“Engagement” is, as we like to say, the “flavor of the month” amongst organization leadership, employee communication and human resource professionals. Getting an engagement score helps an organization know how they compare with other organizations like theirs as well as win headlines for “best places to work” in magazines and newspapers. What it doesn’t do …
Read more “MEASURING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT — WHAT TO MEASURE & WHY”
The "4 Steps To Public Behavior Change" by Jim Grunig, Harold Mendelsohn, Brenda Darvin, Max McCombs and other behavior change specialists laid out a path of action that has been used with great success by such efforts as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), smoking cessation programs and others. Now it has been applied to the …
Read more “Changing Behaviors On Concussion Treatment Through “Chalk Talk””
For years, PR practitioners measured effectiveness by “counting clips” and calculated the dollar value of press coverage they obtained for their organizations. Some PR people are still doing this — mostly, we hope, only when their bosses are demanding it. We have made progress, but we know we have much more work to do to …
Read more “The “So What” Factor: Migrating From Outputs to Outcomes in PR Research”
The Trump Administration is busy reversing a myriad of policies that had been put in place by the previous administration. They say these policies "hinder productive business growth and job creation". I am not arguing that one way or the other. I do want to remind us, though, of the impact these decisions could have …
It is a time for new beginnings, fresh thinking, purging files and finding different ways of doing things. If you’ve been managing your communications function for a while — or, if you’ve recently inherited the position and found yourself asking, “why are we doing what we’re doing?” – it is a good time for an …
Read more “CLEAN OUT YOUR COMMUNICATIONS JUNK DRAWER WITH A COMMUNICATION AUDIT”
School predatory sexual abuse scandals continue to be a “hot” issue for decades for educational institutions. Schools can be a Petri dish of opportunity for those who seek to abuse or exploit young people, much like youth sports, summer camps, church groups, etc. How it is handled — whether it happened last week or many …
For years, JJ&W has counseled its clients, often anxious to rush out the door of external communication with whatever news they have, that their first stop needs to be communication to any internal audiences affected by that news. It’s the priority. And it’s common courtesy. Period. And we don’t stop with asking them to communicate …
Read more “Internal Communication Is King: Kelly Ripa/Michael Strahan Controversy Is Case In Point”
When we talk about motivating behavior change, we tell people that simply making them aware of something rarely drives them to that behavior. They usually need a triggering event – whether it is naturally occurring, like a time of year or an anniversary – or “manufactured” – something the organization does – to gently push stakeholders toward a …
Because JJ&W has counseled the Brain Injury Association of NH for a number of years, we’ve gotten very familiar with the concussion issue – it has certainly been in the spotlight with triggering events like the death of Junior Seau of the San Diego Chargers and more recently, the movie “Concussion”. Of course, any social …
There are a wide variety of issues that can cause organizations significant heartburn — if not outright damage — and occasionally, destruction. It is the role of the public relations practitioner to conduct an ongoing scan of the environment (from both an internal and external perspective) to predict and prepare for these issues before they …