Mixing business and social media

I have a personal policy of not adding work colleagues on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. It’s nothing personal (usually) though it has come as quite a surprise to multiple co-workers in the past.

Adding people on social media is such a central part of our lives now that many people simply take it for granted I’ll connect with them in this way. However, it’s just not something I’m comfortable with anymore. I don’t feel that my colleagues need 24/7 access to my personal life through social networks, and I certainly don’t want access to theirs.

Perhaps it’s extreme but it’s simply a boundary I have drawn.

Before I go any further, let me address a few thoughts no doubt forming in your mind:

1. I have nothing to hide. It’s not a matter of being ashamed or embarrassed of what I post on social media; my Facebook connections are generally privy to pithy observations about people on the train and endless promotion for whatever community theatre production I’m involved with.
2. I’m not some privacy/personal security nut. I’m not afraid of social media and generally jump on whatever new platform is emerging with gusto (though I’ll admit I still haven’t got my head around Snapchat. There’s something about being a parent that makes it feel like the wrong fit for me.) I wholeheartedly accept and embrace social media as a big part of connecting with others in the 21^st century.

All the same, I keep my colleagues off all my accounts (with the obvious exception of LinkedIn). I haven’t always done this, and I’ve found getting to know the online versions of my colleagues has damaged my working relationship with them in one way or another. Here are just a few highlights:

There was the manager I respected and looked up to as a mentor who couldn’t spell or string a coherent sentence together on Facebook while banging on about his trips to Big Sur and Burning Man. I know it shouldn’t have changed my view of him but I just couldn’t help it.

There was the colleague who seemed so nice and normal at work, but turned out to be a hard-core anti-vaxxer.

There was the brilliant art director who was obviously very proud of his body, and took to Instagram to post selfies in his underwear several times a week. There are just some things you don’t need to know about the people you work with…

Keeping my professional and online lives separate has been a hugely valuable decision. It allows me to maintain entirely professional relationship at work, and develop friendships with the people I genuinely connect with.

I’m not alone in saying this. An article recently published on Women Love Tech outlined “5 Reasons Why You Should UnFriend Your Boss”. According to the article, “one in four Australian workers (25 per cent) has been appalled and distressed by the social media posts of a colleague or boss, completely changing their opinion of that person.”

Another article published on LinkedIn by Michael Stoddart from Aumento Consulting says “The blurring of lines with social media and the traditional employee/manager relationship is very real and is causing problems in the workplace.” Stoddart compares adding colleagues on Facebook with leaving a family photo album in the breakroom at work – it just doesn’t make sense.

So, my personal advice (very much backed up by the experts) is this:

• Don’t add colleagues (especially your boss) on social platforms meant for personal use like Facebook and Instagram. It’s just not worth it.
• Do use LinkedIn for what it’s intended: Professional networking.
• If a colleague adds me on Instagram or Twitter (i.e. a site on which I don’t need to “accept” or approve them), I remove them and politely explain my social media policy. Consistency for the win!

Christian Berechree joined Akolade’s production team in May 2016. He has a Bachelor of Media and Music and a Masters in Journalism.

Christian is a musical theatre geek and a new dad, and he’ll happily spend hours telling you about either or both of those things.

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19 Mondays till Christmas

Last Friday I spent many hours trying to come up with a blog post. I started approximately 4 of them. None of them were anything more than a bunch of references to TV shows and Pokémon Go. I was scrapping the bottom of the barrel, burnt out and not in the zone.

As the working year heads into the home stretch before the Christmas/New Year break it can be expected that we’ll start to get a bit worn thin. The majority of the year has already passed in a blur, and the ‘little grey cells’ tend to be a bit haphazard in their ability to fire coherently.

It was for that reason a company I worked at many years ago, used to require staff to take at least 1 week of annual leave in either July or August. A mid-year break that allowed staff to breath, sleep and rest before the sprint to the end of the year.

Late last week in the office, the Operations team started discussing possible Christmas Party ideas. At first I was a bit surprised. Then I realised after this week there are only 19 more working Mondays before Christmas 2016. It was then I agreed that we should be having the Christmas Party discussion after all.

Kick-starting your enthusiasm for the day to day; when your mind is already planning Summer getaways, time with family and friends or just an interrupted couple of weeks bingeing on Netflix can be difficult. Combine that with current cold weather, shorter periods of sunlight and the general winter blues and it can seem downright impossible.

However, there are several sure-fire ways to reinvigorate the enthusiasm and energy of both yourself and your team.

