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While employee engagement is now highly regarded as a critical enabler to business success, organisations and associated HR and internal communication teams are still faced with a number of challenges when it comes to building and maintaining it. For many businesses, this is largely shown by their employee turnover figures that continue to increase year after year, with research also reporting that 63% of companies admit retaining employees is actually harder than hiring them.

A recent survey declared British CEOs as disengaged from the workforce.  This, coupled with recent research from one our clients, employee engagement app technology company Vevox, which found over one-third (34%) of employees in large organisations say that management rarely or never listen to them and address their ideas, also suggests that there is a sizeable engagement gap between senior management and the workforce. This, in turn, is arguably affecting employees’ willingness to provide feedback – which is backed up further by Vevox’s research that revealed more than half of employees (57%) are often afraid to voice ideas to management about how their role or the business could be improved.

Organisations are also somewhat challenged by the ever-changing employee demands prompted by our multi-generational workforce. With so many varied needs and expectations, it can be difficult for companies to cater for everyone. But if they aren’t doing so, it will likely have a negative effect on how their employees engage with them.

Fortunately, today’s technology is giving businesses a good chance at improving engagement levels and building positive relationships between senior management teams and employees. There is a new array of communication and engagement gamification apps that not only appeal to younger, tech-savvy workers, but also open up opportunities for organisations to offer employees new ways of engaging with the business and sharing feedback and ideas.

In addition to this, AI and data analytics technologies are providing businesses with intelligent insights that enable HR teams to identify and track employee trends, monitor satisfaction and create tailored development and career plans to enhance engagement and retain staff.

Social media is also another valuable platform that organisations can utilise to engage with their workforce. Giving employees the opportunity to engage with different channels can encourage them to feel continuously connected with the business and keeps them informed with the latest updates and company news.

As today’s business landscape continues to evolve and change, employee engagement is likely to continue to present some challenges. But, if organisations utilise the engagement tools that are available to them to the best of their advantage, they do have the potential to derive great value from their workforce.

What’s your career background, in brief?

My first proper introduction to the fast-paced, ever-changing world of PR was my sandwich year placement at the John Lewis Partnership as part of my PR degree at Leeds Beckett University. I supported the events and photography team, working on various exciting projects across fashion, home and technology, including press shows, lookbook shoots and the celebrations for the Partnership’s 150-year anniversary. Every day was different, and even though it was an in-house role, it gave me a taste of what agency life could be like, jumping between projects and brand teams.

After graduating university with a First Class degree, I joined a leading boutique consumer agency, working on household name interior and consumer technology brand accounts. Due to the size of agency, I wore a lot of hats during my time there – from press officer and event organiser, to social media manager and business development executive. An interest in embracing a more tech-focused role brought me to Whiteoaks, moving into the B2B space.

What’s the most challenging job you’ve ever had?

At university, one of my part time jobs was in a call centre – a great way to develop a thick skin!

What apps, technology items and gadgets can’t you live without?

I run my life from my phone, so I’d be pretty lost without it. App-wise, my top three would be Whatsapp, Instagram and Strava – I’m a keen runner, so I love seeing the stats build up.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

You can’t change how people act towards you, you can only change how you react to other people – a solid bit of advice that I try to keep in mind.

Name one thing about your job that gives you a sense of satisfaction or makes you leave the office smiling?

It’s always nice when the client is happy, but I really enjoy helping a team member with their development and seeing them succeed – whether that’s on a standalone project or growing their skill set in a particular area.

Do you personalise your workspace?

Not really as I’m a bit of a neat freak – at my last job I was mocked for chronologically numbering my notepads!

What’s the first thing you do in the office in the morning?

I have quite a long commute, so I’m ready for a coffee as soon as I get in! Then I’ll check my emails and form a to-do list for the day – usually accompanied by a chat over the desks about everyone’s evenings.

What are you reading, watching or listening to at the moment?

We’re finishing up the second series of Dark, a dubbed German-language drama on Netflix, which has been really intense. Maybe that’s why I’m opting for lighter reading material at the moment – Diary of a Drag Queen by Crystal Ramussen (yes, she’s the drag queen from R29 Money Diaries; if you know, you know!). Before that it was The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne, which is one of the best books I’ve read lately and would highly recommend.

