Si Francis

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Lifting the brain fog of lockdown

The old saying goes that you only miss something when it’s gone.

But one lesson from the last 12 months is that you only truly realise what you’ve missed when it’s gone and then given back to you.

And it turns out I have really missed an office.

Earlier this month I had the fortune to have been asked to help “test run” a new co-working venue in Edinburgh, The Melting Pot. 

As construction crews finalised the electrics and the desk construction, a few co-workers fed back on the experience, our ability to maintain social distancing and how the space felt.

I volunteered partly because I needed to go “into town” to pick up post and attend medical appointments, but also because I was keen to see if I had even missed an office environment. 

Being part of a remote working, collective model has meant that I’ve not worked full-time from a traditional office in well over five years.

Friends and PR pals have become bored with me explaining how the remote working lifestyle benefits everyone and how I’d never go back to an office.

But my experience at The Melting Pot this month was nothing short of a revelation. My productivity doubled (I even completed my daily to do list) and my optimism levels shot through the roof. 

When Moya Sarner’s article appeared in the Guardian explaining how we are struggling with a lockdown “brain fog” it focussed my thoughts on the issue.

When you’re working from home, you become overwhelmed by your surroundings. There is too much to do. There are too many things to think about. 

All of us who do desk-bound jobs have experienced the feeling of being unable to concentrate in online meetings, a lack of attention to detail, or to multi-task to the same degree as we used to.

Sarner describes this “dulled, useless state of mind – epitomised by the act of going into a room and then forgetting why we are there” as lifeless. This all-encompassing brain fog then affects our everything we need to work productively. Our creativity, our memory, our attention and our ability to problem-solve to our capacity to be creative.

Yes, I thought when I read the article. That is exactly what has been affecting me. I just didn’t know it.

Stepping away from the home environment and into an office, if only as a co-worker and only for a few hours, gave me distance and perspective.

It was as if my own brain fog had been lifted. 

For a few brief hours I had a glimpse of what life will be like after lockdown, and I can tell you that it is nothing short of awesome.

This post first appeared on the PRFest steering group blog. Image: Impact Hub Islington.

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Lifting the brain fog of lockdown

Lifting the brain fog of lockdown | Could a return to office life boost mental health and productivity?

The old saying goes that you only miss something when it’s gone. But one lesson from the last 12 months is that you only truly realise what you’ve missed when it’s gone and then given back to you. And it turns out I have really missed an office. Earlier this month I had the fortune to have been asked to help “test run” a new co-working venue in Edinburgh, The Melting Pot.  As construction…

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Misinformation: the fight of our professional lives

Tackling misinformation and disinformation will be the fight of charity communicators’ lives over the next ten years.

Misinformation is not just an issue for those working in high profile areas such as vaccines and the environment, any campaign can be hijacked by people spreading fake news. 

This can turn any campaign into a crisis. We need to be on constant watch for deep fakes and people misrepresenting our views. 

First impressions last and it is never easy to unsee content. This means we need to learn lessons from political communicators who are at the forefront of seeing the damage done by false content being seen and how this is rebutted.

It also means that the care-free days of letting your supporters run wild on social media with content could be coming to an end. We need to take the high ground and ensure that we direct supporters to share evidenced and professional content.

We also need to ensure we maintain a duty of care over asking supporters to engage in social media content. The last 12 months has seen a rise in hate speech directed to charity staff and beneficiaries.

The work of the Charities Against Hate group has never been more important in working with platform owners, the government and campaigners to ensure supporters are prepared and supported for this febrile media climate.

This article first appeared in the annual PRCA ethics publication in March 2021. Image: Shutterstock

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Misinformation: the fight of our professional lives

Misinformation: the fight of our professional lives?

Tackling misinformation and disinformation will be the fight of charity communicators’ lives over the next ten years. Misinformation is not just an issue for those working in high profile areas such as vaccines and the environment, any campaign can be hijacked by people spreading fake news.  This can turn any campaign into a crisis. We need to be on constant watch for deep fakes and people…

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21 years on from the Section 2a fight

It’s LGBT+ history month and 21 years since Scotland was gripped by plans for a wild cat referendum. No, not on independence, but on keeping a ban on ‘promoting homosexuality in schools.’

