  ‘New’ procedures offering alternatives to Botox and dermal fillers claim similar results without the rigours of specially qualified administration.

And so it seems that it’s less about miracle creams and more about procedures that provide dramatic results – which was clearly evident among a number of the visitors.  At lunch I sat next to a line free lady who talked me through the benefits of Botox and certainly looked a decade or so younger than me, so perhaps when she introduced me to her 20-something-year-old daughter I shouldn’t have been so surprised.

With such dramatic visible results some would argue PR for this industry should be an easy task – but many (like me) still remain cautious, perhaps a little squeamish and unwilling to part with their hard earned cash – so there’s still some convincing to be done.  But then again, never say never.

Samantha Kandiyali
Director

From financial relations to public relations

I have been a new business manager for nearly a year at Target Public Relations. Previously I had been a new business manager/mortgage advisor for most of my life. Although I knew my skills were transferable, when I started I didn’t really see many correlations between the two industries. But 12 months on it is clear there are some ideas and practices that can apply to both professions:

1. Know Your Client - When making key financial recommendations for clients it was imperative that I understood as much as possible about a client’s past, present and future financial circumstances. This helped me to guide them through various key life stages where needs and demands evolved and changed.

When putting together a PR plan or campaign for a client the same principles apply. Only by taking the time to fully immerse ourselves in the client’s business can we get a true understanding of what requirements they need. Only by constantly revisiting and reviewing can an agency truly adapt and react to the client’s needs as their business grows and evolves.

2. Specialisation - As a mortgage advisor my job was to advise on mortgages (obviously!), what I didn’t do was diversify into pensions, debt management, bankruptcy advice and such like. I had a strong network of experts within those fields that I could turn to if needed, and likewise they came to me for mortgage advice.

Target specialises in PR. It doesn’t mean we cannot draw on experts in other areas of the marketing mix should the need arise, but it does mean that we are consistently honing and refining our experience and skills within the PR sector because that is what we do all day, every day.

3. Measuring Outcomes - Efficiency, transparency, value for money, results: these are all KPIs that I was examined on during my time in financial services.

As an agency Target PR works to bespoke KPIs for each client and whilst measuring the results are not always as clear (see Sarah’s blog from 1 February) as in financial services, there are similarities in how the work can be judged as being successful by adding value to a client’s business.

4. Communication - Having direct access to decision makers and maintaining a direct relationship with the client built trust and helped me to develop a deeper understanding of what the client needed.

Our PR account teams are led by company directors meaning every client has direct access to Target’s decision makers and relationships can be built and nurtured at board level.

I’m sure these ideas aren’t exclusive to the mortgage industry - let us know if you’ve had a similar experience crossing over into the world of PR, we’d love to hear your thoughts.

James Wood
Business Development Manager

Pitch Perfect

With sunshine and blue skies above me, it was wonderful weather for my first PR pitch with Target. Having only been with the agency for six months, fresh out of uni, today was a big milestone; contributing my two pence piece to the most important stage of gaining a new client...no pressure then.

I would always describe myself as an outgoing and confident individual but this is the first presentation where it felt like the outcome really, really mattered. And when you have a desired outcome that you’ve heavily invested your time and effort in, it’s only natural to be a little nervous (right?!), especially considering this was my first pitch in front of decision makers, not just the client but my CEO and Director also!

Although I’ve a fair experience of presenting, for the first time in a long while the experience felt a little daunting. It was as if I caught sight of the importance of this moment, not only from a business perspective but a personal perspective. This is my first permanent PR role, I want to impress and feel my peers can trust in my competence – so how was I going to do this...  

“PREPARATION!  PREPARATION!  PREPARATION!"

Obviously, like any other sensible and sentient being, I ensured that I was prepped, prepared and well rehearsed, following my own little ritual. So here are my beginner’s tips:

Plan – Regardless of how big or small your input is, being involved from the very start of the pitch process allows you to get a real in-depth understanding of the brief and what it is the company is looking for. From here you can really target your research and refine your ideas accordingly.

Preparation – Know every bit of the presentation, know and believe in the ideas you are projecting. Let’s be frank, if you’ve done the planning process thoroughly then you’re not going to be pitching something that has no relevance, therefore what you have to say is important and of interest, take confidence in this.  Rehearsing helps too – whether that’s to yourself, your boyfriend, your dog (all three are good I find) and of course your co-presenters, saying out loud what’s in your head or on paper is definitely a necessary part of the process.