To say that technology has become an all-encompassing entity amidst modern-day life would be to state an obvious fact. Most of us would only need to look at our daily routines to grasp a sense of how digitally dependent we truly are. No longer do we walk to our local travel agents to book a holiday abroad, we simply download a mobile app that allows us to from the comfort of our own home – but wait, there’s more. Now we can book ourselves a taxi to the airport. We can pre-order food to eat before our flight. We have mobile banking to convert the British pound into our necessary currency. Tech has enabled us to achieve more than we could possibly imagine, and for many businesses, technology and the subsequent effect it has on our lives brings the promise of professional perks, as well as plenty of potential pitfalls.

In a 2019 article that explores the benefits of technology in business, Alison Coleman of The Telegraph states that business leaders aim to focus their attention on the rise of social media. Surveys conducted by Brother UK and Telegraph Spark which Coleman samples within her article state that 35% of business owners believe social media will be their central focus over the next 12 months in order to future-proof their enterprise. Online platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter are all used to promote global businesses and the sales of their products and goods. It can also be argued that these same social media applications are used to ‘sell’ our own self-image, whether that be our authentic selves or an ideal image of our life which we hope other people will believe and accept. According to a recent UENI study (as featured in The Telegraph), Facebook is named as the preferred platform for selling products, with five out of six small businesses admitting to using social media platforms as a way of increasing their company sales. Here we can see a prime example of how technology is used to increase efficiency and productivity in our daily work environment, supporting the idea that the effect of technology on our lives is one that provides positive results.

Another form of technology piquing the interest of business owners is artificial intelligence (AI). The rise of AI and the effect it has on our working lives has garnered much attention in recent years, including media coverage from publications such as Forbes who discuss the use of AI during the business recruitment process. The 2019 article states that AI-enabled machines are now being implemented to help business owners choose the right candidates based on cognitive and emotional responses. While this ideology may help pick the appropriate candidates based on intelligence, it seems that the human interaction of a face-to-face interview could now become a distant memory as a result.

A recent statistic from thinktank platform Reform (as featured in a 2017 article from HRreview) indicates that 250,000 administrative jobs could be taken over by AI-based technologies as of the year 2030. This statement foreshadows a more drastic effect that technology could have on the everyday lives of working humans; a future that highlights our society’s reliance on technology, as well as the potential for an AI-dominant workplace. In terms of how workers themselves feel about this change, YouGov reveals that 38% of workers believe their current job will still exist for them in 15 years’ time, however, 15% of employees believe that their job will soon be replaced by AI entirely.

To conclude, it seems that rather than influencing our lives, technology has simply become a part of life itself. The reality is that technology is not going away. But rather than assessing whether this digital uprising is a positive or negative thing we should be embracing and acknowledging both sides of the coin while keeping our eyes peeled for the latest and greatest advancements.

The role of PR is constantly evolving as its lines are often blurred with marketing and advertising. At the end of the day, each of these disciplines works towards the common goal of getting customers to part with their cash by creating a unique name and image in their mind – the very definition of ‘branding’.

More than that, branding triggers the memories of every touchpoint that customers have had with your company; everything that they have seen or heard, from content in the news or on social media to your company values and culture. They all impact on your brand image.

Is this different in the B2B space? Yes, it is for the simple reason that B2B requirements differ. The relationship between vendor and customer in B2B deals is often a partnership as opposed to a simple, one-time transaction. This heightens the importance of communicating that your business understands its customers’ pain points.

Buyers in the B2B environment are often required to make more strategic, long-term decisions on behalf of their organisation. It is therefore vital that sellers deliver strong and consistent messaging across platforms that will be seen by the buyer.

That is where PR comes in.

We are living in a time of media abundance. It is nigh on impossible to leave the house without hearing about the latest breaking news or being exposed to the latest advert promoting the latest gadget that you really don’t need (but will probably end up buying anyway). It has become increasingly difficult for brands to get their voices heard above the noise.

To change the outcome, you must change the approach. It’s time to get creative!

What differentiates you from your competitors? Not sure? Don’t worry, we can help with that .

A unique piece of industry research that pinpoints the pain points of a specific group of people can feed a wide range of PR and marketing materials, from articles and blogs to infographics and social media posts, each positioning your brand as the industry leader.

Alternatively, industry expertise can be utilised to present your business as the go-to-place for support in the industry.

Whatever your differentiator is, you should use it to tell the story of your business and how not working with it is the business equivalent of losing a limb (or something a little less scary!).