This ban (known as Section 28 or 2a in Scotland) was used by local authorities to ban any discussion of same sex relationships in a positive context. Led by Labour minister Wendy Alexander, the Scottish Government planned for repeal.

But damning the Scottish Parliament as ‘Barmyrood’ for supporting plans for repeal, the Daily Record published a lengthy article titled:

If this is prejudice, I’m proud

Subtitled, ‘Gay way can never be happy,’ commentator Tom Brown went on, happily calling his piece the:

CONFESSIONS of a Gaybasher

But, it didn’t stop there, with the Record going onto slam the right of gay men to even kiss in public. The Scottish Daily Mail editorial called plans for repeal:

Labour’s Poll Tax … a seriously destabilising force in Scottish society.

Cue Brian Souter, Stagecoach / MegaBus boss and millionaire, who bank-rolled a “Keep the Clause” campaign, with the Mail and the Daily Record as his campaign cheerleaders. The media organised a wildcat referendum, purposefully designed to show public opposition to repeal of the clause.

In the days before mass online media, the invaluable Scottish Media Monitor website was a key resource for quotes detailing the febrile atmosphere at the time in Scotland. With that site gone, some of the key posts have been extracted from their original home in ScotsGay magazine and re-published below.

The Sun’s editorial screamed:

God put his own son in a household with a mum and dad… We are the ones who are today grateful to Brian Souter,the raiding of his charitable fund, and the righteous stirring of sensible Scots everywhere. To use a Biblical term, the thought of removing Section 28 is an abomination. To use another, the idea deserves the same fate as Sodom and Gomorrah.[Feb 2000]

Former Sun columnist, Labour turncoat and former SNP Deputy Leader, Jim Sillars bizarrely warned that repeal would lead to:

The sperm of homosexuals conveyed artificially to women’s ovaries, in order to give homosexuals full rights [Feb 2000]

The Scotland on Sunday allowed bigots, like archetypal “nasty party-man” Gerald Warner, to exclaim:

Homofascism is now, aggressively and shamelessly, the ideology of the Scottish Executive…The useful idiot fronting this offensive is Wendy Alexander, the thirty-something Minithter for Communitieth [sic]… These are the dark forces which will blight the next generation if a stand is not made against them. [Feb 2000]

And that the Scottish Executive showed:

Every malign instinct to make society more squalid by marginalizing marriage, normal family life and heterosexuality…[May 2000]

As the campaign built up a head of steam, gay-bashings in Scotland reportedly increased. The Herald (28/1/2000) warned of increases in homophobic bullying in schools. Some pro-repeal journalists, like the Sunday Herald’s Iain Macwhirter, were even being threatened:

Even newspaper editors are being threatened by [anti-repeal] sinister figures on the fringes of Scottish media life. Some gay journalists are seriously thinking about leaving the country altogether.

The Scottish School Boards Association and other members of the coalition pulled out of the Keep the Clause campaign saying they had been hijacked by Media House (Sunday Herald, 30/1/2000), the PR agency which worked on the campaign.

Media House’s boss PR-man Jack Irvine still represents clients including the UK’s Dairy industry and the New Zealand High Commission (he claimed to be “no bigot” despite ScotsGay reporting at the time that he denounced “slobbering queers” and PR-ed both anti-gay US evangelical preacher Pat Robertson, and the Daily Record).

Section 28 / 2a may be long gone now, but this was a hideous chapter in the history of Scottish life, orchestrated by Souter and his cronies. And whatever the result of a future independence referendum, it is further proof that Scotland will not become a socially-just, liberal paradise without hard work for those who believe in equality.

And it proves why LGBT+ history month is so important.

(And in case you were wondering why I have so many old press cuttings lying around my house, I was Equal Opportunities Adviser at Edinburgh Student Association during this time.)

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21 years on from the Section 2a fight

21 years on from the Section 2a fight | How the media covered the repeal of Section 28 / Section 2a in #Scotland. #LGBTHM21

It’s LGBT+ history month and 21 years since Scotland was gripped by plans for a wild cat referendum. No, not on independence, but on keeping a ban on ‘promoting homosexuality in schools.’ This ban (known as Section 28 or 2a in Scotland) was used by local authorities to ban any discussion of same sex relationships in a positive context. Led by Labour minister Wendy Alexander, the Scottish…

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2020 did not go to plan

There’s not a country, sector, organisation or individual that could claim that 2020 went according to plan.

