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President’smessage
Fellow Communicators, I am pleased to report that the Barbados Chapterof the InternationalAssociation of BusinessCommunicators (IABC) has started the year with renewed vigour.
Only four months into the year
and already we have successfully
staged the first in a series of
professional development
programs that will help locally-
based communication
professionals advance their
careers and generate tangible
business results for their
organisations and clients.
During the first seminar, which
was staged at the Island Inn
Hotel on February 9th, more
than 40 local communicators
were treated to in-depth
presentations from IABC
consultants Eric Bergman, Ron
Shewchuk, Rob MacLean and
Jeanette Jones who spoke to
the topic ‘Crisis Communication:
Are you prepared for when it
happens?’
We must also thank Sophia
Cambridge, Group Public
Relations Manager for Banks
Holdings Limited, Joy-Ann
Haigh, Communications
Specialist with the Barbados
Water Authority, and Sue
Springer, Chief Executive
Officer of the Barbados Hotel
and Tourism Authority, for
offering their personal insights
about managing messages
during a crisis.
You will also be pleased to
know that based on the
feedback received from this
session, we have identified
some areas of interest
that our membership would
like to learn more about.
These include stakeholder
engagement, internal
communications and media
relations, among other topics.
As professional communicators,
it is essential that we have a
well-rounded arsenal of tools at
our disposal and the Barbados
Chapter of the IABC will
continue to provide its members
with structured support and
training wherever possible.
In the meantime, let us strive
to establish - and reinforce -
good lines of communication
between our companies
and clients and their various
stakeholders. This can only
result in increased levels of
productivity and a boost in
morale…and we could all
use some of that!
Marilyn SealyPresident,�IABC�Barbados
Director�of�Communications,
Flow�Barbados.
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 1
BUZZEDUCATE l RELATE l COMMUNICATE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE President's message ...........1
Membership Matters............2IABC Crisis Seminar–Debora�Stoute .................2
IABC World Conference ....4Making Connections .........5Meet Our Members............6
In The News..........................7Mobile Etiquette Guide ......7Craving Infographics..........8
Focus ..................................11�Effective Communicationa Critical Element of Mergers& Aquisitions–Marilyn�Sealy .................11
Commentary.......................12You can’t Train Employees Like Parrots–Richard�Thomas ............12
April 2016
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 2
April 2016MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
Attendance was excellent and, not only was the webinar content
good, the interaction with our local colleagues who are or have
been managing issues, crises and emergencies was wonderful!
Their issues, emergencies and crises underscored the need for
an understanding of how to not only manage issues, emergencies
and crises but how important this skill is for communications
professionals. Their contribution was priceless!
If you are now sorry you missed it, here are a few key learnings that
can help guide you:
n Crisis communication communication that occurs when an
issue erupts into the public domain often, but not always, when
the media is involved. Crisis management is what occurs
before the emergency and when an issue erupts.
n A Crisis is a turning point for better or worse.
There are three steps to managing clients during a crisis:
1. Get to the truth,
2. Get executives/management to understand the
consequences of the truth;
3. Help the “world”/stakeholders understand the truth.
IABC Crisis Management Workshop – February 9th, 2016
Missed it? You have only yourself to blame!
Crisis management is not peculiar to communications professionals; these days it is an integral component of risk
management. But as communications professionals it is as important as our ability to communicate effectively.
Page 2 caption: Our local presenters offering their insights from their own professional experiences, right to left, Debora Stoute, VP Professional
Development, IABC Barbados; Sophia Allsopp Cabridge, BHL; Sue Springer, BHTA; Joy Ann Haigh, Barbados Water Authority.
Page 3 caption: Participants networking before and after their professional development seminar.
Top 4
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 3
April 2016MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
n An Issue is an unresolved problem with the potential of
escalating into a dispute. The best way to deal with issues
is to manage them in advance – Analyse the issue carefully;
determine specific audience, establish dialogue and listen
before we speak. Issues tend to pass through a number of
stages before erupting into a crisis: they are identified and
defined; they gain acceptance; and they remain unresolved
and are then aired in public.
n An Emergency is defined as a sudden, relatively unexpected,
occurrence that demands serious/urgent attention and or
prompt action.
n A Disaster is an extreme emergency.
