Over the last few months, we have all had to get used to a lot of new things. One that we are hearing a lot about is the change to working from home. For those of us lucky enough to be working, and to have jobs where it’s possible, working from home has become our new normal.
Read MoreOver the last 3 months, many of us have found ourselves in a totally new situation where we are managing teams from a distance. In Human Services this has been pretty rare, especially in the public sector. So we decided to reach out to someone who has been doing this for a long time to get some tips and thoughts on how to be an effective manager from a distance. In this episode, Maureen Leif (President and Executive Producer) has a conversation with Tara Risser. In her role with Equinix, Tara has been managing teams around the globe for many years.
Read MoreIn celebration of April being Child Abuse Prevention Month, I was excited to be able to interview Anna Michaels Boffy today on an edition of our Podcast News from the Peak. I have gotten to know Anna through our work together on the Circle of Parents Expansion (COPE) Grant. I’ve been so impressed working with her and her commitment to families and children. She’s so passionate and smart and holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work, and Organizational Leadership and Public Policy from the University of Denver.
Read MoreWe are All Ostriches Now: A News from the Peak interview with Brett St. Clair
By David Ramm, Senior Consultant, Grays Peak Strategies
The first full-length podcast in our recently launched News from the Peak series focuses on crisis communication during the time of COVID-19.
To get an expert’s view of how to handle both this specific situation and other crises that could arrive at any time, I interviewed Brett St. Clair, an accredited public relations expert with more than 25 years of experience in the field and the leader of Western Skyline Marketing & Communication.
Read MoreWe are excited to announce the release of our new Podcast, News from the Peak. It’s currently available on Spotify, and in a few days will be available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, and more. As of today - Friday April 17, we have just released our Preview Episode. We have three more episodes recorded, and being edited and we will start releasing new content very soon.
Read MoreHere at Grays Peak Strategies (GPS) working remotely is no stranger to us, but it is strange when the whole family is now working from home. So many people and companies are now adjusting to a new normal of being “socially distant” and working from home; so how do we manage to work from home, create a team bond, and produce top tier work while being across time zones? Here are a few of the best tips and tricks:
Read MoreThe coronavirus pandemic presents a very real and disruptive change that affects our lives in comprehensive and penetrating ways.
The relevance of change management in these days of ongoing change and seemingly endless bad news brings us to key change adages:
· Change occurs, whether we want it or plan for it.
· We can choose how we respond to the change, but we can’t control all aspects of the change.
· We can plan and prepare for change and even embrace change.
Read MoreAcross the nation (and the world) both governments and private and public sector organizations are scrambling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the request of Maureen Leif, a board member of the Western Intergovernmental Child Support Engagement Council, I recently led an online workshop for WICSEC members on crisis communication strategy in an effort to help them in their response to the coronavirus pandemic.
As background, I am an accredited public relations practitioner with more than 25 years of experience working with clients in a broad range of industries including private sector, government and nonprofit organizations. I’ve helped my clients develop crisis plans and respond effectively to crises, and I’ve taught crisis communication management as part of my professional association’s accreditation program.
Read MoreDid you ever think you’d hear the words pandemic or “lock down” in your lifetime?
I think everyone is fluctuating between fear, anxiety, and simply being overwhelmed. Then, on top of the stress of not having supplies, worrying about your health and those you love, you’ve been told to work from home. All of a sudden you have to focus on that spreadsheet and that project plan and instead of the hum of your officemates you’ve got kids and pets and a phone that won’t stop buzzing with news updates.
Some of us have worked from home for a long time and have developed ways of making it work well for us and our jobs. But all of a sudden, we’re working from home with kids that also needing assistance (including with math that I can’t help with).
Read MoreAccording to Gallup News[1], young Americans aged 18-30 predict a younger retirement age than those older than 30. Why is this relevant? The older members of a company are working longer before retiring, creating more of an age gap and more generations in one given workplace than before. Now that may seem like an obvious statement, but what isn’t as obvious to people are the benefits from working in a multigenerational workplace.
Read MoreClients are now primarily using the internet to find products and services. With this technological reliance brings an increased emphasis on internet presence and innovative digital marketing techniques. A strong website and traffic to your website, is essential to ensure that people who are looking for help can locate the services they need. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a new technique used to stay ahead of digital marketing trends and improve the quality of your online information. In using this technique, public service agencies can better connect with and inform citizens about services they provide. Implementing an SEO program can be exactly what your agency needs.
