Internal publics can occasionally be forgotten in the drive to create a top-class external reputation. But employees are very important-apart from the need to motivate them to work effectively, employees speak to people when they go home. They are the ambassadors of goodwill for the company: if they bad-mouth their employer, they'll be believed by their households and friends.
People devote a great deal of their lives to working, and not just for money. If we were motivated just by money, we'd all be pornographers and drug dealers, simply because that's where the money is. As things stand, we all try to do work we find agreeable for employers who treat us with respect.
There are many ways in which employees can be brought on board: a newsletter is one of them. It provides a non-threatening communications link in between management and staff, and (maybe more importantly) among staff. It also helps to generate a feeling of belonging, which is great for morale.
Newsletters are simply a brief outline of the latest developments in the firm. They could be produced in hard copy, with or with out illustrations (desktop publishing makes it easy to include photos or cartoons), or can be produced electronically. The choice depends upon regardless of whether employees are all on e-mail or not.
Employees should be encouraged to contribute their own news. Knowing that Jane in Accounts is expecting a baby, or that Eric is moving home this weekend, may seem irrelevant towards the management but it helps to produce a sense of community. In bigger firms, staff may be encouraged to tell the newsletter when they've pulled off a effective deal or had a breakthrough in developing a brand new product. This can be an essential source of information for senior management, since it indicates what people are most proud of in their work.
News from management should be about things the staff will be interested in, such as a big new order, a effective new product launch, or somebody getting a promotion. Negative news should be avoided.
Publish regularly-once a week or a minimum of once a month. Do not let the newsletter become a propaganda device for management. Encourage staff to contribute. At first the contributions will probably be poor-let them get used to having a newsletter, and also the high quality will improve. Only include positives in the newsletter. There are other places to talk about negatives.
Journalists exist to write news stories. They don't exist to promote your business. This is so obvious it shouldn't need stating, but many people manage to permit journalists to take control of the interview, and in so doing allow the journalist to produce a story out of it by quoting out of context, by directing the interviewee to say something he or she had not intended to reveal, or even by misrepresenting the person's statements.
In reality, the vast majority of journalists are fair-minded and attempt to give an honest account of the story, but at the end of the day they're under pressure to write the news-and that can sometimes get in the way of fair reporting. This idea is from a publisher of a computer magazine-someone who really knows how to cope with journalists!
You need to make sure that the journalist is getting down what you say accurately, so the first question is "Are you recording this, or ought to I speak gradually so you can take notes of everything?" The best outcome is if the journalist is making a recording, so remember to speak clearly anyway for the tape. Alternatively, have the interview carried out by way of email.
If it's to be done this way, reassure the journalist that you'll be giving blunt, honest replies, not PR-speak. Finally, do not be drawn into saying what the reporter wants you to say. They frequently look for examples of conflict, and will have a tendency to encourage you to reveal plans aimed at damaging your competition, for example. Think about what you are going to say before the interview begins. This will save disappointment later.
Attempt to ensure that the interview is being recorded in some way apart from straightforward note-taking. This will decrease the opportunity of accidental or even deliberate misquoting. Aim to give interviews by email if feasible, but do not use this as an excuse to hand out some regular, sanitized phrases. You certainly don't wish to alienate the reporters by using PR-speak.
Don't be drawn into saying something you did not intend to say. You can't withdraw a statement once produced, and speaking "off the record" is unhelpful and dangerous. Do not feel the need to fill a silence. Assume that your worst sentence in the interview will probably be the lead sentence in the finished story. This will focus your mind!
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Note: This article was sent to us by: Jeff Brown at 01242011
1. PR is a lot of what appears in the news
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