How to manage issues:
1. Identify the issue;
2. Identify the audiences affected;
3. Determine how those audiences react to the issue;
4. Identify what each audience will ask;
5. Answer their questions clearly and concisely;
6. Identify the broader implications of the answer;
7. Develop your messages from these broader implications.
The leadership skills needed for the three phases of a crisis are
the ability to: Anticipate, Mitigate; and Recover.
Four things will heal your organisation or client in the event
of a crisis:
1. Have a Plan
2. Execute it
3. Adapt as necessary; and
4. Learn from it!
As communicators we must become the catalysts for positive
change regardless of whether we are internal practitioners or
external consultants. We must use every potential crisis to get
management’s attention in order to help them answer the very
important question – What will we as an organisation do to ensure
that a similar problem never arises again?
Look out for more professional development workshops and continue
to improve your skills through IABC Barbados workshops.
Crisis Seminar(continued)
Top 4
To give you an idea of what’s in
store this year, here’s a look back
at some statistics from the 2015
event. These statistics highlight
the conference’s global scale, its
focus on excellent content, and
the caliber of the presenters.
n 84%: Satisfaction rate with
the overall conference in
2015
n 92%: Approval rating of
keynote speakers
n 84%: Approval rating of
breakout speakers
n 43: The number countries
represented at the 2015
conference, including
Australia, India, the
Philippines, South Africa
and the U.K.
n 22: The number of Fortune
Global 100 companies
represented, including
Walmart, Boeing, Microsoft,
Toyota and GE.
Top three reasons given for
attending:
1. Knowledge about trends in
communication gained from
speakers,
2. Practical tools to use in my
job gained from speakers,
and
3. Networking with peers.
These are just some of the
benefits of attending IABC’s
annual World Conference. To
register or learn more log on to
IABC.com4
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 4
MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
2016 World Conference a must-attend event
Top 4
April 2016
Inspiring speakers that will change the way you think about your work, and the world at large. Connecting with fellow
communicators from all over the globe, and from all types of industries, from technology and finance to nonprofits and
universities. A chance to hone your skills and learn about what makes for stellar communication in today’s world from the
best in the business.
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 5
April 2016MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
Stephanie Bishop
M&E�Communications�Advisor,�
Caribbean�Export
Stephanie is currently the M&E
Communications Advisor at the
Caribbean Export Development
Agency, where she is responsible
for providing strategic guidance to
programme implementation, by
analysing data on performance,
identifying areas of strength and
gaps in performance, and reporting
results to the Agency and its
stakeholders.
Stephanie is a multinational
development communications
specialist with more than 10
years experience in developing
multi-cultural and cross-cultural
communication strategies.
Before joining Caribbean
Export, she held the position of
Communications Officer at the
Shridath Ramphal Centre of the
University of the West Indies,
and consulted on a number of
development projects in the
Caribbean, United States, and
South Africa including: the USAID
C-Change Program, and the
UNESCO Creative Industries
Project.
Stephanie is a Fulbright and
Barbados Scholar and holds a
Masters in International Affairs
from Ohio University, United
States, and Bachelors in Media
& Communication from the UWI,
Mona Campus, Jamaica.
In her leisure time, Stephanie’s
interests include practising
Swahili, photography, and
blogging.
Meet our members
Paula-Anne Moore
Consultant,�Phoenix�Business�
Solutions
We welcome Paula-Anne, a consultant
with Phoenix Business Solutions to our
membership. Over a period spanning
25 years, Paula-Anne has garnered
expertise in a range of business
solutions involving marketing and
business development, public relations
and communications, and optimising
client satisfaction and operational
management. She has worked with
many types of business ranging from
privately funded charities to offshore
banks to large international professional
services firms. Paula-Anne has also
had a lot of experience working in
many territories such as BVI, Hong
Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan
and Indonesia along with Barbados of
course.
The experience this has given
Paula-Anne is invaluable as it has
necessitated communication with
both external and internal stakeholders
at senior levels in many areas such
as strategic marketing, business
development, public relations and
communications.
Welcome Paula-Anne, we look forward
to many years with you as a valued and
valuable member of IABC.
