Develop a Public Relations Campaign - Assignment Example

Running Head: Develop a public relations campaign Develop a public relations campaign appears here] of appears here] Develop a public relations campaign Introduction Workplace diversity has taken a new face today; workplace diversity focuses on the impact of company's bottom line. Not only can it financially benefit a company, but also by embracing diversity an organization can increase their ideas, insights, and various pools of talent. Leveraging workplace diversity is increasingly seen as a vital strategic resource for competitive advantage. More companies are linking workplace diversity to their strategic goals and objects. Riordan Manufacturing has realized that diversity has an immense impact and in addressing these issues; the company is implementing a Public Relations (PR) campaign to position itself as a leader in encouraging and promoting diversity in its workplace. This paper will outline Riordan's PR campaign including its defined target audience, an overview of public relations issues, and implications of ethical issues. In addition, Riordan has implemented a marketing research plan and sought to align its marketing and public relation strategies Public Relations Issues The Riordan staff consists of 550 people and the company seeks to become a leader in embracing diversity in the workplace. Riordan has conducted research and believes that a strong business case exists for the employment of a diverse workforce. Effectively adopting and practicing diversity policies will benefit the company image, create greater attraction to potential employees, and reduce employment costs through improved retention in the workplace. A website reviewed by Riordan staff (www.embracingdiversity.org) states that, "A diverse team is a team in which every member of staff regardless of their age, gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and regardless of how they operate, or what they look like are valued as an individual and not as a member of a group." Additionally, The Embracing Diversity Organization (2005) identifies that diversity management includes the following objectives: - Ensures all employees maximize their potential and their contribution to the organization. - Ensures no one is excluded. - Concentrates on issues of movement within the organization, the culture of the organization, and the meeting of business objectives. - Creates a concern for all employees, especially managers. - Does not rely on positive or affirmative action. Riordan will adopt these objectives and use them as guidelines for implementing diversification in the workforce. Adopting guidelines is the easy portion of the task, with approximately 550 employees, implementing a company wide diversity initiative and gaining acceptance will prove to be difficult tasks. Riordan will have to place resources behind this initiative including Public Relations professional, support staff, and a measurement system. Currently Riordan's tracking and financial systems are not merged, meaning each facility operates independently and there is a very manual process to creating reports and accessing company information. This issue will need to be resolved and can be as a new software operating system has been identified but not approved for purchase. The diversity implementation can be used as further justification for the software. Additionally, Riordan has four manufacturing facilities with one located in China and the other three located in various regions in the United States. Specific Public Relations strategies and tools must be used to ensure a seamless diversity integration process. Target Audience Riordan Manufacturing strives to be a solution provider for its customers and not be a part of its customers' challenges. The company will maintain an innovative and team oriented working environment. By assuring that its employees are well informed and properly supported, it will provide a climate focused on the long-term viability of the company. Riordan must be focused in achieving and maintaining reasonable profitability to assure that the financial and human capital is available for sustained growth. The company has recognized that having a diverse workplace is an important ingredient in achieving the success the company wants to maintain (Riordan Manufacturing, 2004). Riordan realizes that for the company to meet the customer's needs and company's goals Riordan is putting a plan together to target a certain audience in order to employee a diverse workplace. Riordan plans to target women, and older workers over the age of 40. According to a study compared to job seekers under the age of forty, it takes older workers 64% longer to find jobs. Today there are 1.5 million older workers looking for work. The company believes that older workers and women no matter what race are the key to future profitability (Business Training Media, Inc.2004). The company has a comprehensive pay plan and the purpose of the pay program at Riordan Manufacturing is to help the company achieve its mission and goals by attracting, motivating and retaining the most highly qualified people, with a particular focus on attracting people in critical disciplines such as R & D and quality. Base pay opportunities will be competitive by targeting the median of the appropriate external comparative group for average or satisfactory performance. Riordan Manufacturing currently