Tag: PR agency based in Yorkshire

THE RETURN TO THE OFFICE: AN OPEN COMMS SAGA

As the first week of September gets underway, it marks the return to the office for the Open Comms team. Situated in the heart of Wakefield city centre, our head office is surrounded by numerous businesses that are, like us, taking the first steps into an environment they have missed for the best part of five months.

After working from home for so long, I can honestly say that the hustle and bustle of the morning commute is very welcome. This change in routine has been needed and interacting with my colleagues in person has never been so valued. Yes, we have put strict Covid guidelines in place, but we are certainly back to business for the most part.

With that said, the Open Comms team did implement and execute a successful working from home strategy. Despite this year’s widespread disruption, our work remained uncompromised and our client list grew.

Although transitioning into remote working did have challenges, we were able to adapt and evolved our business processes. We realise that we have been fortunate. And although virtual client meetings may be here to stay for the foreseeable future, I can honestly say that returning to the office has given me a sense of normality I have longed for.

Despite only just returning, the benefits of working at Open Comms HQ are already obvious.

Routine

When I look back at my own lockdown experience, the one aspect that I felt I significantly lacked and missed was a routine. Whilst I initially intended on maintaining some sort of constructive regime, this was quickly abandoned.

The allure of extra sleep and the ease of staying in become all too hard to fight. This was in addition to the separation between my home and life becoming somewhat blurred.

I quickly realised that I was someone who didn’t just like a structured day, but also thrived off it. So, it comes as no surprise that I can already recognise improvements in my daily routine, especially when I sit at my desk to begin the day.

Don’t get me wrong, during the lockdown period I evolved my skillset, adopted more efficient working practices and became a more well-rounded PR professional. But, as I transfer these traits into a constructive and purposeful office space, they are amplified and enhanced.

This is because I arrive at the office to work and leave the office to go home. The distinction is clear. As a result, I personally feel that my productivity has already improved, and my focus is much sharper.

The true value of the evening commute has also been fully realised. This time, which I obviously didn’t have in lockdown, is now one of the most important parts of my day. It gives me the chance to reflect on the day just gone, plan for tomorrow and ultimately switch off before arriving home.

Creative space

One of the most enjoyable aspects of working in PR is the opportunity to have a creative outlet. Whether this applies to securing coverage in the media, increasing brand awareness, promoting a new product or growing a company’s profile, we need to create engaging content for our clients.

I must admit that there were times I often stared at the four walls of my bedroom office, which I say loosely, in search of some creative inspiration. But my home décor isn’t the most ideal surroundings for when I needed to create some striking social media posts or compelling copy for marketing material.

I firmly believe that your environment has a significant impact on your productivity. This is unquestionably the case when I work in the Open Comms office.

With spacious and comfortable workstations, ability to work from multiple rooms and access to critical resources, I tend to deliver improved results, perform more efficiently, and increase my levels of productivity.

Collaboration and communication

As an expert communicator, it may be obvious that communication plays a pivotal role within my daily duties. However, this aspect of my profession was arguably the most impacted by the pandemic.

Not only was it apparent that robust communications played a crucial role in the lockdown period, it also became clear that this was also the most challenging to achieve.

Shifting to remote working put daily correspondence at risk. The Open Comms team had to adapt new technology to not only maintain communications with our clients, but also each other as well.

Whether it was transferring team-wide meetings to video conferences, scheduling private Teams chats to discuss key projects or just wanting to have a catch up over the phone, communicating with one another was not as simple as it may sound!

The benefits of discussing ongoing PR Campaigns and client projects in person not only quickens the entire process, but it also helps establish a much more cohesive working environment. We at Open Comms pride ourselves on being strong collaborators and this is much more effective when we can communicate clearly and much more frequently with on another.

Now we have returned, there is a sense of enthusiasm and buzz among the team that reassures me we will pick up like we never left!

If you would like to know more about Open Comms and the services we offer, why not give us a call on 01924 862477 or contact us here.

MORE THAN JUST A PR AGENCY BASED IN YORKSHIRE

More than just a PR agency based in Yorkshire

Open Communications is a straight-talking PR agency based in Yorkshire. That was how we positioned the business when we launched, and in the most part it still stands true today.

With offices in Wakefield city centre, we manage the PR and content strategies for brands of all sizes, all over the country.  However, as the years have gone by, we have realised that we are so much more than just a PR agency based in Yorkshire.

