A Future Without Borders
By Patrick Keenan, associate director, GolinHarris in Singapore. |
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| Patrick Keenan |
I was flipping through my copy of Al Golin's "After 50 years, you'd think I'd have learned something" 2006 calendar, looking for inspiration to write this piece. And sure enough, I was inspired.
What struck me was that his writings are as relevant to our business today as when Al made that cold call to McDonald's in 1957. Demonstrating trust, integrity, passion and the personal touch is the right way to do business. It always has been and always will be.
Al's lessons from the past 50 years continue to resonate, but the world is changing, more rapidly than ever before. Globalization is of course a huge factor, as is technology—especially in our business—with the rise of new media and a new communications structure called personal and participatory media.
This evolving world brings new challenges, new pressure points and new opportunities that we and our clients need to understand, anticipate and address. If we can achieve that, then we will be able to add value to and enhance our relationships with our clients.
Understanding this evolving world—by country, region, industry and issues—is not easy. So how do we achieve it? At GH in Singapore, we have a unique opportunity to work with a multitude of clients. As our business takes on a regional and global perspective, the work we do becomes more complicated, but also brings tremendous challenges and opportunities.
More and more, these clients look to us not just to address their PR needs, but also less visible needs such as issues management and internal communications. Some of it also entails cross-cultural communications.
However, there is no better way to learn about a country, its heritage, socio-economic, political and cultural affairs than to be totally immersed in that environment.
To me, the GH Asia Pacific Exchange (APX) provides the ideal platform to develop knowledge and understanding of different cultural and business environments in this region.
As a GH participant in the APX earlier this year, I spent two weeks in the Sydney office. I was attached to their very experienced healthcare team and was just in time to work with them on one of their most important projects ever—the launch of a women's sexual health campaign.
What impressed me most was the very broad remit of the team. The Sydney team put together and managed a program that included strategic and tactical direction, partnership recruitment and development, medical expert recruitment and briefing, media relations, writing and production of a patient information pack distributed to thousands of family health clinics and doctors' offices, consumer information ads placed throughout the country, radio advertisements and an information website. The public launch was a huge success and won rave reviews from the client.
From a professional standpoint, this not only demonstrated a higher level of strategic thinking and superior execution at all levels, but also provided the client with a total communications solution.
The exposure to these new ideas, processes and strategies was the intangible that I took away from my time with the Sydney team. In my book, The APX exchange program is surely one of the leading development programs not just in our company, but in our industry.
As public relations professionals, we need to start gearing up to face the challenges of this new borderless, boundary-less world. The APX is making GolinHarris better able to do just that.
| U.S. and U.K. Workers Confirm that Good Communication Fuels Employee Trust and Retention |
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Effective employee communication can spell the difference between retaining employees and losing them, based on a new joint study by Insidedge and GolinHarris.
"Employees want to work for companies and organizations that are willing to have dialog with their workers” |
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According to a survey of nearly 2,300 white- and blue-collar workers, between 75 and 80 percent of employees in the United States and Great Britain say the way their employers communicate with them influences their desire to stay put or look for a job elsewhere. Of those surveyed, more than 30 percent said communication is a "big influence" on their decision to stay or go.
"In an era when employee turnover costs companies millions of dollars each year, it is important to know that candid, two-way communication between a company and its people can drive employee retention," said Keith Burton, president of Insidedge. "This survey backs what we have learned through our work: Employees want to work for companies and organizations that are willing to have dialog with their workers."
Insidedge conducted an online survey of more than 1,000 workers in the U.S. and more than 1,000 in the U.K. The survey polled employees of both large and small companies, from senior management to the front lines.
Based on survey results, Insidedge was able to classify three types of employees:
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| Keith Burton |
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"Leapers” – who are very likely to leave their current employer in the next three years; |
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"Lookers” – who have a mid-range probability of leaving their current employer in the next three years; and |
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"Lifers” – who are very likely to stay with their current employer during the next three years |
Within these categories, 73 percent of U.S. job "Lifers" (and 79 percent in the U.K.) said their employers communicate well with them. On the other hand, only 47 percent of U.S. and 45 percent of U.K. "Leapers" said their employers communicate well with them. And finally, 57 percent of U.S. and 61 percent of U.K. "Lookers" believe their employers communicate well with them. This underscores the link between communication and retention, according to Burton.
However, a company that improves its internal communication also increases the likelihood of retaining the "Lookers" who are wavering between staying with or leaving their current employer. Of those surveyed, 87 percent of U.S. Lookers and 79 percent of U.K. Lookers agreed that improved communication would make a difference in their decision to stay or go.
"In many ways, employee retention can be regarded like an election, where the Lookers are like undecided voters," said David Duschene, executive vice president for Insidedge. "A company that improves its communication with employees stands a better chance of wooing the undecided voter—or, in other words, retaining employees who are in the process of making a choice about whether to quit."
Communication, Trust and Retention
Equally important, the survey found that employees are more likely to trust employers that communicate well internally, and that trust pays off in terms of employee loyalty and retention, according to Duschene.
An overwhelming majority of both U.S. (89 percent) and U.K. (91 percent) employees said that their employers' communication with them is key to earning their trust. But only about half of those most likely to leave their jobs (48 percent U.S. and 52 percent U.K.) say they trust their employers. On the flipside, about three-quarters of those most likely to stay at their jobs (78 percent U.S. and 74 percent U.K.) also say they trust their employers.
Survey participants confirmed the longstanding assertion that immediate supervisors are an employee's most trusted source for information. Asked to rate their most trusted information source from among 10 choices, 54 percent of U.S. employees and 53 percent of U.K. employees listed "my day-to-day supervisor" as the most trusted. Second was "my immediate co-workers" (41 percent in the U.S. and 45 percent in the U.K.).
