LIFE: PUBLIC RELATIONS AMONG COLLEAGUES

When I was growing up, my parents made it very clear that only a foolish child brings shame to his/ her parents, but a bright one brings praise.

Now that am grown, I always wonder why they told me so. Was I the foolish one or the bright kid they were referring to. Or was it just a caution that I can either bring shame or praise to them. I have now come to understand their stand, it was all about the public image. Since I was a child, they had to put it in a language I could relate to.

If they told me then that they had a public image to maintain I would have been more confused than helpful to their image, may be end up ruining it.

What's public image and public relations? Wikipedia defines Public relations as; ''abbreviated as PR, primarily concerns enhancing and maintaining the image for businesses, non-profit organizations, events or high-profile people, such as celebrities and politicians.'' In my case, my parents and myself.

Macmillan Dictionary defines Public Image as; the ideas and opinions that the public has about a person or an organization that may not be what they are really like.

The other question one may ask themselves is, who is this public? Lets define it as people in general/ the community. Many of us worry about the public opinion, so do I to be honest, well at times but I worry more of the opinions from those that matter most to me like my general family members, they make my public.

However, lately, my work mates have become a part of my public. I don't know if am the only one who was advised by their parents or relatives after college that once you get a job, you need to keep your colleagues as colleagues and your friends as friends and not mix the two. I got that a lot.

colleagues

friends.

Their reasoning being that not everybody who smiles at you at work is a friend. I thought at first that that was a whole lot of crap. Before you judge me, I can prove it was. Most of my parents friends were colleagues at some point. Now here comes the same people telling me not to have colleagues as friends. Questionable right? That was then. Now I understand them.

After working in three offices, I get it now. I have never seen a high level of back biting from well educated people than what we have in offices. And its depressing, from an outsider point of view. And I know this is global. They are worse than angry girlfriends, or desparate house wives.

A good example, one of my colleagues left, for own reasons, the person everyone thought was a friend to that colleague was talking trash about the friend who had just left. That's one. The other, in the same office, but seems one considers the other as a threat so what to do. Animal insticts, eliminate the threat. How? Exercise the freedom we have of association and learn from other wise men who said, keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Once they think you are a friend, they'll share something you can use against them, and have them either fired or create an element of suspiscion from the superiors/ bosses.

Once it has been done, you can't take it back. It's like selling or marketing services, once its done, it's hard to take it back or correct errors. The superiors are also human and they will have an opinion of you the teller and the other person the told.

So, how do you maintain your public image in the work place? How do you balance business and pleasure? Do you simply switch off when you get in office and then party while out or can you have them both. My opinion, it takes a well thought out plan and own personality. Public relations is not only meant for companies or celebrities, we should also learn how to use it for our own advantage, create brand ''the doc''. How do I do that?

From research; I came across the 7 elements of good PR. I decided to re-adjust them to good PR elements among colleagues. So here goes;

1. Good PR is telling the work mate what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear.

All about the truth. Kind of confusing, so If your breath could kill a fly as it stinks so bad, I should simply tell you so, instead of sugar coating it by probably offering a fresh mint. I think we can do that. Simply be polite and not confrontational. What if it's a boss. Do the same rules apply. Yes.

Lets go on.

2. Good PR helps build and sustain a groundswell of brand support — incrementally changing consumer behaviors via a steady stream of relevant and candid communication to both “media” and “consumers.” Ok. Lets see.

With work mates, this means, we need to build each other and sustain that team work as a team support system.

This will somehow, change our behaviours via steady stream of relevant and candid communication to both office media a.k.a emails and bosses. Question, If you're put in a team for a project and one team mate is a slacker, we need to tell them what they need to hear, that they are lazy and not what they want to hear, that's a good job they can do better.

I think am getting a hang of this, hope you are too.

3. Good PR celebrates the client’s customers in an inclusive, non-exploitive way. And, good PR welcomes the input of “neutrals” and especially “critics,” and adapts strategy accordingly.

We need to celebrate each other as work mates in an inclusive, non - exploitive way. I have a few examples up my sleeves for bosses to celebrate us, a). monthly office parties, b.) annual paid vacations for the staff c.) bonuses quartely other than yearly just to mention a few. In most organisations, they exercise this by having team building exercises outside normal work environment.

My favourite part of this element is the input of neutrals and critics. Who is ever neutral. The boss or the colleague or the Human resources personnel.

If you approach me with a critic, you better have two things in mind;

a). it should be constructive and

b.) should have a well thought out and practical approach to overcome or deal with it.

If you don't have that together, keep that opinion or critic to yourself. Let all office critics have the two simple elements and life would be much better.

Ok.