Attracting and obtaining loyal customers is about finding people who share a fundamental belief, so find out what that fundamental belief is and shout it from the rooftops.

Marketing expert, Simon Sinek famously stated that ‘people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe’. Your buyers aren’t interested in your product specs, they want to know how and why your product will change their lives for the better. Whatever that is for your business, find it and use it to feed your communications activity.

And don’t forget, if you need help drop us an email or give us a call by visiting our contact page.

Much has changed in the world of PR over the last 10 years, from the decline in print media, to the rise of social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram (to name but a few!). So, as we enter a new decade, what trends can we expect to shape our industry in 2020?

Social Media

It may come as no surprise to hear that social media will continue to play a significant role. Over the last decade it has provided companies with a platform to engage directly with their audience and help build awareness. Over the last few years, the importance of social influencers has really taken off and this will continue to hold true. However, the sorts of influencers we approach is set to change. Consumers are getting savvier when it comes to influencers who represent brands they don’t genuinely believe in. Cue the micro-influencers!

In the past, marketing and PR professionals have opted to approach so called ’macro-influencers’; individuals with a following of between 100,000 to over 1 million. However, recently there has been some doubt around the authenticity of their promotional activity. And so, in 2020 we expect to see a shift towards the use of more micro-influencers; individuals who are still considered experts but with a smaller following of between 10,000 and 500,000, allowing them to be more connected and engaged with their followers.

Niche Media

The way in which we consume media is changing. The rise in AI has meant that we expect content to be tailored and personalised; the news is no different. Traditionally in PR, the goal is to get that top-tier media placement, however, like with the move from ‘macro’ to ‘micro-influencers’, the media is also shifting its attention to more niche publications such as blogs, forums and podcasts. Outlets like these focus on specific topics while still having a large readership, allowing companies and brands to target a specialised, niche audience.

New avenues for existing channels

There’s also the social media shopping trend to consider. Now more than ever people are using these platforms to shop and discover new products, with around 60% of Instagram users and 70 % of Pinterest users shopping via social media.

These platforms have taken note of the fact that people are using them to shop and have made it easier for stores to sell via social media. Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook have all jumped on the trend of developing shoppable posts for online retailers, allowing stores to tag products directly on their posts. For PR experts, this means social media is going to become even more critical to a successful campaign and product messages will need to be integrated with these tags to take advantage of the increase in online traffic.

Audio

There are now estimated to be 3.25 billion voice-activated assistant devices being used across the world. Do you use one?? I’ll admit I do! And they have changed the way in which we carry out daily tasks. Not only are people using voice-activated assistants to play music, tell us what the weather will be or set a timer; we can also use them to consume news and carry out searches. So, as voice technology continues to grow, what do PR professionals need to be aware of when writing a pitch?

• How does your pitch read when spoken aloud? Typically PR professionals have only had to consider how words are read. However, with more and more people using voice-activated assistants to search for news we must now think about how words sound when read aloud in response to a question.
• Key words – the search terms people use when speaking to a voice-activated assistant will be noticeably different to those used when typing in a web browser. Consequently, PR professionals must think about the keywords in their pitch and how this aligns with the way in which people search across both voice assistants and internet web browsers.

This also affects existing communication channels. Things such as packaging, manuals, apps and emails are all ways in which companies can already take advantage of voice activation. For this to be successful, it must be clear to consumers what key terms to use in order to utilise a company’s voice features.

This is but a glimpse at some of the exciting trends set to transform the PR industry in the coming year, and I for one am excited to see what the next decade has in store for PR.

The lure of potential growth, scalability, enhanced profitability and market domination fuels the merger and acquisition (M&A) market. Over the last three years the value of global M&A deals has increased year-on-year to reach $3.8bn in 2018 (Statista). And in the UK alone, 9,000 deals took place (Statista). A successful M&A can combine a wealth of collateral, including: people, assets, ways of working, values, branding, technology, IT software, marketing assets and… social media channels.

Once the principles of an M&A have been carefully planned, developing a combined social media strategy might not be a top business priority, but it should be considered. Although social media might have started as a hipster trend, it’s now flourished to become an incredibly important tool in the marketing and business mix. It allows businesses to instantly connect with customers, partners, prospects and employees. We are more digitally savvy and spending more time on social media than ever before (wearesocial). And despite the rumours, we are willing to exchange our data on social media.

