Internal Communication

President Trump’s dismissal of James Comey as director of the F.B.I. May 9 would have been highly controversial no matter how it happened. But how to work within a scenario like that to ameliorate stakeholder dissatisfaction is a major facet of what we as communicators should practice—and it’s a facet that seems to have been neglected by the administration’s communications arm.

In this second of a three-part series about the PR pro’s role in communicating change, the author discusses how to assess what attitudes your stakeholders have regarding change. This is easier said than done as attitudes likely will differ between groups of stakeholders, regions and professions. Owing to its importance and sensitivity, change requires communication that is multi-dimensional. This is a time for two-way communication.

Last year, I moved. That meant along with changes to my billing address, my favorite coffee shop and my go-to dog park, I also switched cable TV providers, sending me down a month-long rabbit hole of technician visits, troubleshooting phone calls and frustrations of every kind. The experience also resulted in the best PR I’ve ever received. It was due to just 1 employee who cared.

“No man is an island entire of itself…” John Donne wrote in 1624. Ah, but get that man, or woman, to work and he or she can be positively insular. Large, public companies, midsize firms and… Continued

As the Super Bowl went into overtime and the Patriots took the lead and won the Vince Lombardi Trophy, my husband looked over at me and did not say “Wow, that was amazing!” Nor did… Continued

Coming just days after the Women’s March, PR News’ Top Women in PR awards luncheon in NYC was an ebullient event that brought the PR industry together to celebrate female leadership and the individuals who’ve… Continued

Sometimes it seems hopeless: Millennials on your team have different attitudes about work and rewards than you, the slightly older professional who manages them. What are these differences? Do gender and years on the job influence these attitudes? And likely you’re thinking about the bottom line: Can answering these questions help your communications team and the company you work for modify culture and processes to better nurture and retain millennial talent? Can you adopt best practices to appeal to millennials who’ll be entering the workforce in the future? The issues are far from academic: Millennials comprise 35% of today’s workforce, and are its largest generation. In addition, they’ll be leaders in PR and communications for the next three to four decades.

Shopping for a 2017 wall calendar for my office over the holiday break, I had a hard time deciding between the zoo animals in yoga poses, all things Tuscany, or an adult coloring calendar.  My… Continued

[Editor’s Note: Due to popular demand, Rebecca Haynes is back with us to provide gift ideas for the discriminating PR pro. And in accord with the findings of the PR News Pro Salary Survey, Rebecca has listed few gifts that cost more than $40.]

With any new job comes the chance to learn from more senior team members, but also comes the chance to teach a senior team member. Understand that when I use the word “teach,” it doesn’t mean that the new hire is coming into the position with more knowledge than you. What it means is that the new hire is arriving with potentially different knowledge than you already have.