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.