recruits employees primarily from outside the organization for entry-level jobs, whether they are hourly or professional. The company also recruits most engineering staff from outside the organization. The organization uses the following methods for recruitment: (Virtual Organization, 2003-2004). - Online advertisements at Monster.com - Local newspaper advertisements - Employee referrals - Use of employees from temporary agencies - Attendance at engineering conferences Riordan will continue using these tools to target women who are entering the workplace at a high rate, in addition target older workers over the age of 40 which the companies believes is the key to their future success. Additionally, not only does Riordan plan to employ a diverse workgroup, it also plans to make sure its employees, business-to-business customers, and other stakeholders perceive Riordan as the supporter of diversity that it strives to be. This is the crux of its campaign. Ethical Implications Riordan is an organization that honours diversity. Managing diversity in the workplace emphasizes on managerial skills and policies needed to optimize every employee's contribution to the organizational goals. Initiatives are taken not because of legal mandates or moral and ethical imperatives but instead to enhance organization morale, productivity, and benefits. After underrepresented people are hired and employee consciousness has been raised, appropriate policies, procedures, and managerial interventions are needed to optimize the benefits of a culturally diverse workplace. Ethical issues and concerns as a result of workplace diversity include: - Sexual Orientation - Discrimination - Prejudices Riordan understands that the greatest ethical pressure on public relations comes from management misunderstanding of the role of public relations. At Riordan, every person is treated equally when it comes to employment, advancement, and being treated fairly in the workplace. Riordan is committed to creating a more perfect union among employees in the workplace through the employment and development of an enhanced diverse workplace. Market Research In order to develop an effective public relations campaign strategy, Riordan's PR group must first perform research. Research and planning go hand in hand; Riordan will need thorough, relative, and accurate market research in order to be able to set objectives and develop effective strategies. Riordan's PR research will include both internal and external factors. Research focus will include the following areas. - Understanding the current situation - Understanding the target audiences - Researching media relations First, Riordan must understand the current situation thoroughly before a strategy can be designed. What are Riordan's employee demographic stats compared to other companies' What are the primary publics attitudes regarding Riordan and workplace diversity What is the scope of the issue The PR group can survey employees, clients, customers, and other target audiences to understand the attitudes and opinions of Riordan and diversity. In order to influence its target audiences through a campaign, Riordan must first understand its target audiences. What are appeals and points of interests for these audiences (Lattimore, 2004, p9) The audience analyses will include understanding the demographics, lifestyles, attitudes, opinions, and behaviours of the target audiences. Through this research, the PR team will gain an understanding of the audience and therefore can choose ways to reach them the best. In order to reach their audiences, the public relations team will utilize various forms of media. This can include intranet initiatives targeted to employees or news releases for a wider audience. Riordan will research different media channels to determine which methods will best reach their audience and convey the message most effectively. Campaign Strategy Campaign Objectives Riordan's main objective for this PR Campaign is to openly advertise its intent to become a leader in embracing workplace diversity to its internal and external publics. Riordan knows that companies and organizations have a moral and social responsibility to embrace diversity. In addition, there is a strong business case for the employment of a diverse workforce that reflects the diversity of the community it shares and serves. Adopting and practicing diversity policies effectively in the workplace benefits the image projected by the organization. People obviously have a greater attraction to work for companies with a caring and friendly attitude; reduced employment costs through improved retention in the workplace are also a major consideration. In today's business world it's expected that all businesses and organizations promote diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace and indeed to have policy statements that reflect the principles of equality. Riordan understands that one of the most important concepts in PR is to constantly think ahead, planning and evaluating a situation for an effective business campaign. This PR campaign is an example implementing and communicating an effective strategy to the organization's internal and external publics. Riordan's Publics Riordan has placed an emphasis on providing a clear and consistent message to its various publics through its public relations initiatives and relationships with the employees, news media, and stakeholders. In today's