Fir Interviews

In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz talks to two hard-core data geeks -- Edison Research Vice President Tom Webster and SHIFT Communications Vice President Christopher S. Penn -- about 2016's election polls and what communicators can learn from them, and how to ensure polls and surveys are used effectively in planning campaigns or using polls or surveys as elements of a campaign.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Chris Penn & Tom Webster on polling for PR in the post-election environment appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In mid-November, PRSA unveiled its 2017-2019 Strategic Plan, "Framework for the Future." A team of Society leaders reviewed a substantial body of research before laying out the plan with a focus on membership, professional growth, and thought leadership. In this FIR Interview, host Shel Holtz discussed the plan with 2017 PRSA Chair Jane Dvorak. Among the topics addressed in the interview were the impact the research review had on the plan, how PRSA's plans accommodate the diversity of members (including those who aren't geographically situated to attend chapter meetings), and how the organization can remain relevant when so much networking and professional development is available online for free.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Incoming PRSA Chair Jane Dvorak on PRSA’s 3-Year Strategic Plan appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Effective December 1, some 4 million salaried U.S. workers will be subject to time-tracking and overtime pay who were exempt from those rules before. It's likely that reading company news or other internal communication on a smartphone will be considered "work" under these rules -- that is, if employees in this group aren't paid for the time they spend consuming internal comms content aren't compensated for it, your company could be subject to legal action by an employee or the Department of Labor. In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz talks with Simon Worsfold of TSheets about the new rules, who those 4 million employees are, how companies need to prepare, and what you need to consider when communicating the issue.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Simon Worsfold on Risk of Communicating Outside Work Hours appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

This interview is the first in a series produced during a full-day workshop on podcasting for organizational communicators. The FIR Podcast Network's Shel Holtz leads these workshops, part of which includes the recording, editing, and production of a podcast on-site. In this first session, held at the Gleacher Center in Chicago on October 28, 2016, Ryan Alford of Interprose (based in Chicago) volunteered to conduct the interview while Amy Bickers of Northern Trust Corporation (also in Chicago) offered to take Ryan's questions on transformation communication, a subject in which she has expertise. The questions were generic and not related directly to her work with her employer.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Amy Bickers on Transformation Communication appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Members of the Arthur W. Page Society -- the professional association for senior PR and corporate communication executives -- have been busy. Following the 2007 release of "The Authentic Enterprise," the society introduced a new model that "describes the distinctly valuable enterprise leadership role that communications plays" within the radical transformations taking place throughout the worlds of business, including digital transformation, increased transparency expectations, and unstoppable globalization. This introduction of this new model (at right) was followed by the release of a white paper on "The New CCO: Transforming Enterprises in a Changing World." With the white paper under their belt, the Society is undertaking a new long-term study into "Corporate Character: How Leading Companies are Defining, Activating & Aligning Values."Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Arthur W. Page Society President Roger Bolton appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Chris McGrath, co-founder of intranet company ThoughtFarmer, saw the the rise of chatbots coming and recognized the potential for chatbots in the enterprise. He is readying the launch of TangoWork, a platform for creating and deploying chatbots for employee communication. In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz talks with McGrath about the rise of chatbots, how they will enhance internal communication, the categories of chatbots, how Artifical Intelligence and Natural Language Processing enhance chatbots' usability, and a variety of other topics.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Chris McGrath on TangoWork and Chatbots for Internal Comms appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Alabama News Center looks like a well-executed news site. It should; the staff at Alabama Power works hard to make sure the site delivers "the news and information that matter most to Alabama power customers," according to the site, which "also tells the stories of the people and businesses powering our state, striving to make Alabama a wonderful place to live and work."  In this FIR Interview, Alabama Power Communications Strategist Ike Pigott explains the goals for the site, how it evolved, what it takes to maintain it, and the success it has achieved (which includes other organizations emulating it).Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Ike Pigott on Alabama News Center appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

As search has evolved, practitioners of public relations and search-engine optimization (SEO) technicians have frequently founds themselves at odds with one another. Both are tasked with ensuring an organization's content can be found. Each takes a different approach to achieving that goal. As Google has shifted its priorities (and algorithms) to reward quality content over keywords, and works to punish black-hat SEO efforts, more and more PR agencies are ensuring they have SEO capabilities in-house. Threepipe, a UK PR agency, recently acquired an SEO shop, possibly the first UK-based agency to take a step that has been more common in the US. In this interview, FIR host Shel Holtz talks with Jim Hawker, Threepipe's co-founder and business development director, about why the company made the acquisition and how SEO fits into PR activities.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Threepipe’s Jim Hawker on PR and SEO appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Josh Bernoff is on a mission: Rid the world of bullshit in business writing. Since leaving his job as a senior vice president and analyst at Forrester Research, where he worked for 20 years, Bernoff has been calling out BS in writing on an almost daily basis via his Without Bullshit blog, where he analyzes emails, reports, and other missives that fail to state clearly what they mean.  In this FIR Interview, host Shel Holtz talks with Josh about these transgressions, why business writing is so bad, some of the causes of writing that seems to get worse over time, and how to impress readers with clear, concise messages.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: “Writing Without Bullshit” Author Josh Bernoff appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

