This week has had one common theme so far – the importance of people. You could argue that is something that features in every week and you would be right. But in the last few days there have been a number of reminders that policies, process, ideas and structures are all fine but they are nothing without people.
At the PR analytics workshop yesterday, people didn’t feature as strongly as I feel they should have. After all no matter who we work for we should be prioritising the people who buy, receive or use what we are in the business of. Unless what we do has an impact on those people then it doesn’t matter what the statistics and figures say.
Tonight I have been considering the importance of the radio phone-in as part of modern day media activity. They do have a clear following and seem to have no difficulty in finding people who are willing to talk, question, discuss and get involved. In a world of social media it is comforting that early morning, lunch time and late night phone-ins still exist. They would be nothing without the people who are prepared to dial in.
People working in big organisations and companies can easily forget that it is individuals that are important. It is the way messages are received that can mean confidence or reputational disaster. It is how people view organisations that can mean growth or bankruptcy. It is individuals that ultimately have the power.
One of the biggest problems for communicators is that we are working so hard, so fast and with limited resources. It can make involving the community a nice to do rather than a must do. In a world where people are bombarded by messages wherever they turn being able to stand out is a huge challenge as well. The first step is to recognise the importance of people to what you do, to modern life and to business success. The rest will then follow.
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