And in the PR & communications world the upheaval was felt across the board.

As the PRCA Census found, a third of members have been rocked by redundancies in their organisations since the pandemic hit. Working patterns have shifted and diagnoses of mental ill health have increased.

This meant that the work of the PRCA Council in 2020 had to be transformed.

The meeting I will remember the most in my year as Chair of the Council was the one in May. This was no longer a meeting about plans and workstreams, as had been envisaged, but where it just felt good to hear how other people were coping.

Businesses, agencies, charities, academics. All members of the Council were experiencing the same personal and professional difficulties and it was cathartic (I think) for us all to come together and talk about them.

For many, remote working had come out of the blue. For some, working from home was the norm. But many were having to learn in a matter of weeks what it had taken other existing home workers to learn gradually over the years.

But the profession rallied round. Led by the PRCA, huge changes in our industry were supported. From free training and free membership of the trade body to a report on how to recover fast from the crisis in 2021. Many also found other ways to support communities during the peak of the Covid crisis.

Amazingly, despite the personal and professional issues which dominated the year, there was time to deliver on some of the priorities that the Council set itself at the start of 2020.

The work on proving the value of PR has continued and the launch of the report – two years in the making – will be a highlight for 2021.

The social impact of the sector has also improved. Like many businesses, PR and Communications firms (and in-house teams) have looked to their local community for support – and are looking to repay the debt.

At the height of the pandemic, some in the industry answered the call to donate laptops and tablets to help those who face digital exclusion. SocialBox.Biz, the social enterprise behind the scheme, deserves our thanks and our further support (for more information PR teams and agencies can visit socialbox.biz or call 0843 289 5722).

Later in 2021 a new social enterprise directory will be launched to help PR and communications professionals increase the social impact of their supply chain spending.

The environmental impact of PR – and the wider advertising sector – is also now the subject of action. The launch of Ad Net Zero in November has given us a framework to ensure we can achieve net zero by 2030 as a profession.

The Black Lives Matter movement also shook the industry. It served as the wake up call that many needed to take real action, rather than talk about diversity.

The scale of the challenge cannot be underestimated. While the number of Black and ethnically diverse professionals has increased incrementally to 12% (from 10% in 2019), professionals from these backgrounds overwhelmingly tend to occupy junior roles.

The PRCA launched the Race and Ethnicity Equity Board to lead the work on tackling this problem. And another tangible outcome, led by Rax Lakhani and Laura Sutherland from the PRCA Council, was the DRIVEN Pledge and guide; a (free) starting point for agencies and in-house teams to assess their current practice and take action to address inequality.

Another group sparked into action by BLM was a coalition of over 40 charitable organisations to take action against hate speech online. Charities Against Hate has recently published research and recommendations into this area and will be supported by the PRCA Charities and Not For Profit Group into the future.

In 2021, the English government’s Online Harms Bill and the Scottish Government’s Hate Crime Bill offer opportunities to take decisive action to prevent hate speech from having the devastating impact we know it does.

Finally, my hope as PRCA Council Chair was that 2020 would be the year that ethics in the industry came under the spotlight and that the profession united around ethical conduct.

While the work on this has not been transformational, we have seen heightened awareness of ethical conduct expected of PRs and where new cases of potential or suspected breaches have come to light, the PRCA has spoken out.

An international ethics council has also been launched, with Council Member Mary Beth West as co-chair. Mary Beth has lived experience of being targeted for taking an ethical stance in her industry in the US and this will be the best way to secure a united, global, approach to ethics.

But more needs to be done. There still needs to be a unified campaign which communicates the ethics of what PRs do, the resolution the public can expect if these standards are breached and the naming and shaming of practitioners that operate outside a code of conduct.

Indeed, recent headlines about Admiral Associates and Aston Martin as well as a raft of recent complaints to the PRCA, prove that in an era where transparency and an end to misinformation are vital, the work on improving the ethics of PR and communications can’t come soon enough.

This post first appeared on the PRCA website.

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Dialogue or boycott: How should communicators deal with Facebook?

As communicators, we all have a duty to think about the impact of our communications.