Top 4
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 6Top 4
April 2016MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
Members connecting at IABC Barbados holiday Mix n’ Mingle
1. Jackie Marshall Clarke, Damian Mascoll, Paula
Walcott & Marilyn Sealy, share some Christmas
cheer. 2. Samantha Jones, Fay Cooke-Nurse and
Carmel Haynes enjoying a joke. 3. Carseen
Greenidge, Alan Harris, Sherlock Small and Alison
Licorish in serious discussion. 4. Carmel Haynes
presenting Alan Harris with a prize. 5. Samantha
Suttle, Damian Mascoll and Akeem Briggs
networking. 6. Marilyn Sealy, Carmel Haynes, Keith
Goddard, Deborah Stoute and Fay Cooke-Nurse at
IABC Barbados' Mix & Mingle. 7. Alan Harris,
Sherlock Small, Alison Licorish and Paula Walcott,
catch up before Christmas.
1
23
4
5
67
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 7
IN THE NEWS
Top 4
By�Kristin�Piombino,�source:�ragan.comYour guide to mobile phone etiquette
Is it rude to use your phone
at a restaurant or on public
transportation? What do
other people really think of
you when you
pull out your
mobile device?
Find out here.
You've seen it: A group of people hanging
out at a restaurant or social event—a get-
together in which they clearly planned to
meet—and everyone has their head down,
looking at their phones. They're not talking
to each other.
It's not just teenagers—adults are guilty of
it, too.
A photographer recently shot a series of
photos in which he asked couples and
families to pose with their mobile devices,
and then omitted the phones and tablets from
the shots. The resulting images are haunting.
We're all guilty of scanning Facebook,
sending texts or browsing the Web on our
phones when we're commuting, waiting in
line or simply have a few minutes to spare.
Have we taken the habit too far, though?
What is proper mobile device etiquette,
anyway?
Using a poll from the Pew Research
Center, Column Five explores this topic in
an infographic.
Pew found that 82 percent of American
adults say people hurt the ambiance and
conversation when they pull out their
phones at a social gathering, yet 31
percent of Americans say they never
power down their phones.
What do you think? Is it ever acceptable
to be on your phone when you're with
others? Is it OK to talk on the phone when
taking public transportation? What about at
a restaurant?
April 2016
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 8
IN THE NEWS
Top 4
Mobile phone etiquette(continued)
April 2016
Why we crave
infographicsWe live in an age of information overload. There is
no doubting that Infographics are successful. They
grab attention quickly, showcase a brand, launch,
product or idea effectively, and they drive traffic to
websites strategically.
We check our email as soon as we wake up. We listen
to podcasts while we commute. We check Facebook
on our lunch breaks and listen to music while we work.
We watch TV during dinner and read articles or scroll
through Instagram while we lie in bed trying to fall asleep.
All that doesn't even include the pop-up ads, commercials,
billboards and branded social media posts we're
exposed to. People receive five times more information
today than they did in 1986, and to keep up with the
constant barrage of content (whether it's self-inflicted or
otherwise) we have to process information faster.
That's why our brains crave infographics, an infographic
from Neo Mam Studios says. (I know, I know:
How meta.) The visual format helps us understand
information faster and more efficiently. 4
(continued)
by�Neoman�Studios
Source�Regan.com
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 9
IN THE NEWS
Top 4
April 2016
Here are some
statistics that illustrate
why infographics are
appealing:
• People remember 80percent of what they see,as opposed to 10 percent of what they hear and 20percent of what they read.
• Color visuals increasepeople's willingness to read by 80 percent.
• It takes only one-tenth of a second to understand a visual.
• In a study, 67 percent ofpeople were persuaded by a presentation that includedvisuals. Only 50 percentwere persuaded by a purelyverbal presentation.
• Another study found thatwhen people read amedicine label with text and pictures, their rate of understanding was awhopping 95 percent.Those who read a text-onlylabel had a rate of 70percent.
Infographics
(continued)
Source:�Regan.com
IABC BARBADOS GOALS
n To create meaningful
opportunities for net-working
while bringing an end to
the isolation in which
professionals currently
work;
n To create genuine
opportunities for
professional development;
n To create a local community
of professionals whose
members are committed
to a single code of ethics;
n To create a platform
in which business
communicators speak
with a single united,
credible voice; and
n To demonstrate to business
leaders how public
relations and corporate
communications, practiced
professionally, can enhance
all those desirables such
as corporate reputation,
stake-holder trust,
productivity and profits.