Where to start?

There is not a single rule on how to approach combining two social media strategies and infrastructures following an M&A because each business is different. Should the social media accounts remain, merge, rebrand, or completely close all together? Each M&A should be assessed on a case-by-case basis and should align to the wider business direction. But where do you start? Conduct a social media audit to identify which channels you might need to take ownership of and understand the positioning and performance of the channels. You should consider the following:

• What social media channels exist? Who has access? What are the passwords?
• How well established are the channels? What audience are they targeting? How engaged is the audience?
• What is the channel and/or content strategy? Customer service? Brand awareness? Lead gen?
• What third-party digital and social media tools are they using? What’s included in the contract? And when does it expire?
• Do any employees have brand social media accounts, such as the senior management team or sales?
• Do you have a PR and social media policy? Identify if the business owns the rights to the channels or whether they’re owned by the individuals.

Remember your customers

Before making any decisions, think about the short- and long-term outlook, and the customer. Minimise as much disruption as possible for customers and clearly communicate to them what they need to know. Retaining and migrating customers is essential. Don’t be surprised if a competitor runs a paid social media campaign targeting your followers following your M&A going public. This is a common tactic.

Once a new social media strategy has been agreed, consider how it should be communicated internally, to whom and what level of information they need to know and action. Prioritise teams that are directly connected with social media such as customer service, sales and marketing.

Understand the landscape

When considering social media best practice on how to approach M&A, it’s important to understand the limitations of each social media network. This varies considerably from platform to platform. For example, you can easily delete a Twitter channel, but you can’t delete a LinkedIn page. On Instagram you can easily change your name, if it’s not taken, but on Facebook you can’t, you must apply for a name change.

There’s a lot to consider and navigate following an M&A. But remember to keep it simple when it comes to communication, put the customer first, align your efforts with the wider business direction and make sure you know what you can and can’t do on each platform.

Ross Walker, Head of Digital & Social

 

It’s official. The Apostrophe Protection Society, founded in 2001, has shut down; largely due to apathy if its founder, retired journalist John Richards, is to be believed. And yes, it is easy to believe because as a copywriter, it’s one of the things I notice; the misuse of the apostrophe (never for plurals!) or leaving it out completely.

Some, including a linguistic expert, think the death of the apostrophe is a good thing. It’s like our appendix. Who needs it anyway?

Of course, I beg to differ. As a writer, a language lover, and a bit of a pedant, the apostrophe has to stay.

Here’s why.

Apathy or laziness?

The linguistic expert mentioned above says too , misuse of the apostrophe is used to show up people with lower intelligence: “A good grasp of apostrophe use says more about your ability to remember inconsistent patterns than it does about your intelligence.”

I don’t think it’s an intelligence issue. I think it’s about laziness. With shortcuts for everything, are we simply too lazy to remember (or learn) what correct grammar and punctuation look like? And why should we bother when we have autocorrect functionality on our phones, built-in grammar checks on Word and upcoming generations that text in code?

We should bother because details matter and we (writers, at least) don’t want to get replaced by robots.

But that’s a topic for another blog.

Evolution or devolution?

Looking at language in general, it’s true that English has evolved and continues to change with use, influenced by other languages, slang and a new generation that could shorten this blog to 280 characters.

Just think about the new words we’ve added this year alone like “bigsie”, “e-bike” and “skunked”. There are also words we don’t use anymore and not ones like “shininicked” (benumbed and paralysed with fear) or “loitersacke” (a lazy, loitering fellow), but words like “whilst” or “thus” or “henceforth”.

We’ve also relaxed a lot when it comes to style itself, like starting sentences with conjunctions like “and” or “but”. I’ve done it in this blog.

But (see, I’ve done it again), where do we draw the line on what gets discarded? Could we ever get rid of other punctuation like the full stop? Then every single piece of written content would resemble a Facebook rant, just minus the emojis (another new word). The same can be said of the comma. This little mark is often overused or not used at all — and if we got rid of it (shudder) it would be a gamble each time we wrote something that the meaning would be properly conveyed. Just consider:

“Let’s eat Grandma.” vs “Let’s eat, Grandma.”

I’m going to leave that there.

Language is fluid. I accept that. But there should be some guidelines we still stick to, because it’s a slippery slope. First, we dismiss the apostrophe, then the comma, the em dash (my personal favourite) and then the fullstop.