The recent boycott of Facebook by advertisers poses ethical concerns for the PR profession as well.

We have a duty to ensure that we do not support channels which promote hate speech. Yet, at the same time we must defend free speech. And, of course, quitting a channel which helps us reach our audiences is not a wise comms decision.

That’s why it has been refreshing to see the approach taken by leading charities.

A coalition of 37 charities, and our social enterprise Campaign Collective, has urged social media owners to take action against hate speech online.

The group recognises that these platforms have a role to play in allowing us to connect with supporters and beneficiaries from all backgrounds. But we also know that not enough is being done to stop posts which incite hate and violence being made visible.

No one should have to see these messages in their day to day lives, and especially not when trying to access ongoing information and support.

We believe that it’s time for social media platforms to be better, and do better by the people who use them. It’s time for them to take action to make their platforms more inclusive, a place for connecting and debate, not hate.

Hate, whether it’s based on race, gender, sexuality, disability, religious beliefs or any other characteristic, is not acceptable in society. And we all have a part to play in stopping its spread. We believe it’s important that Facebook and other social media owners hear this message loud and clear from as many people, and sectors, as possible.

Together, we will take stock of what’s happening, scaling back our social media spend where we can, without it impacting our ability to deliver vital services.

We’ll review ethical marketing policies, and see how these align with those of our partners. And where there is difference, we’ll be taking combined recommendations to the social media platforms to show them how they can do better for those we support.

In practical terms, this means a working group has been formed which will review what’s happening, how it impacts campaigners’ ability to support beneficiaries and bring recommendations of change to the social media owners. 

And while this review takes place, while we will continue to use Facebook to help get our client’s messages out there, we will not spend any money promoting our posts or on Like adverts.

It is unlikely that one approach will fit for all campaigners – and even less so to include all communicators – but I would welcome the thoughts and comments of the PR and communications profession to feed into the working group.

This article first appeared on the PRCA website.

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PRs urged to donate unused IT to help vulnerable

PR and communications firms can now donated any un-used (or under-used) IT equipment such as laptops, tablets and mobiles to help the lonely and vulnerable.

Social enterprise SocialBox.Biz works with local and national charities to put laptops into homeless centres to provide social and digital inclusion to those who need it the most.

They also support refugees living in the UK who need access to IT to connect with their families and their new communities.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have also recently started to include older people and care homes in the scheme.

PR and communications firms are sat on old and un-used IT. This is a perfect opportunity to help those whose isolation is increased because of the COVID-19 lockdown.

The last PRCA Council meeting agreed that donating IT would be a simple way for the profession to help connect vulnerable people during the pandemic and PR teams would not be alone in making donations.

Firms such as BP, Legal & General, Regus, Shell and Youngs & Co Brewery have already backed the scheme. Partner charities include Age UK Camden, C4WS Homeless Project, the Simon Community Scotland and Working Chance.

The team at Age UK London commented:

The current situation is shedding light on the need for people to be connected and informed through the internet and being online is a lifeline now more than ever.

Peter Paduh, Founder of SocialBox.Biz, said:

With the country under lock down, many people who previously relied on human contact are now left isolated. From older people in care homes to young refugees, hundreds of thousands are in need.

IT has never been more critical to our mental health and every firm can help plug the gap.

For more information PR teams and agencies can visit socialbox.biz or call 0843 289 5722

Featured image by LondonMatt on Flickr / Creative Commons.

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PRs urged to donate unused IT to help vulnerable

PRs urged to donate unused IT to help vulnerable | @SocialBoxBiz ready to get laptops, tablets and mobiles to elderly and isolated.

PR and communications firms can now donated any un-used (or under-used) IT equipment such as laptops, tablets and mobiles to help the lonely and vulnerable.

Social enterprise SocialBox.Biz works with local and national charities to put laptops into homeless centres to provide social and digital inclusion to those who need it the most.

They also support refugees living in the UK who need access to…

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Three ways PR & comms staff can help the fight against COVID-19

As the government’s Stay Home, Save Lives message gets through and the world settles into a new normal, the PR and communications profession must start to look at the positive social impact it can have right now.

Most PR teams and agencies have, rightly, been prioritising getting their own houses in order; setting in place crisis communications plans, transferring to remote working and protecting the welfare of their own teams.

