The Rypple Effect

I was reading an article the other day on social media which I found to be very interesting and beneficial for public relation practitioners. In the business world, relationships between employees and employers are essential in allowing their company to thrive and succeed. Recently, many businesses and companies have been sending their staff to various Web seminars to give lectures on relationships between employers and employees. The seminars elaborated on the old model and the new model regarding Social Media Web Management Systems. In the past managers etc would take credit for work their employees did for them and as a result, it made it harder to move up and receive any kind of recognition from within their place of work. This caused a lot of frustration and resentment among employees and their employers resulting in mistrust and lack of motivation.

Now, with social media and different feedback systems such as Rypple recognition has become prominent. The new social media management system has made it very difficult and almost impossible for tasks to be overlooked. David Stein, co-CEO of 2Catalyze — which does business under the name of its software product, Rypple — says, “Software should mimic and make frictionless behaviours that people are already engaged in,” says Stein. “In this case, it should be about helping people regularly get better in small increments rather than documenting stuff so you can fire someone.” Employees are using real-time devices (twitter, Rypple, facebook etc.) which in effect better implements teamwork, strengthens loyalties and increases collaboration. This has completely changed work relationships, ethics and work atmospheres. Studies have shown that the best teams amongst companies are those that have a higher collaborative culture, one in which people challenge and provide each other with both positive and negative feedback. In the end, employees get recognition based on achievements and also receive suggested improvements. “Rypple seems to be on the right path”, says Stein.

Social media is on its way to help solve internal communication issues for the betterment of business success!

To read more on the new software system:

http://www.profitguide.com/article/6580--rypple-software-blends-social-media-principles-with-employee-performance-management-systems

The Power of Communication

"I think, therefore I Blog"

Jason Robb, Director of Media Relations, Mohawk College

Our Public Relations class was given the opportunity of having guest speaker Jason Robb, Director of Media Relations, Internal Communications, Community Projects and Special Events and Mohawk College Internal Communications department and Sean Coffey, Media Relations and Internal Communications at Mohawk College. His ideas and information on ‘Integrated Marketing Communications’ plan was helpful to us as public relation students and future PR officers because it gave us the direct and indirect tips of developing an effective, simple and successful communications plan.  You might be asking yourselves, “What is Internal Communications?” According to Robb he says, “Internal Communication, in a business context, is the dialogic process between employees and employer, and employees and employees. It is part of the two-way communication process.” As a result, the PR officer acts as the middle man between employees and employers and no matter what change is brought to your organization, it is part of your role to ALWAYS remain looking positive and stress free. Employees trust your thoughts and perceptions and if they see you look stress, they will begin to panic and from that point on, you lose the communication connection between yourself and your publics. Recognition in internal communications is another key aspect when working in the PR industry. Highlighting what staff has done for students, building stories around a person who dedicates their time and efforts to help achieve student success or simply saying “Thank You” will all go a long way.

Other essential tips that were provided for our class will remain in our thoughts when we enter into our careers. Firstly, which ever organization, company or business you work for, never say the “C” word; that is CHANGE. Change or transformation frightens people who appear to stand on the other side of that potential adjustment. On the other hand who can blame them? Secondly, when searching for a career in public relations, it is vital to research the company or business that you want to work for because it goes without saying, “love the organization your work for or get out”! To follow up with this statement, as a professional PR practitioner, it is beneficial to both you and the organization that you work for, that you gain a sense of sincere and genuine pride in what you are doing and in what you are preaching to the public on behalf of your employer or organization. A third guiding principle for PR practitioners is always to keep in mind the adage “Praise in public. Punish in Private” because no organization likes surprises.

And finally, the final guiding principles will continue to help practitioners alleviate any given problem or crises that they may be challenged with before it arises:

•  Proactively identifying and effectively managing emerging issues when they arise within the company.
• Position effective communications as a shared responsibility for all staff members.
•  Manage the flow of communications to staff.
• Avoid information overload and reduce risk of staff tuning out all outlets of communications. And in as a final and vital proposal, “Never shoot the messenger; only pull the trigger when messages are never sent or sent out too late.”

The presentation that was given to our class by Jason Robb and Shawn Coffey was both uplifting and educational. As future public relation practitioners, we all may develop a career in numerous areas of this increasingly diverse field of work. Part of our future success in this industry is the work and hand-on experience that we are given throughout our Public Relations program and the inspiration of guest speakers. As a result, it is important that we digest all take with us all that is taught and presented to us by those experienced individuals who have and continue to serve within the public relations business.

A Guarantee to Support!

 As we approach Remembrance Day, Canadians gather at various locations throughout their communities to pause in a silent moment of remembrance for the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace. Although veterans are remembered during their time of service in the military, their skills and work is often ignored once they step on Canadian land. Veterans face extraordinary challenges not only in the military but once retired, their transition from the military and into the civilian workforce becomes even more difficult. Canadian Soldiers who retire from the military find it very difficult to enter into the workforce due to various reasons such as their lack of communication skills, civilian-professional network and the stigma that is attached to soldiers where employers feel that many will inevitably develop PTSD because of their exposure to combat situations.

At a local CEO networking event in Hamilton, Ontario, a CEO brought up the simple but significant question “Is there something that we can do for our transitioning veterans?” From that proposed question, Civiside.com created the Guaranteed Interview program which became the solution.The G.I program is a unique and free initiative that enables employers to give veterans a hand-up by guaranteeing at least one interview to a veteran qualified for their job posting. The primary goal is to put veterans on equal footing with their civilian peers so that service to country is not an employment disadvantage. Employers are encouraged to use the G.I program logo on their career sites, recruitment collateral, and job postings. 

