Added for You - Business

Six Steps to a Successful Vendor Management System
A vendor management system (VMS) promises freedom from the chaos that can be caused by juggling the vast array of components in a staffing supply chain. It does this by pushing everything through a central processing point. Yet the business side of making these transitions can be complicated and disastrous if not well planned. How do you ensure a successful VMS implementation? After spending months with companies and vendors in developing ContractCentral we’ve learned some valuable lessons about making the transition to vendor managment system.1. Know why you’re buying a VMS Organizations deploy VMS systems for different reasons. Will your VMS foster competitive bidding to lower staffing costs? Speed requisition broadcasts? Reduce the time it takes to find and manage contract workers? You’ll save time and money by building a prioritized list of those reasons, understanding must-haves and trade-offs, and using that list to spec, evaluate, plan and build a VMS solution tailored to your business.2. Establish success metrics up front How will you define success or failure in your VMS implementation? Identify at least one measure of

re are more SEC required reports that need filling as well as other government regulations. All of this will affect the rate quoted.

So it's best to determine what you want and then work with the firm that has a track record of accomplishments and media placement. Good PR is more than hot air, it requires continuous implementation of a well thought out strategy to get results.

The following checklist is suggested by Nicassio to "size up" any public relations firm you are considering to hire:

Do you get along with the members of the firm? Hiring a PR agency is a collaboration that you can benefit from, month after month, year after year. Quality rapport is an essential ingredient.

Are they realistic, in terms of managing your expectations, or do they promise "pie in the sky"? It's one thing for a PR firm to promise results; it's another thing to promise "specific" results. Maybe you'd like to get on Oprah Winfrey from the start...so would everyone else. But be prepared to take advantage of several secondary media opportunities before you get to the top tier. Several base hits can score you more runs than going for the grand slam every time.

Is the PR firm creative? Creative PR people will come up with more "angles" to test.

Do they understand how to pitch your story? A progressive PR firm will be effective AND efficient at telling your story -- yielding you more media coverage.

Do they listen to what you say? Let's face it...your PR needs are constantly evolving. Your PR firm should listen and respond to your unique, evolving needs.

Are they using a "hard sell" to get you to sign? A good PR firm is a busy PR firm. They don't need to sell you. Their tr

Innovation and Organisational Networks
Typically an organisation chart shows control or seniority, it does not show how the organisation actually works. On a daily basis people communicate with each other, give advice and provide support for each other. These factors are mirrors for the organisational culture that exists and hence a determining factor in the ability of an organisation to innovate. It would therefore be useful to have a measure of the extent of the advice, trust and communications networks.For a simple case each individual can be given a diagram of their whole organisation or team and asked to draw on the links for each of the three networks mentioned. This could prove cumbersome for larger groups and so it might be sufficient to determine a) the number of colleagues that an individual communicates with regularly and b) the number of other individuals that they have in each of their networks. All 3 types of network have a part to play, however if they are not well aligned or differ significantly from the organisation chart then major problems are likely to exist. Further problems may occur if they are not evenly distributed or there are significant bottlenecks. This data can also be used in other ways e.g. if you are cons

How can a company or individual know if it needs to hire a public relations/marketing firm?

There are many factors to weigh when considering if you need to hire outside help to obtain the public relations, media relations, marketing boost, promotional or advertising assistance needed to take your company to the next level.

If you aren't completely certain after debating the pros and cons ask these questions:

Are we getting all the PR we deserve?

Is our competition getting more than their fair share of media coverage?

Would media coverage bring more business to the firm?

Do we have a PR strategy for continuous year round media coverage?

Is our in-house “PR person or department” overburdened with “in-house” work like the company newsletter?

First of all, let's define a PR firm, some people interchange a PR firm with a marketing firm, or marketing agency, or even an ad agency. Basically a public relations firm handles media relations and is the interface between a company and the news media.

A public relations firm or publicist will “pitch” the media on a story idea involving a company, invention or author. A good pitch about a story that would interest the people who read, watch or listen to a particular media outlet gets coverage.

Many larger companies rely on in-house staff trained in public relations or marketing while others hire PR consultants or publicists to handle their PR campaigns.

Joe Nicassio, author of Guerrilla PR Brand Manager, says whether a company should conduct its public relations, marketing or advertising campaigns internally or externally should be determined by these factors"

Do you NEED solid, consistent media exposure week after week, or are you satisfied with "occasional" exposure?

Do you have the internal staff and expertise to commit the internal resources to your public relations, marketing, advertising efforts?

If you have the internal staff, and they understand Guerrilla PR principles, then there may be no reason to hire an outside agency. Paradoxically, the busier you get, the easier it is to parlay, or "set aside" consistent, important PR activities. Don't get caught in that trap!

"Public Relations is a craft that requires PASSION," adds Nicassio. "You may need PR, and you may even have the people to conduct your public relations, marketing, advertising campaigns but that's not enough. To be truly effective, your PR campaigns must be conducted with PASSIONATE CONSISTENCY."

