The pros and cons of living in the UK versus NZ
I came to the UK nearly thirty years ago from my native New Zealand. Initially I planned to stay for a six-month overseas experience - and I’m still here today. Why, a lot of people ask, have I stayed so long, leaving such a beautiful country behind? And NZ is a truly beautiful country, but then again so is the UK. Both countries have their pros and cons…
Age is just a number! The benefits of cross-generational teams.
This guy is learning something new every day and I love it. The explosion of generations and the fusion of different life experiences within our team creates amazing ideas and boosts creativity. This is because we all look at problems and briefs from different perspectives. It also massively helps with developing messaging and media targeting – again, due to cross-generational input. I have to admit some of the things I have learnt during team chats over lunch and drinks I find rather amusing... Little did I know that ‘Grime’ is music not dirt, and ‘Sick’ means good not vomit. There is an app for most things – ‘I have an app for that’. Oh and ‘Fast Fashion’ does not mean models running down the catwalk. Something new which I heard recently is that ‘Ghosting’ does not have anything to do with Halloween or the supernatural.
Ghosting in the public relations industry
Winston Churchill famously stated “When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber". Proof that ‘ghosting’ (basically; ignoring someone) has been around for a while. Ghosting is becoming more prevalent in business. I think this is because the behaviour is now common-place and wrongly ‘accepted’ across digital dating and social media. There is a whole tranche of people, spanning different generations, who now decide to simply ignore rather than respond. Here are some of my thoughts and experiences on this topic.
Common Sense In The Workplace: Six Easy Steps To Get It Right!
The dictionary definition of common sense is, ‘the basic level of practical knowledge and judgment that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way’. Sounds simple enough, right? However, whilst we use common sense day-to-day, we often overlook the importance of it in our work lives. Sometimes we spend time focussing on the ‘bigger’ things at work that simple, basic things get overlooked and forgotten. By keeping common sense front of mind we can easily avoid those silly mistakes.
The Benefits Of Team Quizzes For Creative Thinking.
I recommend anyone who is missing in-person interactions with their colleagues to host a daily quiz and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the added benefits it brings to the whole team. Whilst most of us have adapted to the ‘new normal’ and have got into the groove of the working from home set-up, one thing I’ve found that has helped keep us sane in these strange times is our morning quiz. The biggest challenge I’ve found when working from home is maintaining a relationship with my co-workers virtually. According to research, one in three of us miss our ‘work spouse’ – the person we’re closest to in the office – more than we do our actual partners.
Mental Health First Aid Training: How To Start The Conversation
I recently went on a mental health awareness course with Mental Health First Aid England. The half day course was conducted remotely over Zoom and was delivered as a group with a mixture of written exercises and discussions. Our instructor walked us through the various signs to spot in order to recognise mental ill health. We also learned how to start a mental health conversation. These are five key takeaways I learned about initiating a discussion with a colleague.
All year resolutions: the need to be more daring
As we carefully emerge from lockdown in the UK and try to find a new norm, I thought it would be interesting to consider the concept of resolutions and how we can all be more daring. Many people make these in the new year and then by mid-January they have failed. I’ve never liked the concept of new year resolutions for this very reason as they put too much pressure on people at the most depressing and grey time of the year.
Five differences between working agency VS in-house
Ask any PR professional who has worked in both an agency and in-house and they will often tell you they have a definite preference. I believe, although the nuts-and-bolts of the role are essentially the same, the two are vastly different. Your favoured one will depend on your personality and what you want from your career. Each, of course, has their pros and cons but working in both has given me a more rounded experience in my career, for which I am thankful for.
Time to say Goodbye: how to end client relationships positively
Every PR consultancy will have had at least one account on the books that was not working out for whatever reason. Before deciding to call time, it is important and prudent to look for solutions. Perhaps a change of strategy, refresh the team, address concerns or issues in an open two-way forum. However, through no fault of either party sometimes the chemistry is just not there, expectations are not set, or met, and it’s simply a case of ‘time to say goodbye’. The negative impact of retaining such clients when the magic has gone is detrimental to overall business performance, mental wellbeing, productivity, motivation and ultimately the business’s longer-term successes.
Five important things my first job taught me
Like many young people growing up, I had a part-time job at the weekend. At fifteen years old this was my first ever job. I worked as a shop assistant and my role was split between working on the tills, stacking shelves and being responsible for the in-store baked goods. Every Saturday morning when I clocked in at 10.00am I had to make sure there were freshly baked baguettes ready for the lunchtime rush. Fast forward fifteen years later I am now client director in a boutique PR agency. Whilst the two roles seem wildly different, there are actually some key skills that I picked up as a young spritely shop assistant which have served me well to this day. These lessons I learned early on have made me a better manager and showed me the importance of client satisfaction.