Civi-Side represents both a business and a charity and the value attached reaches out to the veterans, employers across Canada and to the Civi-Side organization. As a nation who supports our soldiers role and mission in the military, it is essential that we continue to support them once they leave the service for the simple reason that, "we owe it to them". It takes a certain individual to contribute to our armed forces by enrolling in the military. Life in the military world is not an easy task for various reasons such as constant traveling, long working hours, harsher living conditions and so on, not to mention that their family members are by their side, therefore constantly traveling with them. Although their military duty is complete, many soldiers come home with hopes of finding a job and/or career in order to continue to support themselves and their families. Unfortunately, this is not the case.  

http://civiside.com

Veterans who return home face challenges to getting work because many are unsure of how their military skills can be transferable into Canadian jobs. Military men and women are at a disadvantage because they lack the networking connection in which most Canadians have with family, relatives and friends over years of living here. Civi-Side.com seeks to bridge the gap between the veterans and Canadian networks, giving them an equal and fair opportunity. The program is a win-win situation where everyone including the employers gain an intrinsic value a.k.a. corporate social responsibility. 

"The philosophy of the G.I. program is not that one employer should interview all veterans but that all employers should interview at least one veteran"

Speaking to all Canadian, lets not just remember what our veterans have done for us, what they are currently doing for us and what they will be doing for us in the years to come, lets continue to support life after war! 

A Murderer's Silence. The Case of Col. Russell Williams

Years after the disturbing case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, many crimes and murders continued to occur, however out of all of the brutal crimes that happened during that time span, Wednesday October 20, 2010 provided some of the most terrifying and disturbing evidence and information that surpasses the Bernardo Homolka murder. Russell Williams', known to the public as Canadian Armed Forces Colonel Russell Williams' was charged with 86 break and enter. The most chilling were the first-degree murder charges of  both Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Elizabeth Lloyd, a more horrifying replica of the Bernardo case.

The Russell Williams' case came as a shock to the Canadian public and the world. As we all sat and watched the first video which began with Williams who initially appeared to be completely confident in thinking he was safe and in thinking he wasn't caught. He was interrogated and calmly responded to the questions being asked. However, as the video carried on, the interrogator slowly gains Williams' trust by using his professional and skilled psychology to extract confessions. The investigator continues to provide more and more evidence until Williams realizes he his caught. The boot print and tire tracks at a murder scene match his boots and personal vehicle. The attacks occurred in areas where Williams lived and frequented. Comeau was also a member of the Canadian Forces who worked on the same base as Williams. The ominous DNA test that will inevitably identify him as being a killer. For Williams, there was no way out and from that point on the details became more and more frightening.

 In court, the victims friends and family had to sit for hours in distraught while Williams stated things such as, "When I first hit Jessica in the back of the head with the flashlight, I could feel her skull give away." He spoke about how he bound and raped the two women, and how he forced Jessica to perform oral sex on him by attaching a zip tie around her neck and saying if he didn't like what she did, he would pull it tight, another comment that made the victims family's cringe and sob in distraught.

The Russell Williams' case concludes with a sad and tragic ending in which no human being should ever have to go through. These women were just beginning there lives and for it to end in such a barbaric and inhuman way is hard to fathom. Like Bernardo, this case has struck the lives of all women across Canada and the globe. In the prosecution's closing statement, Crown Attorney Lee Burgess says, “Because of Russell Williams we are a community where women now feel unsafe in their homes and where their spouses, their families and friends feel unsafe at leaving them alone. One might think the capture of the perpetrator might start to alleviate that fear, but for many people it has not,”.The prosecutions closing address signifies a sad truth. Although society may believe that punishment by the law will deter potential perpetrators and murders, unfortunately it does not. As a result, we will continue and move on with our lives and the Williams Case will be forgotten until the next perpetrator strikes.  

It's scary to think about the fact that people who appear to be 'good' and 'normal' can in actuality, be those individuals who are capable of committing the most heinous crimes. The important question that comes out from both the Williams and Bernardo case is, "Who can we trust"?

How Much is Too Much...When to Draw the Line

More often then not, it seems that these days half my Facebook "friends"know my daily occurrences before I even get a chance to personally share it with them.  Perhaps it's from the pictures of the wedding I attended on the weekend or the most recent wall post from a friend of friend.  Either way, it seems that there is no getting around the evasiveness of Facebook or any social media website for that matter.  Now a days you don't even have to have a person as a friend to know what is going on in their life, simply view another profile using the six degrees of separation and you're almost guaranteed to be successful in your quest to "lurk" an individuals private affairs.

Is it reasonable given how society today has embraced social media for us to expect that most aspects of our personal lives will be shared with others, whether we approve it or not?

Personally, I feel it is not so much a choice, but a matter of acceptance given how technologically dependent society has become.  To put ourselves out there for the world to see goes deeper then wanting to share parts of your life.  One could argue that the success of sites such as Facebook are based on narcissism. We don't post pictures of ourselves or broadcast information about ourselves necessarily because others are interested, we post because we want to portray ourselves the way we other to see us, almost creating a false reality.  Our so called "friends" are not necessarily our friends so why do we feel the need to share personal moments and thoughts with people we barely know?  We should also remind ourselves that as easy as it is to post our lives for the world to see via the Internet, it is not easy to remove it. Once we throw such information into cyberspace we are more or less mercy of other individuals.  To conclude I will leave you with this.  If you choose to put yourself out there you might as well be signing away control over your life to a certain extent.  Be wise in what you publish because you never know who will end up viewing it, whether an employer will use something against you or whether you will have a friend who's out to destroy you.  There is an interpretation for everything.  Sometimes pictures and words cause inaccurate assumptions, there is never one point of view.

Happy Birthday (from my facebook page)