As a profession, Human Resources has been transforming from a transaction-focused activity (benefits, compensation, etc.) to a more strategic business partner. In that role, HR is facing a series of challenges from attracting the right talent from among a population that has different expectations than their predecessors to driving a culture that translates into employee engagement and delivery of tthe customer experience. HR leaders are expected to drive culture, maintain a positive employee experience, and promote trust and transparency in their companies. These challenges were identified through a series of interviews with HR leaders and outlined in a report from ROI Communications. In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz talks with report authors Lesli Gee and Nolan Sundrud about the findings and their relevance to internal communicators.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Lesli Gee & Nolan Sundrud on Challenges Facing HR appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Inspired by news video innovators NowThis and AJ+ -- along with the employee-focused Paypal in 90 Seconds  -- Peter Vogt, global head of Employee Communications and Experience for Madrid-based financial services company BBVA, led the effort to create "What Just Happened," a weekly video news brief that never exceeds 2-1/2 minutes.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Peter Vogt on News Video for Employee Communication appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Snapchat wasn't made for internal communications but that doesn't mean it can't be used for that purpose. At the MediaMath New Marketing Institute, employees are sharing content both serious and lighthearted using the popular messaging app. In this FIR Interview, host Shel Holtz talks with Elise James-DeCruise, MediaMath's vice president responsible for the Institute, about how staff came to employ Snapchat at work, how it has expanded, and what its future potential might be.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Elise James-DeCruise on Snapchat for Internal Communications appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In this FIR interview, Shel Holtz talks with Jeff Corbin, CEO of APPrise Mobile, about the origins of the company, how communicators can use branded communication apps, and what's ahead for mobile communication.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: APPrise Mobile CEO Jeff Corbin on Branded Communication Apps appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

While some brands are making waves with their Snapchat campaigns (some of which can cost millions of dollars), most are holding back. Some experts are discouraging its use because the company is not delivering usable analytics marketers can use to assess the results of their efforts. But a few companies have taken to Snapchat and are able to demonstrate results without spending a nickel or needing a single data point. Among them is Cisco Systems, which has multiple Snapchat accounts, including the We Are Cisco account, used exclusively for employer branding, the work a company does to establish its reputation as an employer and its value proposition to employees.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Cisco’s Carmen Collins on Snapchat for Employer Branding appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In this episode of Chats with Chip, Karen Swim, President of SoloPR Pro and Words For Hire, joined me in discussing a wide range of issues related to independent public relations practitioners. Among the topics we discussed were: The benefits of being a SoloPR Pro member The difference between being an entrepreneur and a PR practitioner Achieving work-life balance as an independent consultant The impact of technology on solo PR pros How vendors can help one-person consulting shops Deciding whether and how to grow beyond a single employee Continue Reading → The post #8: Karen Swim of SoloPR Pro appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Lee Aase, The Mayo Clinic's director of Social Media Networks, was due for the procedure and volunteered to have his own colonoscopy broadcast live -- an event that attracted some 3,000 viewers (not including those who watched during the 24 hours Periscope sessions are available after they're finished).Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Mayo Clinic’s Lee Aase on Periscoping his colonoscopy appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Public Relations practitioners routinely attach Word documents, images, and other assets to emails as part of their pitches to journalists and influencers. In an effort to bring document-sharing into the 21st Webified world, Jason Kintzler (founder, president, and CEO of PitchEngine) introduced Compressor, which he describes as "a drag-and-drop OR smart bomb." The idea is simple: Drag a Word document, JPG, PNG, or GIF file onto Compressor, add a headline, and suddenly you can share the files through Twitter, Facebook, email, or other channels.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Jason Kintzler on Compressor, a PR “Smart Bomb” appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Recognizing a need for compliance (and other) employee training on social media, Eric Schwartzman launched a new business called Comply Socially. He created 22 high-end learning modules that were purchased by a wide variety of companies. But recently, Eric changed gears dramatically, changing the name of the site to Social Media Training and licensing every one of the modules through Creative Commons. Now, anybody is free to download, edit, remix, and update these online courses.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Eric Schwartzman on going “OPEN” with learning modules appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The Conference Board and the Society for New Communication Research announced today that they are merging. In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz interviews SNCR co-founder and president Jen McClure and Conference Board Associate Director Alex Parkinson about the merger and the organizations' plans for the future.Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Jen McClure and Alex Parkinson on SNCR-Conference Board merger appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In episode 100 of #ThoughtLeaderLife, Mitchell Levy, Chief Aha Instigator of the Aha Amplifier (http://AhaAmplifier.com), issues a shout-out to Michael Procopio (@michaelprocopio), who started #TLL with him in 2013. Also in this episode, Mitchell formally introduces his co-host for the month, #ThoughtLeader Kami Huyse, CEO of Zoetica Media (http://www.zoeticamedia.com). This month, Kami has lined up four #ThoughtLeaders to guest on the show to talk about cause marketing and how it can drive success for companies.Continue Reading → The post Kami Huyse and Mitchell Levy on Cause Marketing Success appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.