Find a challenge:

Set a fun team challenge. Way back in the Year 2000 the team I was working with were set the task of coming up with a high energy way to achieve our KPI’s. After all the ideas where in place, the winning idea was a board game, based on daily KPI achievements. The game “The Hunt for the Pirates Treasure,” was handmade and there was a small treasure chest filled with stuff from the $2 dollar shop. The team argued and laughed and did our best, with the first person to complete the “hunt” winning a paid day off, which didn’t come out of their annual leave entitlements.

I don’t remember who won, it most likely wasn’t me, but I do remember how everyone in the team raised themselves to the challenge, and the team I was a member won the overall “most improved” during the period. Setting a team challenge, or a companywide one is a great way to bring some life into a tired office, but make sure everyone can be involved. If the KPI’s you’re aiming at don’t impact everyone, you’ll end up with a team of people watching from the sidelines while the others duke it out in an effort for the prize.

Team Outing:

It’s easy to lose track of the year. Particularly when they fly past as quickly as 2016 is. Take a bit of the miscellaneous budget and organise a team outing. It doesn’t need to be a trip to the pub. Google is your friend when it comes to organising an afternoon off work to celebrate the success your team has produced throughout the year. One of the best outings I’ve ever had as a “team-building” exercise was last year’s Christmas Party, where we were split into teams and set off on a pirate themed excursion though Sydney’s The Rocks. We didn’t find any treasure but we did do a bunch of crazy tasks including singing (complete with bottom wiggling dance) What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor outside a crowded pub filled with absolute strangers.

Acknowledge the Teams Efforts:

Not everything requires a financial outlay. Taking a moment to thank the team for their work and efforts goes a long way towards staff engagement. When the team feels unappreciated it’s hard to keep them involved at the best of times. With the mid-year slump well and truly upon us, it’s easy for a general sense of disengagement to fester into a case of all out ‘why do I even bother? A quick thank you, a few minutes walking the floor in the morning to greet the teams as they start their day takes very little effort and pays high dividends.

Introduce new thoughts:

While there are a thousand ways to reinvigorate your team, all your best intentions are destined for failure if you don’t reengage yourself first. Take time out on the commute home to read something at least mildly inspirational. There are so many fantastic books on business, engagement and leadership out there you could probably read one a week for an entire year and come across at least one new concept to employ with your team from each one. If you’re looking for some reading inspiration, feel free to check out 7 Bookson Management and Self Discovery to Take on your Christmas Vacation, I wrote last November. 

Be the change you want to see:

If leaders don’t lead by example, they may as well not bother. If we try to reinspire out teams, while wandering the office in a daze and bemoaning exhaustion levels, how hard it was to get up in the morning, and the countdown to Christmas we are ensuring our team is totally deflated by October, making the final push to December a marathon of gargantuan proportions. Lead by example.

Make sure to stay positive, stay engaged and stay motivated.

Even if this means secretly imagining the cocktails and surf you’re going to be enjoying on your holidays, make a commitment to stay positive. The quickest way to do make yourself feel more positive is to smile.

While it sounds like a cliché it’s a tip I picked up in my first career, working in call centres. Smiling when I was on the phone made me feel more upbeat, it also made me sound more positive. Now, I’m not suggesting you walk around all day with an idiotic grin on your face, but when you feel your energy slumping take a quick second to stand up, stretch and smile the biggest smile you’ve ever done.

It’s impossible to feel flat when you’re doing your best impression of The Joker.  

Mike Cullen has recently returned to Akolade after a period as the conference producer for one of Australia's leading economic think tanks. Mike began working in the conference industry in 2007 after looking for a career change from the high pressured world of inbound customer service. Mike has worked for some of the most well-known conference and media companies in the B2B space and in his spare time is working on his first novel in a planned Epic Fantasy trilogy.

Mike’s most recently published story, Seeds of Eden, is featured in the Sproutlings Anthology released in March 2016. Mike is also editing the Anthology – Community: Tales of the LGBTI scheduled for release in June 2017.

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‘B phobia’ is holding women back

We have a drastic shortage of women in our STEM industries. Contrary to popular myths, this is not because we are worried about emasculating potential husbands. It is not because we are worried about chipping our nail polish. Nor is it because our brains are more ‘creatively skewed’.

We are afraid of the ‘B’. No, not the insect, but the big letter which was usually written in a red felt-tip pen at the head of our exam paper.

Claudia Goldin, an economics professor at Harvard, has found that the likelihood of a woman dropping a subject increased steadily as her grade fell.

This “discouragement gradient” was not evident in their male counterparts.

To exacerbate the situation, it has been proven that science departments, on average, grade 0.4 points lower than humanities departments. If we err away from subjects in which we receive lower grades we are already at a disadvantage.