Delivery – Honestly? Try and forget that you’re in a pitch situation and just concentrate on telling them what you really want them to know. Allow yourself to feel excited about the prospect of how you can work together to achieve this prospective client’s goals. Then it feels natural and starts to flow.

Then comes the hard bit of waiting to hear the outcome… my strategy for this is simple. Keep your fingers crossed.

Alex Underwood
Account Executive

How to mask-a-pony

“They’ve only just discovered the horsemeat in lasagnes because the cheese on top was mascarpone.”

The horsemeat scandal has given Twitter users much to laugh about this week and the national papers and broadsheets have been riding on the back of their jokes (sorry, I just couldn’t help it!). Even Downing Street tried to make a funny, with a spokeswoman describing horsemeat in lasagne as “very distasteful.” How hilarious.

What really is funny though is how each of the brands and suppliers caught up in the story have responded, causing a ruckus for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and whipping up a political point-scoring storm.

When horse-burger gate struck last month, Tesco urgently withdrew the items from sale and immediately dropped its supplier, Silvercrest. Taking swift action sent a responsible message to its customers, good move. They also used press advertising to tell consumers about the actions they were taking and let their CEO take control of the supermarket’s official blog where he recognised that “trust is hard won and easily lost”. Again, a good move, showing a conscientious effort is being made to put things right.

Aldi’s statement to the FSA in Ireland said: “We take the quality of all of our products extremely seriously.” Phew, that IS good news. “Following the withdrawal of our Oakhurst Burgers in the Republic of Ireland, we have made the decision to withdraw three products from sale in the UK as a purely precautionary measure whilst we conduct further investigations. Any customers who wish to return the products in question will receive an immediate refund.” As a consumer, precautionary measures sound good to me, I like the thought that they are taking EXTRA care so overall this is an acceptable response.

So when horsemeat contamination reared its head again this week, what did Findus UK say? Some of its beef lasagne range was found to contain 100% horsemeat so come on, let’s make no beef about it, that’s a lasagne filled entirely with horsemeat. This, according to Findus, is not a food safety issue and they have withdrawn SOME products from its beef lasagne range. Bad, bad, bad Findus, you’ve given me the impression you’re not taking this seriously.

The FSA seems to have been slow on the uptake and is now in a flap, suspecting “criminal activity” is to blame rather than any regulatory incompetence. Meanwhile, the opposition is using the scandal to beat the Government with, accusing them of “pretending this isn’t happening”.

I don’t envy the many communications departments having to deal with all this. But while we’re all busy laughing about it, there will be benefits for the ones who deal with the fall out seriously and responsibly, and consequences for those who keep horsing around.

Seriously though, who’s considering becoming vegetarian now?

Rachel Meagher

Account Director

What’s PR for and how can we tell if it’s working?

This question is more pertinent than ever when organisations of almost every kind are under pressure to perform at their highest despite the economic climate.

Here’s how I see it.

PR strategy must contribute to organisational success.

Except it’s not all that simple. Measuring the value of PR has been a bugbear for our industry, well, forever really.

In the past, the weight of the cuttings book seemed a fair indicator of a campaign that had done well, and this ‘volume’ metric evolved into the pseudo-science of AVEs (Advertising Value Equivalent) in which we argued that the value of each piece of ‘free’ editorial was worth one/three/name-your-figure times the price of the media space if it had been purchased for an advert.

More sophisticated ways of measuring the quality of coverage, however, are a step forward. By tracking our success in reaching specific audiences with key messages designed to influence the way we view the organisation, we can begin to assess the success of a campaign. Balancing qualitative and quantitative measures is important. But these are still ‘outputs’ – what we need to try and do is measure ‘outcomes’. Are we having the intended affect? Are we contributing to a change in opinion or behavior?

The great and the good of the international PR community, including the CIPR, got their heads together in 2010 and came up with seven key factors which should shape best practice. These are known as the Barcelona Principles:

1. Importance of goal setting and measurement

2. Measuring the effect on outcomes is preferred to measuring outputs

3. Effect on business results can and should be measured where possible

4. Media measurement requires quantity and quality

5. AVEs are not the value of public relations

6. Social media can and should be measured

7. Transparency and replicability are paramount to sound measurement

Success starts with excellent planning and strategy. A wise and successful businessman I know, Stewart Barnes, explained that “Strategy is doing the right things. Tactics are doing things right.” True of business planning, true of PR planning too. There’s little point in delivering an amazing PR campaign (doing tactics really well) if it doesn’t meet the objectives of the client.