& thn in 10yrs tm well all b tking lke ths if we rnt alrdy.

Technology trends such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing have been hot topics in the news for some time due to their influence on our everyday lives. The same certainly applies to human resources, as I have seen first-hand how technology is bringing multiple benefits to every stage of the employee lifecycle, from recruitment through to employee wellbeing.

With a rise in trends like remote working and the influx of a younger workforce, people are becoming increasingly disparate, posing a fresh set of challenges for HR leaders to ensure a happy, connected and productive environment. While there is an argument that reducing the human element from HR management can lead to workers feeling isolated, in today’s digitally savvy workplace, technology has instead become a critical enabler in driving a better experience for companies and their employees alike. For example, there is an increasing requirement for employers to support their employees on issues that extend beyond the office environment, helping them to manage physical, financial and mental wellbeing as well as their work-life balance.

How we use HR technology continues to change how we manage our employee data, HR processes and the benefits offered to our teams. The abundance of data that the latest solutions provide allow us to better inform business decisions and facilitate a more efficient and happier workplace. Automated workflows and collaboration make working life easier, more engaging and fun; with the wrong system in place people can easily become disengaged and hinder overall productivity.

HR technology is not one size fits all – solutions are required that use technology to allow employees and employers to interact intuitively with the ability to scale and grow with your business. There is an increasing demand for apps and other technologies to cover the whole employee lifecycle; from supporting recruitment and staff retention to fostering staff wellbeing and boosting performance. The ability to manage payroll, performance reviews and company suggestions remotely is nothing short of a game-changer, as creating a streamlined and automated process removes the administrative stranglehold and frees up time for senior HR professionals to focus on more strategic issues.

To conclude, managing employee wellbeing in today’s working environment requires a modern approach. HR managers must adapt to both mitigate the issues and take advantages of the opportunities that a technologically advanced workplace can bring.

There’s one story that has dominated the tech news this week and that’s the unveiling of Tesla’s much anticipated Cybertruck. Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised something different and that’s exactly what we got. The electric pickup looks like a mashup between something you would expect to see in Back to the Future and Blade Runner, and the design has certainly divided opinion. You can’t help but admire Musk’s insistence on being deliberately different!

A Tesla pickup truck makes plenty of sense on paper – the three top-selling vehicles in the US are pickup trucks and the consumer appetite for electric cars is clearly growing, so Musk knows his product has a market. But the Cybertruck needs to be aesthetically appealing to the majority of potential buyers to really make a dent in the marketplace and despite impressive pre-sale figures, those looks could restrict potential eventual sales.

Speaking of impacts, Musk used the launch event to demonstrate the durability of the truck’s bodywork by having the doors walloped with a sledgehammer. Unfortunately, the impact weakened the supposedly bulletproof ‘Armour glass’ of the windows, which shattered when a metal ball was thrown at them in an experiment that was supposed to demonstrate their strength…

Not many vehicles are currently fitted with bulletproof glass so this isn’t exactly a security measure that potential owners will be especially bothered about. But there is a big security question mark over a long-promised feature for Tesla vehicles, one that is yet to materialise. Musk has been promising fully self-driving capabilities for Tesla vehicles for a while now, meaning passengers won’t have to pay any attention to the road. Tesla’s existing self-driving functionality requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road. While it doesn’t look like full self-driving mode will happen anytime soon, the risks are already being explored.

A new report from Europe’s cybersecurity agency ENISA warns that increased connectivity and automation exposes vehicle owners to several crucial cyber threats. Armour glass might help us escape from hijacking events, but automakers need to think about security measures to stop vehicles being hacked and systems being overridden while we’re riding in them.

As the world becomes increasingly connected, we are becoming more exposed to cyber threats and as we see more connectivity and automation – not just in the way we travel but in other sectors too including construction and infrastructure – security will become increasingly important.

To overcome the challenge ahead, automakers may have to work closely with cybersecurity experts and agencies like ENISA to keep potential threats at bay. It’s inevitable that as the reality of self-driving vehicles on public roads draws closer, regulations will be put into place to protect public safety and this could add further delay to Musk’s promise of a fully autonomous Tesla.

If, and when, self-driving cars and haulage trucks take to the roads, automakers need to be considering the safety aspects of the technology that is being put into vehicles. If they don’t, we could really find ourselves in a dystopian thriller like those that inspired the design of the Cybertruck.