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 10Top 4 © 2016 IABC BARBADOS 10
FOCUS
Top 4
April 2016
Effective Communication: A Critical Element
of Mergers and Acquisitions
Organisations are constantly
evolving, accommodating large
and small scale changes
continuously amidst completing
their day-to-day operations.
Among the largest of these
organisational changes are
mergers and acquisitions.
Though these transactions
are in many cases logical,
calculated business decisions
intended to be mutually
beneficial in the end, mergers
and acquisitions can throw
businesses into a state of chaos
if not managed effectively.
One of the most important
elements of successfully
facilitating a company merger
or acquisition is effective
communication. While this may
be seen as a relatively basic
truth, the fact remains that
communication can make or
break a merger or acquisition.
Recently in Barbados, there
have been several mergers,
acquisitions and takeover bids
in critical sectors including the
manufacturing, retail, finance
and telecommunication
spheres.
As a professional business
communicator, here are five
critical elements to consider
when facilitating organisational
change:
1)Be Frequent.
During a merger or acquisition,
it is important to communicate
frequently with those involved
with and impacted by the
change. Without
By�Marilyn�Sealy
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 11
April 2016FOCUS
standardised, informative
communications, rumours
can develop and speculation
can occur. The frequency of
strong communications lays
the foundation for a smooth
transition should the merger or
acquisition come to fruition.
2)Be Honest.
All communications should
be honest. Those directly
involved or affected by the
change should feel well
informed, and thus, should
maintain a high level of
trust in the organisation and
those communicating and
facilitating the change.
Dishonest communication
can lead to a culture of
antipathy and mistrust,
factors that can promote
bad morale and scepticism
for all stakeholders.
3)Be Transparent.
Being transparent goes hand
in hand with being honest.
Communicating in a
transparent manner during a
merger or acquisition can be
very challenging, as often
details of the transaction
cannot be widely circulated
or revealed before everything
is complete. Despite this,
being open with stakeholders
is crucial. While some details
simply cannot be shared,
ensuring that employees,
shareholders, clients and the
public are kept abreast of
developments is imperative.
Provide them with access to
as much information as
possible.
4)Be Consistent.
Change within an organisation
impacts everyone, especially
change by way of merger or
acquisition. Everything from
workflows and procedures to
organisational hierarchies
can - and oftentimes will -
evolve as a result of a merger
or acquisition. As a result, it
is important to communicate
in a timely and consistent
manner so those directly -
and indirectly - impacted by
the change so that they will
feel well-informed.
5)Be Efficient.
Communicating efficiently
happens on two fronts. Firstly,
efficient communication means
identifying the best way to
communicate with your target
audience. You are already
trying to be frequent, honest,
transparent and consistent in
your communications with
stakeholders, however, none
of this will matter if you are not
communicating in a way - or
via a channel – wo which they
are receptive. Secondly,
communicating efficiently
means sharing information
with key audiences in a
timely fashion. This should
give some meaning to the
saying ‘there’s no time like
the present’.
After the Merger
After a merger takes effect,
strategic communication is
central to the integration of
the two organizations into a
more effective single entity.
By definition, this requires
a change incommunication.
Effective communication
during the post-merger
phase is required to ensure
a common understanding
of the business case for
the merger and the vision
for the future. Effective
communication will also
be the main vehicle to help
people to understand and
internalise change, along
with keeping the organization
focused on customers
and productivity. Strong
communications will also
help the newly combined
company to retain, attract
and motivate key talent
and it will also open the
conversation for the promotion
of cultural alignment.
Top 4
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 12
COMMENTARY
Top 4
You can’t train employees like parrots By�Richard�Thomas
April 2016
Would you expect a Human
Resources consultancy to
provide you with marketing
advice? Would you let it handle
your company’s advertising?
Not likely; but then most HR
folks wouldn’t presume to offer
such services.
So what would you think about
an advertising agency offering
advice on how to transform
your corporate culture? Sound
equally implausible? Well, the
pitch may come sooner than
you think.
Advertising and digital marketing
agencies – which now refer to
themselves as “brand agencies”
or brand experts—are on the
hunt for new revenue streams.
Times are tough, competition is
fierce, and every dollar of the
corporate spend is now fair
game.
No aspect of corporate
management, or territory
traditionally occupied by other
professionals, is off limits.
And since the field of Public
Relations was “annexed” years
ago (and marginalized in the
process), the more aggressive
of these brand experts are now
scratching at the door of Human
Resources.
