Effective Meeting Management
It's often the foundation of corporate activity, yet it can easily turn into the bane of many executives' existences: the meeting. Making sure that meetings are an effective
use of time and resources takes skill, and communications execs are in a good position to facilitate good tete-a-tetes. However, a new study conducted by Opinion Research USA,
titled "Ouch Point," lists the greatest meeting frustrations experienced by workers. The top 10 missteps include:
1. Disorganized, rambling meetings: 27%
2. People who interrupt peers and try to dominate the meeting: 17%
3. Cell-phone interruptions: 16%
4. People who fall asleep in meetings: 9%
5. Meetings with no bathroom breaks: 8%
6. Long meetings without refreshments: 6%
7. People leaving early or arriving late: 5%
8. People how check their Blackberries during meetings: 5%
9. Meetings that start late: 4%
10. No written recap of the meeting outcomes: 4%
The bad news is that these complaints are widespread and habitual, and longstanding habits are hard to break. The good news, though, is that the #1 and #2 complaints fall
within the realm of communicators' skills: Organizing meeting itineraries and moderating conversations are both easy fixes that will make group time more effective in achieving
organizational goals.
In terms of meeting recaps, internal communications best practices - coupled with digital platforms - indicate this initiative should be a no-brainer for PR professionals.
CSR Survey Results Transcend Politics
A recent study conducted by Fleishman-Hillard in conjunction with the National Consumers League revealed CSR's implications on the upcoming 2008 Presidential
election. The second annual survey examined the expectations that the public has of corporate America and the factors that drive those beliefs and attitudes. Among the
findings:
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The vast majority of those surveyed want Congress to ensure that it addresses pressing social issues - and that goes for all political persuasions (96% of Democrats,
80% of Independents and 65% of Republicans);
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More than 75% of survey respondents disapprove of U.S. companies' CSR records;
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77% believe that there is a need for global standards outlining corporate social responsibility criteria (as compared to 65% last year);
Employees still trump the environment:
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For the second year in a row, respondents agreed that it treatment of employees and commitment to the community was more important than environmental
stewardship;
Digital communications channels are playing a larger role:
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73% of respondents who use online resources, have used Internet search engines to learn about companies' CSR records;
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57% have used Web sites or independent groups;
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Nearly half have turned to corporate Web sites; and
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More than 25% - a 100% increase over last year's findings - are specifically turning to blogs or podcasts set up by customers or non-management employees of
companies.
Re-Branding Excellence
Best Practices' recent study on re-launch and re-branding best practices settled on the following statistics and tips:
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95% of surveyed companies find that adjusting core messages is adequate to redefining the brand character of the product; and
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Approximately 75% of investments are shared by sales, various promotional channels and advocacy initiatives.
While this survey specifically focused on biotech and pharamaceutical companies - which have recently gone under much scrutiny - the point of aligning core messages to
facilitate effective rebranding is of particular relevance to communications executives.