Preferred PR partner  

When companies choose Open Communications as their preferred PR partner, they get access to a team of professionals with years of experience. Believing our clients will get the best from a diverse mix of people, we all have very different backgrounds.

We have journalists, academics, customer experience professionals and PR practitioners all working together to deliver the best return on investment for every business that chooses us.

As an agency, we decided that we would not specialise in a sector. Instead, we would become experts in each client, their brand and business. This gives them exclusivity and the commitment they deserve.

As time has gone by, we have seen that this gives our clients the confidence to know we are absolutely focused on delivering results for them.

With more than 90 per cent of new business coming from client referral, this approach has worked for them and for us. It has made us the trusted PR partner we wanted to be but also generated introductions.

Trusted advisors

As PR professionals we have access to some highly confidential information. It is absolutely imperative that our clients can trust us. And they do.

It may not be a crisis it could just be information that is not for public consumption. As such, we make it clear that all insight will be handled with care. It is the very least that our clients can expect when we are managing the reputation of their brand and business.

On a lighter note, we are also close enough to many of our clients for them to share their thoughts outside of their own environments. We once had a client say that they felt ‘lighter’ when leaving each monthly meeting as they could have a good moan knowing it would go no further.

Sometimes, all we need is to get the opinions of others or to share a grievance. Having a second opinion from a trusted advisor can be priceless and we are pleased that we can offer that. This is just one of the reasons that I believe we are more than just a PR agency based in Yorkshire.

Skilled PR practitioners

There is still a misguided belief that if an agency is based in London, they will have better contacts than those in the North. I don’t agree with this at all.

We have really strong relationships with journalists up and down the country, as well as those that are based in Yorkshire. It would be untrue to say we know every contact we work with personally, but then we don’t have to.

The objective for Open Comms is to make sure that we provide relevant content that has been well written. In doing so, we can supply the journalists with what they need, knowing that in the future they will have greater trust in what we supply.

There is no point in sending across copy that is irrelevant or badly written. It would not send the right impression of us or our clients.

One thing that we are very good at, is engaging with broadcast and encouraging correspondents to come to us with any needs they may have. This has worked really well in recent years and has meant that we can work collaboratively so that the news teams get what they need and we increase the positive exposure for our clients. This is what should be expected of skilled practitioners and it is what our clients deserve.

Professionals within a wider business community

This doesn’t really have anything to do with PR at all, but it does support our reputation as a business.

Since we launched, we have worked with hundreds of companies. This has strengthened our network but also provided contacts with an agency they can call upon for advice.

Becoming a known and recognised member of the community has certainly paid dividends. Not only have we gained access to professionals we trust and would refer, we have also made friends and learnt a huge amount along the way.

It was important to us as a small business to have access to those with a range of different experiences. In turn, we have also found that we have contacts that will go out of their way to be supportive.

Recognising the value of a strong network has certainly given us confidence and strength during our most challenging times and that is invaluable.

A supportive workplace

Open Communications is a supportive workplace. Although we remain a small agency, we know that our team are close and that they get on.

Not everyone who works in our team has come from a PR background. In fact, most haven’t. What they bring to the agency is relevant experience, the right attitude and a willingness to get results for our clients.

In turn, they receive a supportive workplace with an open and relaxed culture. There are no hidden secrets to doing well at Open Comms. Work hard and you will be rewarded. It’s that’s simple and as a result many of our staff stay with us for years.

An agency that means business

As a straight-talking agency, what you see is what you get with Open Communications. We are a Yorkshire based PR agency that uses its experiences to support an increasing list of clients.

We have never shied away from hard work and we aren’t about to start now. With clients across the country, we make sure that every strategy we put in place is going to meet with objectives. This in turn means that our clients can see the value in PR and what it can deliver. It isn’t about coverage, it is about business success and supporting the bottom line.

When we founded Open Communications back in 2008, we had a choice about where we wanted to be based. It could have been anywhere, and we chose Yorkshire. It suited us and it has worked for our clients.

We’ve managed the PR and content strategies for companies throughout the UK and across the world. The furthest away was Australia and although that brought with it some challenges, we were able to put the processes in place to make it work. As a small agency with big ambition, we don’t let challenges get in our way. We learn from them and we find a solution to any problem.

If you want to work with a business that is more than a PR agency based in Yorkshire, then call Open Comms and we will arrange a chat.