Now we need to look further afield.

Last week, the PRCA Council considered ways in which the profession can do more to help the coronavirus response. Much can be done on an individual level, such as providing pro-bono support to a local charity needing communications help or supporting your neighbours.

In addition, we explored three new ways organisations and professionals can help.

Volunteer your time

Once the initial rush of communications has slowed down, teams may find they have spare capacity. Most organisations will be supported through this through government schemes (although much more needs to be done for the self-empoyed and freelancers), so there is no excuse for not freeing up staff to volunteer to help the NHS effort.

In England, PRs can sign up here to the NHS / Royal Volunteer Service scheme: https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHS.

Details of expanding the scheme to other nations will be announced soon. In the meantime, in Scotland, people can visit: https://www.volunteerscotland.net/covid-19/ to find out ways to help.

Donate un-used resources

A dusty old laptop, an ipad which has long since past it‘s useful life, a smart phone which had to be upgraded?

Most PR and comms offices are full of these things. But right now, older people need them. With visiting hours in most care homes and NHS facilities cancelled and over-70s self-isolating, technology is the only way to maintain social contact.

Clean these items and see if staff have a care home nearby who they could offer them too. Or contact national organisations like Anchor Hanover, BUPA or one of the many smaller care home groups listed online here: https://www.carehome.co.uk/caregroups/

Spread positive news

The mental health of the nation is suffering and will get worse as the self-isolation and social distancing last into the weeks ahead. There are several sources of good news, including The Rooftop. Join its Facebook community and or follow on Twitter and submit positive news stories (even old ones will be considered) to [email protected].

It will be a long fight, but if we unite together, the PR & communications profession can help with the national effort to beat COVID-19.

Simon Francis is Founder Member of social enterprise Campaign Collective and Chair of the PRCA Council. For the latest on the PRCA’s advice visit https://www.prca.org.uk/covid-19

This post first appeared on the PRCA website. Image by Chris Hoare on Flickr / Creative Commons.

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Three ways PR & comms staff can help the fight against COVID-19

As the government’s Stay Home, Save Lives message gets through and the world settles into a new normal, the PR and communications profession must start to look at the positive social impact it can have right now.

Most PR teams and agencies have, rightly, been prioritising getting their own houses in order; setting in place crisis communications plans, transferring to remote working and protecting…

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Is 2020 the year the PR profession unites on ethical conduct?

The public relations profession has a shocking end to the decade from an ethical perspective.

The collapse of Bell Pottinger opened the door to a renewed focus on the ethics of the profession. PR agencies suddenly woke up to the stark reality that they can’t act behind closed doors with impunity.

Yet, problems persist. Especially among some “old school” traditionalists.

The ongoing “pride-washing” and “astro-turfing” accusations are not only damaging for brands, but to their marketing agencies as well.

Even in the world of political communications, problems still happen despite the merger of the two main codes of conduct governing that sector. Ruth Davidson MSP was widely castigated and forced to resign from a job at lobbying firm Tulchan.

There is also criticism of a Manchester agency MC2 for strategising to rebuild the reputation of a convicted killer (the same agency has been hired to help the Government’s Northern Powerhouse drive and its founder is on the board of the Rugby League 2021 World Cup).

It’s time the profession got serious about our ethical standards.

Late last year, I was elected to be the 2020 Chair of the Public Relations & Communications Association (PRCA) Council.

Industry leaders who voted for me backed the pledges I made to focus the work of the Council on renewing the profession’s focus on ethics, social impact and diversity.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has also elected a Chair of its PR branch seeking to bolster the ethics of a profession.

So what needs to be done?

First, we need to ensure our code of conducts are fit for purpose.

Second, we need to make sure our colleagues are aware of what these codes mean and what it means for them.

Finally, we need to call out agencies that are not signatories to a code of conduct (it’s notable that neither Tulchan nor MC2 are members of the PRCA or the NUJ, from what I can tell).

No client should be hiring a firm in the 21st Century that won’t commit to an ethical code of conduct.

Working together as a profession means we can re-boot our ethical standards and ensure we can leave the poor reputations of “old school” PR firms behind us.

Featured image: Laurence Arnold, Flickr / Creative Commons

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Is 2020 the year the PR profession unites on ethical conduct?