Meanwhile, both U.S. and U.K. workers listed the CEO or other top executive as only the sixth most trusted source of information, ahead of the human resources department, co-workers in general across the organization, outsiders like customers and suppliers, or the corporate communications department.
"This study reinforces that companies need to prepare and require their managers and supervisors to be active communicators," Burton said. "When supervisors have and share information, they build trust and inspire loyalty for the company."
Useful Communications Vehicles
Likewise, survey participants in the U.S. and in the U.K. said they prefer open-door policies, small workgroup or department meetings or even informal or social gatherings over more static communication vehicles like newsletters, intranet sites, emails from executives or videos as information sources.
At the same time, the information shared through these vehicles needs to be timely and candid, the survey showed. In both the U.S. and the U.K., employees rated open, two-way communication between leadership and the front line as the most important improvement companies today can make in employee communications. Employees rated honesty and candor in sharing both good and bad news as the second-most important employee communications improvement companies could make. Third was ensuring timely communication so "I don't feel like I am the last to know."
What's With the Big Idea?
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| By John Morgan, managing director of GolinHarris in Hong Kong |
I recently had the honor of serving as a judge for The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 2006 International Business Plan Competition, one of the world’s leading graduate student entrepreneurial events. During the competition, budding entrepreneurs from top schools around the world pitch their business plans to leading business executives and professional investors. The best of the best—this year representing schools in Canada, Ghana, Greater China, Singapore and the United States—travel to Hong Kong for the final.
This demanding competition began with 90-second "elevator pitches,” followed by formal presentations to mock investors—15 minutes to sell the idea, then 15 minutes of grueling Q&A. Finally, the top four teams squared off against 16 senior executives representing a cross-section of Hong Kong’s business community, who judged the participants on business viability and revenue potential. Put more simply, did we believe enough in these young entrepreneurs to fund their grand ideas?
This glimpse into the brightest of tomorrow’s business leaders was both refreshing and enlightening—so enlightening, in fact, that I began to seriously think about the young talent we’ll hire in the very near future. What are their strengths, and what do they lack? I also thought about the pros and cons of their work and reflected on how often I see these characteristics in our plans and proposals.
Here are the ten lessons I took away from tomorrow’s best and brightest, in no particular order:
1. The good idea wins in the end. So what are the criteria for a good idea? Generally speaking, you know one when you hear it, and your instinct is your best guide.
| Tip: Ignore common sense at your own peril. Don’t put obvious weaknesses aside during the pitch process thinking they will work themselves out through passion and great implementation. |
2. Great talent is out there. There’s always plenty to whine about regarding young talent ("They don’t have this, they don’t have that,” etc.). However, there’s so much to get excited about. Today’s business schools are doing an outstanding job taking their students out of the books and into the real world.
| Tip: Recruit the best. If you can’t find them, look harder. |
3. The team is just as important as the idea. Great ideas lose merit quickly when the team isn’t at the same level. For this competition, the winning team had one presenter, not a team—and delivered the pitch with a no-frills PowerPoint.
| Tip: Bring the right team every time. A weak link will hurt you. |
4. Presentation format is important... but not that important. This doesn’t mean one shouldn’t have a creative, interactive presentation—that’s assumed. I wonder, though, how much time is spent on the expression of the idea vs. the idea itself?
| Tip: Make sure the idea is 100% solid before you start the razzle-dazzle PowerPoint. |
5. Clarity and conviction rule. What are you trying to do, why are you doing it, why are you the best person for the task at hand … and what do you need from us? The more one struggles to understand any of these basics, the farther he or she moves away from committing support.
| Tip: Get straight to the point; sincere belief in the idea and oneself is infectious when delivered effectively. |
6. Do market research, but don’t forget the marketing. Using market research to illustrate tomorrow’s "unmet need” is great. However, how will you use marketing to bring attention to your grand idea that helps meet the unmet need? This is sometimes a secondary thought among young entrepreneurs.
| Tip: OK, maybe this is good news for agencies. Then again, are marketing/ PR students learning what they need to in graduate school? |
7. Command of English matters. Fair or unfair, these days it’s very likely that the group you’re presenting to will expect your pitch to be in English. And, fair or unfair, your ability to do this will likely be an indicator of how international your business outlook is.
| Tip: In an era of increasing globalization, English skills make a positive difference. So, don't get upset about it, just get help for those who need it. |
8. Theatrics can be dangerous; use humor selectively or not at all. What often sounds brilliant during rehearsals can be deadly come show time—whether it’s an inappropriate obscenity, the hilarious customer testimonial, or walking off the stage and mingling with the audience. Sometimes, theatrics and humor are not only distracting, they’re disturbing.
| Tip: Test your theatrics first on someone who has no vested interest. |
9. Where is the CEO? Many teams believed that if they built the great idea, "the CEO would come.” So instead of assuming leadership themselves, they earmarked a big chunk of seed money for a distinguished industry guru who would miraculously bring it all together in the end. I was left wondering how many start-up details were being glossed over for the as-yet-unnamed CEO to handle later … or whether they had a CEO in their midst and just didn’t know it.
| Tip: Bringing the CEO to the table facilitates every meeting, every time. |
10. Where is Mainland China? We all know there is ample talent in the motherland, but are they ready for the international arena? Winning at home is important, but we need to make sure our teams play well during the away games, too.
| Tip: Find more ways to involve Mainland talent in the day-to-day operations of our international business, not just the domestic Chinese market. |
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It is an old truism of education that the teacher often learns more than the student. In this vein, I thank the young business
entrepreneurs for enlightening me about what I thought I knew so well. It’s only a matter of time before the judges and the student competitors are in the same room once again, this time for real. My only request: Please be kinder to me than I was to you. I was only trying to help.
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