rapidly changing and diversifying world, the leading organizations of the 21st Century will be those that create a constant stream of innovative goods and services, winning customers and earning loyalty through exceptional performance. No one type of person, or group of people, has all the skills and talents needed to do this. Diversity is not only people who look different; it's also people who have different experiences. Recognizing the business advantages of embracing diversity, many organizations have successfully implemented diversity programs. The organization has implemented an open comprehensive two-way communications process involving both internal and external publics, with a goal of stimulating a better understanding of the role, objectives, accomplishments and needs of the organization. Since employees have expressed a preference for receiving important information from their supervisors, supervisors are responsible for holding staff meetings to communicate important information as required. Employees are encouraged to ask any questions they may have during these meetings, and supervisors are responsible for assuring that employees receive answers to any questions. Marketing Function Riordan's marketing functions include the four P's of the marketing mix: product, price, place, and promotion. With the new PR campaign, the current marketing plan must be assessed. In order to send a consistent message, the marketing mix will be evaluated to determine if it is aligned with the PR campaign objectives. In addition, the PR group will search for opportunities for the marketing mix to include the message of diversity. For example, Riordan has a showcase in its lobby for displaying its design awards. Can this be used to display its commitment to diversity as well As part of collaborating in strategically and tactical plans, the marketing function and PR function of Riordan can share research and information. By reducing any double work and capitalizing on opportunities, both Marketing and PR can work together to get the most out of their limited budgets and resources. Riordan is an employer committed to workplace diversity and the value it brings to the environment of an employer, the employees, and all involved with Riordan's business. An organization is only as effective as the people who operate it. Riordan employs a diverse workforce that reflects many distinguishing characteristics, including age, race, disability, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion. By creating, planning, and implementing an effective public relations campaign, all stakeholders involved can understand and believe in Riordan's commitment to diversity. Through valuing, managing, and communicating diversity in the workplace, Riordan can ensure all employees have opportunities to advance fully their skills and abilities. With the right PR campaign, Riordan can maximize its organizational potential. Campaign Tactical Plan Media Toolkit After its campaign objectives and publics are defined, Riordan can work on getting its message through and understood. In order for its publics to recognize its focus and commitment to diversity, Riordan will need to make sure its campaign is heard. It will use the following media tools to communicate its message both internally and externally. - News Releases - Articles on Internet Site - Intranet Articles; for both employees and B2B customers - Lobby and Workplace Posters One of the tools it will use is planned publicity through a news release. This news release is expected to reach both external and internal publics. Riordan has written a news release to communicate its new Celebrate Diversity initiative. The news release was written both to highlight its renewed commitment to diversity in a style to encourage media personnel to use it. Riordan's relations with media representatives are crucial, as they are a big communication gateway. Once Riordan has created its media kit including the news release, it must distribute it. Possible media avenues include the internet, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and online news sources. Riordan will issue its news release to local newspapers (San Jose, Albany, Pontiac, and China), national newspapers, the Associated Press, trade magazines, Forbes magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and multiple online news resources. It will also distribute its news release to subject-oriented sites and publications, such as DiversityInc (diversityinc.com) which highlight current issues and news in corporate diversity. It has chosen these media outlets carefully. Since this is a proactive initiative on Riordan's part and does not stem from negative publicity already out there, Riordan can afford the lengthy time-to-press the magazines need. Public Relations Tools Team D proposes the following tactical public relations plan in order for Riordan Industries to demonstrate its' commitment of embracing diversity; it will do so through building media relations and generating publicity. First, Riordan will need to demonstrate its' effort to both internal and external publics. Second, Riordan will need to thoroughly embrace diversity internally so that it can prove to its external publics that it is sincere in its efforts. Five key public relations tools Riordan should implement are: (1) Open House; (2) Community Event; (3) Sponsorship; (4) Corporate Newsletter for Internal and External