So here’s my top seven, the Bryars’ Principles of PR planning and measurement:

1. Understand as much as you can about what success means for each client

2. Create a strategy that will support the journey to success

3. Be specific

4. Execute your plans and tactics brilliantly

5. Stay focused on outcomes

6. Don’t get lost in tools – measurement is a discipline, not a single metric

7. PR rarely functions in isolation – own your part, share the success

What’s your version?

Sarah Bryars

Chief Executive

The resolve to succeed

Bitter economic chill, but are there blue skies ahead?

As we approach the end of the first month of 2013 there has been a lot of negativity in the media – with the prospect of a triple-dip recession, well known brands such as Jessops, HMV and Blockbusters failing to cope with the changes in technology, and the snow causing havoc for businesses.  It’s been rather tiresome watching endless reports from roadside TV crews telling us how bad the conditions are.

Have we heard all this negativity somewhere before? Well, yes we have. Cast your minds back to early Summer 2012 when we were told that the Olympics would be a disaster with transport chaos, security issues, problems with ticketing and lack of British success.

Last weekend, starved of my staple diet of Saturday afternoon National Hunt racing on Channel Four, I decided to watch a DVD of the 2012 Olympics. It really brought home to me what an amazing event it was and how the huge negatives were overcome to prove that it is possible to be successful, even when everyone tells you that you will fail! As Lord Coe said in his wonderful speech at the closing ceremony: “When our time came, Britain did it right”.

But why were the Olympics and Paralympics so successful, and how can businesses take inspiration in a difficult economic environment so that we too can look back in a few years and say “we did it right”?

It’s my opinion that the key drivers behind the success of London 2012 were leadership, organisation, planning, teamwork, public enthusiasm and a strong desire to make it work!

Sebastian Coe was a brilliant middle distance athlete and a double Olympic gold medal winner in 1980 and 1984. He was involved in the London bid from the start and took over as the chair of the bidding committee in 2004, playing a huge part in the successful bid in July 2005. Coe then became chairman of LOCOG and has shown himself to be an outstanding leader and was a major reason for the success of the Games. Every business needs leaders who are able to provide focus, motivation, inspiration and provide solutions to problems as well as a strong resolve to get things done. That’s something that my Board has considered closely this last year, prompted by my colleague Sarah’s participation in LEAD, the unique leadership development programme run by QuoLux.

Of course Coe could not do everything himself. He headed up a strong LOCOG team to make sure that the organisation was in place to execute the extensive plans. Construction of Olympic sites was based on redevelopment with an emphasis on sustainability. The major redevelopment was the Olympic Park built on a former industrial site in Stratford, although existing sites were also used. The construction programme came under the authority of the Olympic Delivery Authority and the success of two large organisations working together emphasises the need for having a clear vision and mission with succinct plans, clear milestones and regular reviews.

The final cost of the Olympics is estimated to be around £9 billion, which also emphasises that any strategies must be accurately budgeted and re-forecast. While it would be unlikely for most businesses to have a project of this scale, it does highlight the need to look at your business, consider areas where growth is likely to occur, and look at areas that are not so profitable. The recent collapse of the high street stores shows how they have been slow to react to change and their businesses have been severely damaged. It helps to have good financial direction to ensure that it is possible to achieve product and customer profitability, as well as the ability to regularly update profit and cashflow forecasts. This message has been at the heart of my career as a Financial Director, and one that I’m keen to share with other small businesses, which is why I have become an Associate Director of SouthWestfd.

The volunteers, police and military were a huge success displaying great enthusiasm and making sure that everything ran smoothly on the days of competition. The uniforms of the Games Makers became very iconic. These were the workers who made things happen; they were fully aware of what was expected of them and ‘lived’ the vision to make the Olympics a huge success. We can make sure that all our employees are motivated by taking an interest in them, letting them know what is expected of them and how we can help them to develop. Teamwork is a key component in making businesses successful, as well as delivering the vision for the future.

The huge public enthusiasm for the Games meant that sports not normally in the limelight were in the headlines. The success of our British competitors helped and also gave a tremendous feeling of national pride and optimism.  Let us hope that there will be a lasting legacy for the Games and we can encourage more people to participate in sport.

So as the sun filters through the clouds at the end of a snowy week, are things as bad as the media would have us believe? Well, it is certainly a challenging time to be running a business. But if we can take inspiration and learn from the success of London 2012 and have a strong resolve to succeed, there is no reason why we cannot say in a few years: “we did it right”.

Colin Spencer
Chairman, Target PR