2020: The year the #PR profession got ethics?

The public relations profession has a shocking end to the decade from an ethical perspective.

The collapse of Bell Pottinger opened the door to a renewed focus on the ethics of the profession. PR agencies suddenly woke up to the stark reality that they can’t act behind closed doors with impunity.

Yet, problems persist. Especially among some “old school” traditionalists.

The ongoing “pride-washing

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PR needs a renewed focus on ethics, diversity and impact

The PR and Communications profession is at a cross roads.

Recent scandals involving Ruth Davidson MSP, “pride-washing” and “astro-turfing” show that the profession has not moved on fast enough and far enough from the Bell Pottinger scandal. At least in terms of public and opinion formers’ perceptions.

We either build on the work we have been doing to improve ethics, diversity and standards, or we stagnate.

That’s why the election for the PRCA Council this year is an important one. There are two leadership positions up for election (Chair and Vice-Chair) as well as the general council members.

The election for those top positions is simple, the candidate with the most votes becomes Chair and the one with the second most votes will be Vice Chair.

As Chair or Vice Chair of the PRCA Council, I will propose ethics, diversity and standards are the focus of the Council’s work.

Underpinning our work on all these themes must be a step change in demonstrating the positive social impact the profession has.

The PRCA Council has made bold steps in agreeing a definition for social impact, but we need a dedicated drive to move this agenda forward.

Demonstrating our social impact will improve recruitment and retention, ensure we are talking the language of board rooms and procurement teams and show to the public that we are a globally aware, responsible profession.

The first ever analysis of the social impact of PR and communications agencies revealed that 80% of practitioners have helped meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition, three quarters have encouraged workplace diversity with two thirds involved in genuine corporate social responsibility programmes.

This is a platform we can build on and, as a Founder of Campaign Collective, a social enterprise PR agency, I would be delighted to lead that charge.

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PR needs a renewed focus on ethics, diversity and impact

PR needs a renewed focus on ethics, diversity and impact. Vote for Simon Francis for Chair of the the PRCA Council elections.

The PR and Communications profession is at a cross roads.

Recent scandals involving Ruth Davidson MSP, “pride-washing” and “astro-turfing” show that the profession has not moved on fast enough and far enough from the Bell Pottinger scandal. At least in terms of public and opinion formers’ perceptions.

We either build on the work we have been doing to improve ethics, diversity and standards, or we…

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Meet the charities showing governance is good

Campaigners and trustees are fighting back from recent scandals involving the governance of high profile charities.

Negative headlines, such as the Oxfam abuse scandal in Haiti and a small charity diverting funds donated by Comic Relief, have brought the running of charities into sharp focus.

But against this backdrop, 21 charities were honoured at the UK Charity Governance Awards.

One organisation, Coventry & Warwickshire Mind won an award for managing risk in an ambitious project to build a new health centre.

St Clair Gardens was opened following a long running volunteer-led fundraising campaign. The new building helps those with complex mental health needs get the support they need while staying close to their families.

Previously local people did not have access to nearby hospital beds that would allow them to get the help they required.

The project enabled Coventry & Warwickshire Mind to provide a new way of supporting people with complex needs. The unique building is designed by people with mental health issues to ensure that it is therapeutic.

Other big winners on the night included those fighting for women’s rights.

One of the winners, Muslim Women’s Network UK, is a charity which works to improve social justice and equality for Muslim women and girls.

It won for its range of services that help tens of thousands of people, including the only national faith and culturally aware helpline for Muslim women.

Managing turnaround

Dementia UK, the sole provider of dementia nurses to families, won the Managing Turnaround award.

The trustees and new chief executive transformed the charity’s fortunes from facing possible closure to reaching close to five times the number of service users and securing its financial future.

Michael Jarvis, who chairs the Awards, said,

These creative, hard-working and inspiring trustees and their colleagues deserve to be celebrated.

I would encourage everyone to read the stories of our winning charities. It reminds us all that by improving governance a charity can dramatically improve the lives of those it serves.

Case studies of all the winners and runners-up are shared on the Awards website, www.charitygovernanceawards.co.uk. The organisers have also put together a useful list of resources for charities and trustees (under ‘Advice and Resources’).

This post first appeared on Grit Daily.

Image (c) Kate Darkins.

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