I’m sorry to say that I was the perfect stereotype. Having reached year 12, it was time to drop a subject and I immediately sacrificed that in which I had earned the lowest grade: biology.

Whilst we are often told to “play to our strengths”, the STEM industries are ones in which mistakes are acceptable, if not absolutely necessary, to make progress.

Edison was told by his teachers he was “too stupid to learn anything”, was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive and there were 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at investing the lightbulb before he succeeded.

Einstein’s theories about the nature of light and the fundamental connection between space and time were described as “somewhat radical” and to be “more artistic than actual physics” in his Doctoral rejection letter from the University of Bern.

As women we need to embrace the ‘B’. It is okay to be mediocre- it means we have room to grow.

Now tie your hair up and get to work.

Attend Akolade’s Boosting Women in STEM national forum for strategies to overcome the shortage of women in STEM classrooms and careers. Bringing together sector leaders in a national summit, it strengthens pathways between tertiary education and industry to ensure we have the best talent in our STEM sector- not just the best male talent. 

Claire Dowler is a Conference Producer with Akolade. She recently graduated with a double degree: a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Media and Communications Studies majoring in International Communication. Claire minored in sarcasm and puns.

A ballroom-dancer who collects salt and pepper shakers and volunteers for animal rescue, you might say Claire has eclectic interests.

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Get NDIS ready - 3 things you need to know

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is revolutionising the disability service sector. It represents one of the greatest shifts in social policy to date.

More than $26 million of payments have been made through NDIS since its launch on July 1, despite some technical mishaps. More than 460,000 Australians are expected to benefit from the NDIS as it’s rolled out over the next three years.

As of July 2019 when NDIS becomes fully operational, it will be a consumer-driven marketplace with people living with a disability controlling their own funding and having the power of choice. It is critical that service providers prepare and undertake an effective NDIS business transformation strategy.

The NDS State of Disability Sector Report revealed that there are still significant barriers to overcome in implementing a strategic plan:

• Lack of tools to measure success

Service delivery and social impacts are difficult outcomes to measure. It’s important to identify appropriate KPIs and implement them across your entire business plan. For example, consider a feedback loop for customer satisfaction. Baselining will provide you with a standard to track your progress and allow you to assess areas of success as well as areas which require attention.

• No commercial expertise

Given that the funding (and power) has previously been held by disability service providers, they have had to do little in terms of marketing, branding and generating awareness. Providers now need to implement plans to ensure sustainable cash flow. This means advertising, promotional activities and listening to what the consumer wants.

• Conflicting interests of stakeholders

People join the NFP sector for different reasons, contrasting starkly with the commercial sector which is driven by profit. With competing aims, it can be difficult (particularly for the CEO) to ensure the organisation is continuing to grow and move forward. The need for effective governance in organisations with a board is crucial.

Though daunting, the NDIS ultimately promises to ensure people living with a disability receive quality care. The resistance to change is worth overcoming. It’s time to get behind the biggest social shift the sector has seen. 

Claire Dowler is a Conference Producer with Akolade. She recently graduated with a double degree: a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Media and Communications Studies majoring in International Communication. Claire minored in sarcasm and puns.

A ballroom-dancer who collects salt and pepper shakers and volunteers for animal rescue, you might say Claire has eclectic interests.

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How to integrate social media into your email marketing campaigns

While email marketing and social media compete for consumers’ screen time, the competitive dynamic ends there. Today, marketers have the greatest opportunity to reach consumers when they view social media and email marketing as partners with a common goal, rather than rely entirely on one over the other.

According to ReachMail, one email share is worth $12.41, and Google+ share is worth $5.62, while social networks such as Facebook and Twitter reach a small fraction of the audience However, click-through rates on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are strong with 6% respectively.

What are the benefits of email marketing vs social media?

Email marketing still possess the key to a highly effective marketing strategy – personalisation. Email allows marketers to segment and target different audiences, as well as customising specific messages to targeted contacts. Hence, when using email marketing, marketers are in complete control of who receives the messages.

However, social media also has its own advantages. Firstly, there is no cost to post on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc.

When leveraged correctly, social media and email marketing can be integrated, with social media driving email subscriptions and email marketing bringing more followers to social media.

This also increases the likelihood that your email marketing campaign may go viral.

If you have created a newsletter that is particularly funny, engaging or effective, you may find your subscribers sharing over and over again through various social media sites.

Social media and email marketing must work in cohesion to increase brand awareness and ultimately drive conversion rates. For effective outreach, marketing and social media departments must align their campaigns to reach the same goal.

Have you integrated your email marketing with social media and what was your outcome?

