Dennis Rutzou Public Relations
Nicola Rutzou
My take on internal communication
Apr 5th
My interest in internal communication started when I worked within a couple of large organisations, namely Woolworths then Integral Energy. The roles I had were external communication focused and therefore I had no responsibility for internal comms and could be just an observer.
To me internal communication is about engaging your people, not just about telling them what’s going on. Nobody is going to be fully engaged or productive if they don’t feel like they play a part in the overall organisation. You can have the best employee communication system ever but if your employees aren’t engaged then it’s a complete More >
Let’s look forward to a great 2013
Dec 21st
I attended a business women’s lunch about a month ago and was totally aghast when one woman declared that her company (a legal firm) was in the process of planning for a terrible 2013. They had apparently predicted that 2013 was going to be a shocker and so all their planning needed to focus on ‘gloom and doom’.
I was appalled. In all the training I’ve ever done on business planning I’ve always focused on the positives. I don’t mean that I view the world through ‘rose coloured glasses’. In fact I’m also a realist but I do think you have to focus More >
Issues management: Why does your business need it?
Sep 28th
Issues management sounds like a fairly broad term but in public relations terms it refers to keeping an eye on any issue that has the potential to disrupt or damage your business reputation.
So you might be thinking now that issues management is not for you but there isn’t a business out there that doesn’t have ‘issues’ that could dent their reputation.
Of course there are businesses that have bigger and more complex issues to handle because they are larger and more exposed to multiple stakeholders like Woolworths which faces a myriad of issues every day. I spent two years working there More >
Beware the post-race/event interview
Aug 16th
As a keen observer of media interview technique I was fascinated by the way in which post-event media interviews were handled at the recent Olympic Games.
I don’t remember it being so routine at past Olympic Games but it seemed to be mandatory for every athlete to be subjected to a post-race interview almost immediately after their event.
As you would expect these were handled in a variety of ways.
Some headed to the microphone like well-practiced politicians and sprouted off their well-rehearsed spiel much to the annoyance of the interviewer who wanted something a bit more original. These ones obviously had media More >
It’s not just what you say, but how you say it
Jun 21st
I have watched with fascination this week as our two biggest newspaper publishing companies Fairfax and News Limited have made announcements about the future direction of their respective companies.
Fairfax was the first cab off the rank and the general impression I got from media reporting of the announcement was gloom and doom, job losses, printer press closures, tabloid sizing and strike action. The commentary that followed was about whether we would still be getting quality journalism or whether the newspaper would survive in newsprint for much longer.
I have no idea if Fairfax was attempting to talk up the positives and More >
Internal communication during a period of change
May 24th
We live in a fast-paced, ever-changing world, so constant change in the workplace is something we need to accept as the new norm. When I first joined the workforce more than 20 years ago, the business environment in Australia was much more stable. The notion of ‘jobs for life’ and ‘steady as she goes’ were accepted and expected. And of course internal communication within most organisations was simply the gossip in the kitchen.
Change communication
The world has changed, but sadly for many companies internal communication has not kept pace. When major change occurs within an organisation the employees are often the More >
Photography tips for B2B communication
Apr 18th
It’s all about the people when developing a B2B PR campaign so the photography for an organisation that is focused on communicating to other businesses should be of people. That applies particularly if you are selling a service but is also important when you’re selling a product because customers want to trust the person before they’ll buy your product. Therefore photographs need to be of people and they shouldn’t be of actors or stock shots but the real people in the organisation.
Here’s a few tips to get started:
1. Hire a professional
There has been a trend towards businesses taking their own photographs More >
Consistency is the key in B2B public relations
Mar 14th
Consistency in more ways than one is a vital part of any successful B2B public relations campaign.
This means you need to keep your messages consistent across all forms of communication and you need to be consistent in delivering those messages in an ongoing way.
One of the first things we do at DRPR when we start working with a new client is to create key messages. These are usually three or so descriptive statements about our client’s organisation and the services they offer. They are not slogans or taglines, but factual statements that sum up what the company is all about.
B2B More >