Here are several reasons why I believe it makes good business sense to hire a public relations firm to market your product or service:

PR firms can get you TV and radio coverage A PR firm can get you interviewed on radio and TV. Every day thousands of interviews are conducted on TV and Radio stations across the North America and several hundred are with experts and authors. If your in house PR person is not trying to get interviewed by the producers of those shows they won’t find you because they simply don’t have time to look for you amongst the many interesting people clamoring for their attention.

PR firms have regular contact with national media outlets PR firms are in regular contact journalists, editors, writers and producers from top national magazines, newspapers and radio/TV programs. When was the last time you talked to representatives from ABC's 20/20... Prime Time… CNN... People... Good Morning America... Newsweek... Publishers Weekly... Family Circle... Forbes... ABC Radio Network... Time Magazine... Dateline NBC... The View... Oprah's O magazine... Fortune Small Business... Cosmopolitan... Fox News... Good Housekeeping or Newsweek? Probably not lately. And your in-house PR person probably has not either. The reason? Your in-house person has not established the relationships with these media outlets. A PR firm with several clients can pitch one, two or three stories while talking to the same reporter or producer. An in house PR department does not have this synergy which leaves your firm out of the loop.

PR firms have multiple resources such as an “experts subscription service”

Westwind Communications and other top PR firms belong to paid subscription services which provides dozens of leads everyday from media members looking for an expert to comment on a particular story. PR firms present you and your firm as an authority on a particular topic and request an interview. The media will, in nearly every case, mention your firm in the story as it establishes your credibility with the reader.

Your in-house person is not likely to know about this service or perhaps the several thousand dollars a year it costs to get the leads is not cost effective for a firm to buy this service. However a PR firm can spread this cost over several clients and glean the hundreds of daily queries looking for the one that may work for you.

PR firms can provide media training Regardless of your experience most executives need media training. PR firms use media trainers to prep their clients. When you use a PR firm they have access to the best ones in the business. Why do you need one? Just watch the interview talk shows you can tell when an inexperienced executive is being interviewed. A good trainer will show you how to "plug" your company, product or service without sounding like an overbearing salesperson. The training helps you capitalize on every interview and maximize each opportunity to the fullest.

A PR firm can get your press release to the top of the heap.

For your story to compete for attention in the "hard news" slot it must be compelling and people need to care about it. On a tour of the Detroit News a couple of years ago I asked to be taken to the mailroom. There I saw 20 giant four-foot tall mailbags that come into the mailroom every day. All I could think of was how many thousands of press releases were in that pile, and how the odds of any one of them seeing the light of day were not good. If your press release is in that pile, you want your story to get to the top of the heap and a PR firm can improve your odds dramatically. Furthermore, since most story ideas are emailed these days, its even more unlikely your press release will be opened by a reporter since SPAM is out of control. Public relations professionals also have built up contacts in the media, who trust them for story ideas, and will know where, who and when to pitch a certain type of story.

As for fees, most PR firms operate on a monthly retainer basis and a minimum time commitment ranging from a few months to a multiple years. The level of the fee depends upon the scope of the project. Will it take five people, one person? Is the firm interested in local, state, regional, national or international public relations? Is the firm public or private? If its public there are more SEC required reports that need filling as well as other government regulations. All of this will affect the rate quoted.

The following checklist is suggested by Nicassio to "size up" any public relations firm you are considering to hire:

Do you get along with the members of the firm? Hiring a PR agency is a collaboration that you can benefit from, month after month, year after year. Quality rapport is an essential ingredient.

Is the PR firm creative? Creative PR people will come up with more "angles" to test.

Do they understand how to pitch your story? A progressive PR firm will be effective AND efficient at telling your story -- yielding you more media coverage.

Do they listen to what you say? Let's face it...your PR needs are constantly evolving. Your PR firm should listen and respond to your unique, evolving needs.

Are they using a "hard sell" to get you to sign? A good PR firm is a busy PR firm. They don't need to sell you. Their tra

Wisdom to Chew On
Now is the time to take action in order to get ahead of the competition!Many experts are reporting that the competitive nature of the job market continues to grow and is forcing job seekers to develop an extra edge to stand apart from the crowd. What will your edge be?Dental office management is a rapidly growing field that offers a strong potential for career growth. Many people, however, will begin their dental office careers as a receptionist or other front desk employee because they lack the skills necessary to jump right in as an office manager.Office managers enjoy not only higher salaries, but also greater responsibility and independence than front desk employees. They are the team leaders that keep the office running smoothly with their organizational and communication skills.You may now be asking yourself, “What can I do to get the edge I need to reach office management?” The answer is simple -- don’t delay in learning the skills today that open the doors of tomorrow.Develop skills right now such as: dental terminology, interpersonal communication, appointment scheduling, and insurance processing, just to name a few. These are the kinds of capabilities that

media exposure week after week, or are you satisfied with "occasional" exposure?