 The best part of my job as a Conference Production Manager is to create and manage my own conferences from concept to delivery, identify future conference topics as well as giving me a chance to expand my business card collection. Having a bit of a sweet tooth, you will always find me having lollies on my desk or you will catch me browsing on fashion sites during lunch breaks.

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How to land a job using social media

Never before have there been so many routes to getting a job. The days of going through the job adverts in the morning paper are long gone. Instead we entered the digital space many years ago, but even the “old” way of looking for jobs online at recruitment sites is becoming old fashioned.

It’s all about social media these days. And as my old uni teachers would tell me “if you’re not on it, you don’t exist”. Nowadays, the key to getting the foot in the door or climbing the ladder is being visible on social media, networking and making connections.

Companies have strong marketing strategies to appear attractive to the market and consumers, the same rules now apply to job hunters.

According to The Muse, 92% of companies use social media to recruit new staff, but only 29% of jobseekers use social media to find a job. And even if you’re not using social media to job hunt, three out of four managers will track down your social media accounts.

LinkedIn is the obvious social media go-to for professionals looking to connect, but it’s important not to forget how using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms to gain the upper hand while job hunting.

The Muse has put together a solid list on what to do on social media go get a job.

• Clean up your accounts – The number one rule, which may seem obvious to some, is to make sure all the information posted on your social media accounts are appropriate for your potential future boss to read. Also make sure to go through your privacy settings to avoid sharing anything inappropriate.
• Don’t have an account on everything – It’s  better to have a few flawless accounts rather than several accounts that you can’t be bothered updating.
• Use your real name – Though it may be tempting to use a funky nickname, using your real name enables others to find you.
• Keep your image professional and consistent – It should be friendly and decent. Perhaps don’t use the one from last weekend’s shenanigans where you decided to get Maccas at 3am.
• Get your personal branding down – use a consistent branding across your social platforms so that your connections know who you are and what you’re about.
• Use your social media accounts a “jumping off points” – Make sure to link to any projects you are working on at the moment, such as a website or blog.
• Bring all your accounts together in one place – create a place where all your accounts are connected, such as your own website for example. This will help potential future employers to find all your profiles in one go.
• Put your social media accounts on your job search materials – Make sure to advertise your accounts on your resume, cover letters or email signature. If you’ve done great work, make sure people find out about it.
• Don’t use it for professional communications – Don’t contact future employers on social media.
• Use scheduling tools to stay on top of things – There are several tools out there to help you stay on top of your social media accounts and allow you to schedule and share things etc. without you having to worry about being active every other second.

Check out the full list on The Muse to become social media savvy and get your career going.

Mimmie grew up in Sweden and first came to Australia as a backpacker after high school. After travelling around the country for two years she returned to Europe and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in London. But the longing for Australia and the sun became too strong. After having worked for some time in the media industry, Mimmie decided to make a change and swap the news for conferences. She now gets to do what she loves the most, meeting new people and keep learning about cultures and issues while producing conferences on current topics.

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The key to achieving a high quality culture of care

Akolade’s National Standards Excellence forum will provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and best practice in the healthcare sector.

Since the implementation of the NSQHS standards in 2013, we have seen improvements in the quality of care. However, the Australian Council on Safety and Quality in Healthcare found have found that 90% of safety problems are still based in the system rather than the individual.

From August 30 to September 1 2016, the conference will gather experts from public and private hospitals and healthcare facilities to discuss strategies for achieving continual quality and safety improvements in a time of innovation and transformation.

We recently spoke to David Evans, Chief Executive Officer of Northumbria NHS Healthcare in the United Kingdom. David offered these insights into what makes a high quality culture of care:

Northumbria Healthcare NHS has received numerous awards recognising your high quality culture of care and recently received an ‘outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission. What do you think makes Northumbria such a high quality healthcare provider?

Our staff and the mature relationship between the Trust and its staff. We have a clinically led system of management with the executive having devolved responsibility and also of course accountability to clinical teams. This has allowed us to have a common goal of high quality safe and effective care.

Northumbria was also named ‘Best Place to Work’ in 2015. How crucial is staff satisfaction to the overall quality of service provision?

Key, see above. Again a mature and flexible approach. We all have Trust wide contracts so move around between our 10 inpatient sites and 24 outpatient settings. For our consultant staff we have annualised contracts with service level agreements which allows flexible working . This is very unusual in the UK system. We have a very open and honest culture and very flat management structures without hierarchies.

 What advice can you offer healthcare organisations trying implement cultures of change and quality improvement?

Mature and adult conversations with staff, clinical leadership with accountability, united to a common goal with patients first, open data. No backdoor deals, no corridor conversations, no games to be played.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you at the event. Would you be able to tell us a little about what we can expect?

