With the onset of the global pandemic, one of the world’s most popular video conferencing services, Zoom, has seen a nearly 2,000% increase since last December. This means that those of us who can work from home and need to “meet” are likely using conference calls for audio only or video technology when we need to see one another and/or presentations. We are now seeing the differences between communicating in a pre-COVID era and communicating in the midst of a pandemic. There is a difference by the way. With audio–only conference calls, you can flop around in bunny slippers and...
In my role as Chair of the Board of the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce, I approached challenges in the same way as I do here at SMPA: Connect the right people to create a win-win-win. Take this micro case study of drinking establishments in Oxnard as an example. In 2019, many of them, like craft breweries, seek to be family-friendly places of business. They not only serve craft beer, but also cater to families by providing a family-friendly atmosphere and activities for kids, like food trucks and board games. Two local establishments reached out to the City of Oxnard and...
Many organizations are unsure of what their website’s purpose is. For some, it is a repository of information where an organization can tell their whole brand story. But websites are more than that. For SMPA, websites are considered the center of a comprehensive digital strategy. Ideally, a website is the place where the ‘big picture’ lives, but it’s not a static entity. It is a portal that should always be evolving and must be linked to all the other elements of your digital strategy. There must be connective tissue between the website and your newsletters, your social media presence and...
Being a city manager is a tough job. He or she is expected to be a virtual expert on a myriad of subjects, depending upon the day. Everything from budgeting, the Brown Act and building, to politics, public works and policing. It’s been suggested in jest that the title “city manager,” might as well be fortune teller, soothsayer or psychiatrist, as well as peacemaker. Helping make a city manager’s day go a bit easier is a position found in many cities called the Public Information Officer (PIO), or Communications Manager. For smaller cities, this may be a consulting resource to...
If you work in local government then, chances are, you are going to be part of an emergency response. Having led communications for 11 federally-declared disasters in my former municipality (and helping out on a few more as a consultant), I can attest that working through a crisis is one of the most stressful, time-demanding aspects of the job. But it can also be one of the most rewarding. Even if you and your team do everything right, there will still be those who analyze and criticize your actions and decisions. That should not keep you from doing all the...
Ahh interns. Those bright-eyed, digitally-connected young people who come into your workplace to learn and grow. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate interns and believe that if you get the right ones, they often give more than they take. Here are a few examples of why you and your organization needs interns. Old Dog, New Tricks: Sometimes organizations get stuck in doing things the same way, year after year, even though the same old way might not be working as effectively as it could. The old way can become part of the organizational culture, and sometimes it takes a...
When I was the public relations manager in the 1980’s for an L.A.-based hospital, media relations was my world. No one in the organization talked to the press without first talking to me. Doctors, nurses, administrators—everyone sent those press calls my way. Life was good. Then I went to work for local government where the media free-for-all ensued. As I soon came to understand (and believe), it really is better to have trained, authentic voices in the organization singing our messages to the media, but these would-be spokespeople still need to be singing off my song sheets! And that means...