And what is their pitch? Simply
this: every aspect, function and
activity of a company is now part
of its brand. And this of course
includes employee behaviour.
So if you want new behaviours,
and must therefore “rebrand”
your employees, who is best
suited to help? Why, a brand
agency of course.
The danger lies in the new be-
haviours that brand agencies
may promise to help companies
achieve. Take the example of
a digital marketer promoting his
services. His profile revealed
a career spent entirely on the
agency side, with no experience
inside an organisation where he
could have observed the culture
and understood the internal
issues and needs of employees.
In essence, he was a consumer-
focused career marketer.
His value proposition was this:
he would come into your
company and “coach” your
employees in how to use their
time on Facebook and other
social media effectively on the
company’s behalf. His firm
would even help develop scripts.
One can see why this would
appeal to top line (and bottom
line) conscious senior executives:
It promises to transform the
entire workforce – not just sales
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS 13
April 2016COMMENTARY
and marketing people – into a
virtual brand chorus, making
sure the company’s music
would be heard far and wide.
Is this a facet of employee
engagement, you ask.
Nope. It’s “employee brand
engagement”. (There’s that
word again.)
Sounds great in theory, but
there is a major flaw: it’s a bad
idea to pressure (forget coach)
employees into publicly endorsing
their company or its products
and services. This can lead to
resentment and resistance.
To be worth anything, such
endorsements must be made
freely; and most importantly
they must be warranted.
You can’t train employees
to talk like parrots.
Richard Thomas
is�the�Principal�of�Clarity
Communication,�a�corporate
communication�practice�based�
in�Barbados.�He�is�also�a�
founding�board�member�of�
IABC�Barbados.
You can’t train employees like parrots
(continued)
Top 4
A guide to effective communcation
by�Reputeagency l https://youtu.be/8Ox5LhIJSBE
The Communication Cure Dr. Neha Sangwan
at�TEDxBerkeley l https://youtu.be/LOZ84ZfDqKM
COMUNICATION CLIPS
Dr. Sangwan, a physician, started asking questions to her
patients: the answers she got changed her life and theirs.
Two girls meet in a station. One wears a veil. The other is deaf.
Problems arise. It’s all about how we communicate.
© 2016 IABC BARBADOS l Design Leisel Renée Jobity l MGDESIGNBDS.COM 14
April 2016MEMBERSHIP MATTERS (continued)
Top 4
CONTACT US:
Learn about the IABC 4
Read more from IABC’s
thought-leaders in
CW Magazine Online 4
Submit a piece to
IABC Barbados Buzz?4
Solution provider webinar:
What the Media REALLY Want from YouSponsored�by�LexisNexis
Recorded�16�December�2015
In an era of hyperconnectivity, social media and citizen
journalists, what’s changed about the “relations” of media
relations?
Cutting through the Content Clutter:
Create communications that people will
actually pay attention to . . . and act on!(Best�of�Show�webinar)
Recorded�4�November�2015
Let’s face it: It’s getting harder and harder to capture our
audiences’ attention with our communication efforts.
Limited attention spans, increased workloads, more and
more competition in a content-saturated world . . . these
things are making it almost impossible for our key
messages to get through. Almost impossible . . . but not
impossible. Not if you change the very nature of how you
communicate.
Saving lives: A different approach to
safety communication(Best�of�Show�webinar)
Recorded�21�October�2015
This webinar outlines Contact Energy’s innovative, world-
class and award-winning approach to employee safety
communication. It explains how the three-year program
achieved a 31 percent improvement in organizational
safety performance in year one and a 55 percent
improvement in year three, while boosting employee
engagement with safety across the company’s office
operations, power stations and contact centers.
Influencing Your Audience:
Crafting Messages that Motivate People
to Say YesRecorded�14�October�2015
If you were asked to construct a persuasive message,
would you know where to begin? This on-demand webinar
shares techniques for influencing your audience’s thought
process for both written and verbal communications.
Don’t forget to check out the IABC On-demand Webinars
IABC webinars feature top speakers presenting the latest trends and best practices in
communication. On-demand webinar recordings are available anytime at your convenience.
Logn on to find out more 4
IABC offers webinars with all-star speakers presenting the latest trends and best practices in
communication. Join the live sessions or listen to the session recordings at your convenience.