I will be telling the story of how over 15 years, a small secondary care provider united to become one of only 5 of the UK’s ‘ Outstanding ‘ providers of hospital services by engaging and working with its staff , developing clinical leadership and providing systems in which they could work. Developing a unifying vision of how we could do things better and with extensive consultation with the population we serve changing our pattern of providing emergency care by developing the UKs first specialist emergency care hospital.

Hear what delegates have said about our previous events:

“As a new person to the quality management world, the wealth of knowledge within the room was great to be surrounded by. I found that the presenters were very engaging and found the content very appropriate and beneficial.”

Qscan Radiology Clinics

“Conference provided a great forum for networking and was very informative.”

Mackay Hospital and Health Service

“Interesting, informative, educational and delivered professionally.”

PA Hospital

Claire Dowler is a Conference Producer with Akolade. She recently graduated with a double degree: a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Media and Communications Studies majoring in International Communication. Claire thought it sounded more impressive.

A ballroom-dancer who collects salt and pepper shakers and volunteers for animal rescue, you might say Claire has eclectic interests.

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Australian politics: Social media wins and fails

Now the Australian election has wrapped up, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. No more foreboding television ads, obnoxious radio spots or pun-tastic newspaper headlines…at least until the next election campaign begins.

In the digital age, election coverage is even more ubiquitous than ever. Sites such as Buzzfeed posted relentlessly about Australian politics throughout the election campaign, ranging from serious news stories to their trademark quirky quizzes.

Of course, anyone on Facebook or Twitter knows firsthand the constant stream of political posts, and the at times hostile environment of #auspol and #ausvotes.

Social media has changed the world of politics forever, providing cheap and impactful platforms for political parties to reach voters. The 2016 campaign was dubbed “the Facebook election” according to the ABC, and we have seen a number of great, and some not so great uses of social media this year. Here are a few political social media wins and fails:

Win: Independent candidates make their mark

Let’s face it, advertising on TV and radio is expensive. There is a reason why we tend to only hear from the major parties in the lead up to elections: they are the only ones who can afford to advertise.

Social media changes that, as independent candidate for Warringah, James Matthison showed us. His campaign launch video has been viewed over 720 000 times, easily outnumbering content shared by major parties and helping his campaign gain momentum.

Matthison told the ABC social media is crucial to his campaign due to its low cost.

“If you've seen [my campaign] it's myself, a couple of volunteers and we don't have the ability to spend [much money] so we still have to find a way to reach people,” he said.

Fail: Never underestimate the power of Twitter

Remember Fake Tradie? Twitter remembers, and has immortalised him with a hastag, #faketradie.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you might recognise this guy:

This charming little ad was released by the Liberal party and…let’s just say people weren’t impressed. Many Twitter users took issue with the seemingly contrived nature of the ad and #faketradie was born. Some Twitter comedy gold ensued.

A whole load of peole are having fun with #faketradie : :https://t.co/mYcw1naAEh pic.twitter.com/4VfsjMKglE

— SBS Comedy (@SBSComedy) June 25, 2016

Recent updates suggest the guy in the ad might actually be a real tradie, but the point stands: politicians and their media teams must never underestimate the power of a good Twitter roast.

Win: Politicians realise “social media” is not just “Facebook and Twitter”

The iconic blue F and bird logos might be the most recognisable in the social media world, but they’re not the only ones. Platforms like Instagram and Snapchat are making a big impact in our increasingly visual world. According to the ABC, politicians including Julie Bishop, Wyatt Roy and Sam Dastyari are all embracing Snapchat as a means to engage young voters.

Fail: Kelly O’Dwyer and the Liberal Party aren’t fans of parody

An unfortunate truth of social media is anonymous users are not always kind. Liberal MP Kelly O’Dwyer learnt this firsthand when a parody account comparing her to embattled former member for Indy, Sophie Mirabella, was launched. According to The Age, @Kelly_dnuSophie compares O’Dwyer’s campaign in Higgins to Mirabella’s disastrous 2013 loss.

The account is not exactly flattering but it’s pretty standard for Twitter. O’Dwyer and her team disagree and, according to The Age, lodged a copyright claim to have the account suspended, based on the notion that she owns the rights to photos being shared. The claim didn’t really have legs, mainly because most of the photos in fact belong to Fairfax Media.

Twitter declined to remove the account, demonstrating once again that social media is a different beast entirely to other media platforms.

Christian Berechree joined Akolade’s production team in May 2016. He has a Bachelor of Media and Music and a Masters in Journalism.

Christian is a musical theatre geek and a new dad, and he’ll happily spend hours telling you about either or both of those things.

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