Read MoreThis holiday season feels a little different for me. I have been reminded of how fragile life is and how this season isn’t joyous and happy for everyone. My beautiful young cousin contacted me on January 7th last year. I was in a ski lodge drinking a hot cocoa. She had news and not good news. She was diagnosed with stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer. From the beginning of her diagnosis, she was positive, determined, and a warrior. She was given a couple of months to live if she did nothing, but true to her nature, she fought. She fought hard.
Read MoreI can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent waiting on hold listening to bad elevator music, just to get a crabby worker give me sassy one-word answers to all of my inquires. My main purpose for calling might be resolved by the end of the conversation but I often leave the discussion angry, annoyed and sometimes feeling even more frustrated than I was before. When we feel that we aren’t truly cared for, or that our feelings are just inconveniences for others, we have less of an inclination to support that business again. However, when individuals walk away with their needs met and the feeling that their problems actually mattered to the person they communicated with, it fosters a positive attitude and increased interest in interacting with that company again.
Read MoreFor most of my life I have been a list maker. Even as a very young student I would keep a list of my assignments, lists of activities, lists of things to remember, or even lists of things I wanted. I can remember at age 12 having a list of all the cars I wanted to own. I need to find that list… But other than my wish lists, my list making has mostly been about keeping track of things that I need to do.
Read MoreWhether it be a new town, a new school, or a new workplace, we’ve all been the newbie. A certain level of nerves and concerns always come with these types of transitions; wondering if you’ll fit in and be accepted by the others. We all hope to quickly and smoothly be incorporated into an establishment. The way you act toward and integrate a new hire is crucial to establish the feelings they have towards their job for the remainder of their time at your company. It goes beyond just evaluations and lists. Equally important is the small, less obvious things you do for your new employee that make the difference.
Read MoreSometimes trying to improve performance means making some changes. Making necessary changes in the spirit of improving outcomes sounds simple enough. You may be trying to innovate and streamline old processes or hoping to enhance the customer’s experience. You can try and plan out every last detail of a new model. You may be thinking you have the best intentions so everything will fall into place. Being someone who has both undergone countless changes as well developed and implemented numerous changes, it is not as easy as it seems. In the end, how you handle change management can be the determining factor of the success of your new process.
Read MoreAs the temperature gets warmer and the days get longer, it is easy to fall into a pattern of dreaming that you’re sipping a Pina Colada on a beach instead of sitting in an office. We are trained from a young age that summer is for fun and relaxation and a break from the many months of hard work. Now that we are adults we have to face the fact that this is not true anymore, well not necessarily. As a result of this pre-programming, we tend to face a decline in productivity during the warmer months causing Summer Slump Syndrome. Don’t beat yourself up, it’s something we all fall victim to. While I can’t magically transport you to Bora Bora, I can give you a few tips on how to make the day a bit more constructive. Here are some ways to overcome that slump and still be as motivated to do your work during the summer season as you are the rest of the year:
Read MoreSome people dread going into work, they complain about presentation deadlines, back to back conference calls, and worst of all a boss breathing down their neck. You may have a similar experience, or you may not relate at all and be feeling lucky. Perhaps, you have similar deadlines, but you do not feel the same pressure. It generally has nothing to do with your luck and everything to do with the environment you work in.
Read MoreEven with a job as great as mine, staying motivated can sometimes be a challenge. We have all had those days where it’s tempting to stay in bed and see what happens, but that never really works out. For me, this time of year is always a little difficult to keep my motivation high. I can’t really pinpoint what it is. I know I need to check in with myself and make sure that I am taking time to ensure that I stay motived as well as my team.
Read MoreSocial media has become a part of most people’s everyday life. We use it to connect with friends and family, to listen to music and other entertainment, to get news and opinion and increasingly to interact with government agencies and other organizations. While there may not be much argument to the claim that our government officials would be better off refraining from late night tweets, and yes, I’m referring to the #covfefe incident and the like, there are many benefits to public sector use of Social Media. In particular, social service organizations and courts provide some excellent examples of this.
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