Publics; and (5) Intranet/Internet. Open House Lattimore, Baskin, Heiman, Toth, and Van Leuven (2004) indicate that an Open House is uniquely community-oriented and that successful open houses provide small group tours of company facilities utilizing knowledgeable guides. Open House events can include films, displays, and brochures, product samples and souvenirs. Open houses for Riordan will consist of two events per year at each facility. The event will lead off with a short film offering company history, explaining the meaning of diversity, and depicting the manners in which diversity are embraced within the organization. Second will be a factory tour hosted by employees from every level of the company, every gender, and every ethnicity. Tours will be started every 15 minutes with an employee leading each tour. The event will end with a community cookout where prizes will be drawn for and each guest will take home a souvenir bag including a Riordan Embraces Diversity T-Shirt, a picture of the guest and tour guide, and a token produced at that facility. Additionally the local press and television news teams will be invited to cover the event. Riordan's public relations manager will also submit releases to the local papers and broadcasting systems before and after the open house and additionally will send a "Thank-You" note out to the community through every press channel available. Community Event Another tool Riordan will implement is participating in community events. Lattimore, Baskin, Heiman, Toth, and Van Leuven (2004) offer that community relations activities include offering facilities space, supporting social projects and crafting employee volunteer programs. Riordan will open its facilities during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to feed needy people. Riordan will create an employee volunteer program where employees will be paid to volunteer during these special facilities openings. Additionally Riordan will allow its employees to volunteer a certain amount of time during working hours at community events of their choosing from marathons, to telethons, to Christmas gift distributions. As described previously, Riordan will include all forms of local press coverage to publicize the events. Sponsorship Lattimore, Baskin, Heiman, Toth, and Van Leuven (2004) define brand standing as corporate sponsorship of special events as a way of getting publicity and gaining goodwill. The term brand standing holds a negative connotation, however corporate sponsorships of special events is a very useful tool that Riordan can implement. In the near future, Riordan would like to become an Olympic sponsor but that is a task that takes a while to accomplish. More immediately Riordan will sponsor local Boys and Girls Clubs in each community as well as Girls softball and Boys baseball teams. Riordan will sponsor every age group in both the girls and boys categories in each community where a factory exists. Riordan will not only provide uniforms, but rides for the players to games and mentors for children in need of a friend or just someone to talk to. Riordan will also provide trophy's and sponsor a celebratory event at season's end. Corporate Newsletter Riordan will incorporate both a printed newsletter and e-news letter depicting a diverse group of employees each month. On a monthly basis managers will solicit stories from employees for inclusion in the newsletter. The author's picture will accompany their submission and a survey will be offered for each submission so the company can measure the stories being published and overall effectiveness of how well they are embracing diversity. Intranet/Internet Lattimore, Baskin, Heiman, Toth, and Van Leuven (2004) state, "Public relations as a profession is changing rapidly. The practice of public relations has undergone almost revolutionary changes in the past few years thanks to Internet-driven technology. This major information source provides for the first time a way for organizations to communicate directly and instantly with a variety of its audiences, oftentimes without using traditional mass media." What better way to embrace diversity than opening the lines of communication through use of intranets and the internet. Through its local intranet Riordan will offer employees a variety of tools assisting with benefits, payroll, and employee support groups and help desks, etc. in languages that cover all employees' needs. Additionally the Internet will allow customers access to products and product information, ordering tools and feedback tools in their own language. Riordan will utilize every capacity of the internet to diversify its operations. References Business Training Media, Inc. Retrieved from the worldwide web September 25, 2005. http://www.business-marketing.com/store/diversity.html Embracing Diversity Organization, (2005) Retrieved from the worldwide web September 25, 2005. http://www.embracingdiversity.org/diversity.htm Lattimore, Dan., Baskin, O., Heiman, S.T., Toth, E., Van Leuven, J.K., (2004) Public Relations, The Profession and The Practice. McGraw Hill Macnamara, Jim; (2004) Adding up the value of PR, Total Communication Measurement, Nov. 2000, Vol. 2, Issue 10, retrieved October 13, 2005 from: http://www.weblinks3.epnet.com/citation.asp Virtual Organization 2003-2004. Retrieved from University of Phoenix September 25, 2005. https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/PortBus.htm Read More