4. Good PR is proactive in idea generation and responsive in a crisis. Good PR finds the balance. This is my parents and relatives point of view. Let colleagues be colleagues and friends be friends. Don't go around thinking everyone is a friend. Be a good judge of character by first taking the time to learn, analyse and know people character before you put them down as friends. Thats the balance. Know time to be friendly and time to work.

In proactivess among colleagues, mainly in team work, come up with ideas, brain storm and have one common idea agreeable by all. This helps in having a competitive advantage as you always have fresh ideas.

With crisis, as an individual, we should have that calmness and focus to get through crisis. If the crisis is a conflict with a fellow work mate, most offices have officers who deal with such, if not, refer to the first element. Tell the colleague what they need to hear not what they want to hear. If he's stepping on your toes, make that clear in a professional yet firm way. Solving conflicts make us work better and achieve much more as a team.

5. Good PR is measurable. Now this is a hard one. How do you measure how I relate with my colleagues...mmh. Do I ask them up front or through others. Perfomance appraisal only measure people work not their relations with each other. Put up an anonymus suggestion box in office, No. How?

I think its possible. I was once invited for an interview for a Public Relations officer post. In the waiting room there were six other candidates.

I can't help myself at times, but in such scenarios, I always need to know whom and what am up against. So what to do; socialise, get to know them. I did. I managed to make it a group discussion when I asked each of the other candidates their names and where they worked. In a short while, they were all interested in each others business. I got to know the names, where they worked and for how long, education background and most importantly why they want this job and their motivation.

I came to learn that people are generally ready to share information if they are simply asked. Simply know what you need to be known public, keep the rest of the business to yourself.

In the interview room, the first questions I was asked was to describe the other candidates by name, if they are worthy competitiors and why I think so. That was basically the interview. My point is, we should have such strategies in place in the work place. Have supervisors ask these kind of questions during the individual reviews. This may measure how well people relate and work together.

6. Good PR leverages pre-existing relationships with influential people — relationships built on trust and credibility earned over years of service. I knew of a fellow who had worked for a company for 34 years and the company felt he was indispensable and they hired him on as a consultant. That's taking advantage of re-existing relationships.

Trust and Credibility are the most important aspects among colleagues. I trust you'll do your part well, credible work, in the end we all win as a team and organisation as a whole. This only gets stronger over the years we've worked together.

Does this mean if an intern joins your team today, you have to question their trust and credibility? I have to admit, I do. Not only with interns but also with new employees. You have to earn my trust. What I give freely is the benefit of a doubt, you'll do your job and not cross the line.

I have heard time and again some work mates complaining with such statements; ''I can't believe he did that'' or '' No. He's not that type of person''. Due to the work relationships that build up over the years, you get to trust people around you and hold them to a certain standard whether knowingly or unknowingly.

As a result, you can say in confidence what you think of the person and more likely than not, you will not be far from the truth if not exact.

And the last element is...

7. Good PR almost always “gets ink” because a good story has been well-told to the right people. Office gossip? No. In our case, getting ink, lets it mean getting a promotion. Good relations with others rubs off to them and in the end may get you a promotion. Shows good team work.

I believe we all know the saying; ''don't blow your own trumpet'' my revised version is ''make others blow your trumpet''. How you may ask. Marketers call this 'word of mouth ' method of advertising. Christians say.' give and it shall come back to you' and the English men and women term it as ' one good deed deserves another'.

Once you do good by your work mates, word will spread and it will get to the right people, the decision makers a.k.a your bosses. You will create a good image for yourself in the office, as a people's person, a team player, straight forward and approachable. The good story will get to the right people. It may be immediate but it will happen.

In relation to this, when I was an intern, in a public relations office, my boss was away for two weeks on official duty out of the country. I had a ball. No much work per se. This day was different. I got a call from one of the leading media houses in my country and they were furious because of a case my office was supposed to handle. I was confused! I didn't know what to do.

Logical thing, I called my boss, but she was unreachable. I drafted a memo, took it to her boss with a most urgent sticker on it. Luckily,my politeness to everyone paid off, as the big boss secretary helped greatly by putting my memo on top of the bosses in tray. In less than ten minutes the memo was back to my desk with a clear outline on how to handle it. I was relieved. By the time I was done, the reporter was in my office, with a pen, recorder and papers, after papers. I had to assume the role of my boss, put my fear aside and handled it with a clear and focused mind.

The next morning, in the papers my name was in it as the ''Senior Public Relations Officer''. I felt good, but knew it wasn't right, using my boss designation. The reporter assumed the title at the door was mine, and went with it, not asking questions. My point here is the good relations I had with the secretary helped me maintain the good public image of the organisation by addressing the issue at hand as effective and efficient as possible.

I had to call and ask the reporter to withdraw my name and replace it with my boss's. Once the cloud cleared and boss was back, she was impressed and the big boss was too, to the point I had my internship extended to as long as I needed to. Once again good story to the right people gets you noticed and even awarded as a result happy.