This week we were excited to learn we made the finalist list for Ragan’s 2013 Employee Internal Communications Awards. Peak was one of five finalist companies selected under the “Best Health/Fitness Program” category for our innovative health and fitness month that took place in October 2013.
For 31 days, our dedicated team supported each other to eat healthy food and drive our fitness routines above and beyond the status quo. Points were awarded to each staff-member who went the extra mile and increased their daily workout. Management at Peak supported staff by hosting yummy fruit-filled breakfasts and a series of healthy pot-luck lunches. In addition to our workplace gym memberships, they also kindly supplied Peakers with sports-bags to help the team carry exercise equipment to and from work. There was an energetic buzz about the office throughout the month.
“For fitness, I’ve always biked during Vancouver’s warm weather months. For the six years I’ve been doing this, I always stop in mid-September,” says Ross Sullivan, Partner at Peak Communicators. “The Fitness Challenge made me rethink that. This year is the first time I biked throughout October and beyond, and felt the health benefits as a consequence.”
Each year, Ragan awards companies throughout North America for their innovative initiatives and achievements. Ragan’s 2013 Employee Internal Communications Award is designed to recognize companies that push boundaries and try new tactics that achieve great results. Ragan selected this year’s finalists based on their“irreverence, off-beat humor, risk-taking and creativity in the execution of everything they did.”
The winners of Ragan’s 2013 Employee Internal Communications Awards will be announced in the coming weeks in a Special Edition of Ragan.com.
Tags: award, employee communications, fitness, health, human resources, office environment, Ragan
Peak Communicators is excited to be partnering with the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce to host two half-day seminars on building, enhancing and protecting your reputation through strong communications initiatives.
Taking place on April 16th at the Capri Hotel, attendees can learn the secret sauce behind building your brand and business. The session will also discuss how to protect your good reputation by identifying an issue before it becomes a crisis and delivering strong messages to internal and external stakeholders and the public.
Other topics to be discussed include:
- Building a brand and profile through public relations and media initiatives
- How to find and tell your news and your story
- Why a crisis communications plan is necessary and how to develop one
- Issues management and crisis communications
- Using social media tools to build, enhance and protect reputation
The session will be hosted by two senior Peak consultants, Alyn Edwards and Chris Olsen. Both were news reporters for 30 years and are experts in helping companies tell their stories.
Date: April 16th 2014
Time: Two time options: 8am – midday or 1pm – 5pm
Location: The Capri Hotel, 1171 Harvey Avenue, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 6E8
Room: The ‘Vineyard’ room at the Capri
Cost: The seminar cost is $195 per person or $149 for Kelowna Chamber of Commerce members
Registration: Available online through the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce
Parking: Available on site
If you’d like further information or have questions, please call Peak Communicators on 604.689.5559.
Tags: branding, crisis communications, issues management, Public relations, social media, storytelling
Tomorrow, March 8th 2014, marks International Women’s Day, a great time to look at how women in Canada are doing in the PR industry.
According to Service Canada, employment in PR has risen significantly and is expected to continue to grow (good news!). When last surveyed, women held around 69 per cent of these roles, compared to 47 per cent of the workforce across all Canadian industries. Communications appeals to women.
However the current state of affairs of women on boards (across all industries, I might add) isn’t rosy. A recent study looking at 12 major North American cities shows that Canada’s four largest cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary) rank below all major U.S. cities other than Dallas in terms of the number of women in management roles. This could impact future growth according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
Furthermore 93 per cent of women in senior positions in Canada believe they make less money than a man performing the same work, according to a survey byRandstad Women Shaping Business.
How can we better support women in the workplace in Canada?
Some proactive steps are being taken, with it becoming compulsory for companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange to disclose how many women are on their boards and set targets for future quotas.
However more can be done, particularly in our industry where women account for such a high percentage of the workforce. We should be leading the way.
Here are some suggestions:
- Job share: Allowing two women to job share on a part-time basis can be empowering. Constant communication is essential if this is to work, which shouldn’t be a stumbling block for PR professionals. We’ve used this method at Peak for women returning from maternity leave, allowing us to retain great employees.
- Part-time working: When job-sharing isn’t an option then part-time can also work, depending on the role.
- Mentorship: Female mentors can be a great support for individuals juggling multiple priorities. A VP at Peak mentors women entrepreneurs in her spare time, offering guidance to help other women in the community succeed.
- Networking and support groups: Communities that focus on women in business can be helpful. Women in Leadership is one organization that offers leadership-focused events in Canada’s major cities.
- Recognition: It’s important to celebrate successful women leaders in the PR world. PRWeek in the US publishes its US Power List, which in 2012 featured 17 women. This provides role models for aspiring PR employees, and I hope to see the number of women featured rise over time.
Supporting women in the workplace is good for the employee and employer, positively affecting retention rates. Take a moment over the weekend to consider how you can help ambitious women achieve their goals and the impact they can have on your business. Let’s change these statistics.
Tags: business, International Women's Day, job share, mentorship, networking, Public relations, women, workplace
