August 2006

Who cares about gluing vitamins to the outside of a bottle? Well, once upon a time …

I was rushing to prepare for our department’s found art show, feeling like a fourth-grader who blew off her science project until the last minute. I was digging through old photos, re-discovering painting supplies I’ve never touched, looking in the pantry and thinking about the nuclear model that Homer Simpson built (with cardboard and macaroni) for a grade-school contest.

The clock was ticking and miscellaneous stacks of stuff were piling up. Maybe I could make a mosaic out of old pills. A little dangerous. Hey, how about gluing vitamins on the outside of a vitamin bottle? No, even better – make super-long braids out of some fabric I found. Ooooh, I should use this spool of wire I’d bought seven years ago for … well, for something.

A few hours later, I’d made a mess of the coffee table and floor, and I had hot glue, super glue and fabric glue stuck to my fingers.

But somewhere between the dining room and the pantry, I remembered how energizing it feels to be engaged. It was refreshing to solve problem after problem that night, even though idea after idea tanked. And I thought of some job-hunting advice I got years ago. All jobs hire for the same position: problem-solver.

So you have an idea. Wonderful. How are you going to communicate it? Tell it to someone? Awesome. How do you get them to see the same blue, the same return, the same solution that’s in your mind?

Creativity is about problem-solving. How are the vitamins going to stick to the outside of the bottle?

By the way, the found art show was a success. But the best part is that other departments want to be part of our shows. Looks like creativity is contagious, too.

As we’ve begun to successfully build our Direct Mail department here at PlattForm over the past few years, it has been such a pleasure to watch our successes build and grow into a fully functioning direct-response lead generation alternative. We are now really beginning to pick up steam with our successes like never before!

Building on PlattForm’s vast array of knowledge and expertise in so many direct- response avenues, as well as our years of experience, knowledge and success with media placement, we’ve begun to discover smart ways of moving budget dollars to direct mail from the media mix of newspaper, inserts, television, and even some Internet budget where appropriate. And, we can also build direct mail campaigns in conjunction with e-marketing and follow-up phone calls using our call center.

One of our favorite clients, the Institute of Technology in California, uses PlattForm services for all of its lead generation needs. This has allowed us to safely test and manage budgets based on results. As we’ve been able to discover, direct mail has become a very important part of their media mix. We are often getting lead results that outperform the other mediums on a cost-per-start basis. In fact, our direct mail results are an average of 85% percent better than our already fantastic television CPLs and 88% better than our low newspaper CPLs.

I’m taking my daughter to school yesterday. We’re stopped at a stoplight. The passenger in the car ahead of us rolls down the window. She tosses a plastic CD case out of the window into the yard of the residence they happen to be in front of. The light turns green. They drive off.

Today on the way to work, I’m beside a Range Rover on I-435. A nicely dressed, pretty woman rolls down the window and tosses out a foil gum wrapper. At least, that’s what it looked like at 70 mph. She rolls her window back up and merrily continues on her way. She can afford a Range Rover. Could she not afford a waste receptacle? Or maybe there wasn’t enough room in there? Right.

Last week it was an entire fast-food bag of empty burger wrappers and soft drink cups tossed out of a car window speeding down a well-traveled street in Kansas City.

And don’t get me started on cigarette butts. I’ve read that it takes 25 years for a cigarette butt to decompose. Look around. The streets and parking lots are full of them. According to cigarettelitter.org, several trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide every year.

What gives with all of this littering? Were these people raised in barns?

I train here at PlattForm on Business Professionalism.  Another topic I preach is the importance of maintaining a positive mental attitude. One element common to both is respect. Respect for yourself and respect for your colleagues and fellow human beings. In my opinion, littering is the complete opposite—a sad display of disrespect for yourself and others.

What do you think?

For someone who has her nose stuck in spreadsheets all day, Ruth in Accounting still seems pretty personable. She’s a fabulous employee with years of professional experience. She’s a whiz with numbers, and her written reports are fairly well put together. So, naturally, you’ve assigned her the responsibility of leading your career college’s PR efforts.

Cross your fingers. Ruth, who has adequate writing skills at best, is now the “go-to” person for press releases when something important happens at your college. You’re relying on Ruth to identify the appropriate reporters at your local media outlets to receive the release and put it to good use.

Overall, the response to Ruth’s press releases about your school is lukewarm. You probably hear from the same couple of reporters who follow up … occasionally … when they feel like it. The lack of media coverage proves your worst fear: by no means is your school seen as important or publicly recognized for bettering the lives of students and enhancing the community with well-educated, soon-to-be employed graduates.

This sort of approach to PR is pervasive in the career college sector. As with many non-profit and government agencies, there is a prominent management philosophy that PR folks are like comedians. Anyone can write a press release. Anyone can pick up the phone and call the local newspaper.

If having a staffer handle PR is a failed philosophy, why are so many career schools assigning PR responsibilities to employees merely interested in the field? To save money, of course. What they don’t consider is the salary lost on a staff person who is hired specifically for – and better at doing – something else.

The best solution in terms of finances and the overall impact of your PR campaign is to outsource your PR efforts. A good PR firm can bolster the impact of your outreach initiatives, including the development of real relationships with the local media. This will also allow your staff to focus in on what they do best rather than crafting ineffective press releases.

So, uncross your fingers. If you opt for professionals who are really knowledgeable about PR, your outreach initiatives will have a much greater impact than anything Ruth from Accounting can put together.

In my two previous posts, I’ve ranted . . . well, not really ranted – that’s not my style … but I’ve stated very strongly my belief in the correlation between student Retention and employee retention. And how do we retain those key employees? I believe there are dozens of factors, but research by the Gallup Organization points to expectations, recognition, and growth as three of the most critical factors linked to employee retention. (See my posts on expectations and recognition.) This post wraps up the series by focusing on growth.

Make no mistake: growth opportunities motivate people. Who doesn’t say they want a promotion? But growth doesn’t necessarily have to mean moving up in the organization. It can also mean growing within your role—achievement. A minor league baseball player does not necessarily strive to be the manager. A concert violinist would not necessarily make a great conductor. However, each would get fulfillment by becoming even better at the skill at which they excel.

A key is to ensure your employees remain challenged within their areas of expertise. Make sure they have opportunities to learn new skills that will enhance their job performance. Make every job meaningful and reward excellence at every level. As Marcus Buckingham puts it in First, Break All the Rules, “Create heroes in every role.” And, more importantly, focus on making sure each employee’s job requirements match strengths.

It is a fact. Students who have low self-esteem bond with administrative personnel. Often they develop relationships with their first contact: the admission representative. If that admissions rep leaves, that student is at risk. Avoid this scenario by retaining those key employees.

Setting clear expectations, recognizing performance, and giving opportunities for growth are all proven ways to attract, focus and retain valued employees.