Better Business Outcomes

Stephen and Sarah Waddington

What makes a good leader and how do they harness the power of communications? How important is business purpose? Can stakeholders really make or break a business? Societal inequalities, the environment and cost of living crisis mean that it is more important than ever for organisations to understand the role of public relations and their own contribution to society. Welcome to Better Business Outcomes, a new podcast for directors and management teams that talks to leaders and senior communicators. You’ll understand the areas where you should be focusing to build personal and organisational resilience. We will explore how public relations can support the creation of value through strategy planning, decision making, risk management and stakeholder engagement. Hosted by Sarah and Stephen Waddington. For more information visit https://www.wadds.co.uk/

  1. 12/26/2024

    Looking back in 2024 and forward to 2025

    Sarah and Stephen Waddington review some of the big issues in management and public relations over the past 12 months and look forward to 2025. They discuss: The Omnicom-Interpublic merger creates the largest marketing and public relations group. This will create opportunities for independent agencies as the merged entity focuses on cost efficiencies rather than innovation. AI in PR is overhyped. We need to see harder evidence of efficiency and effectiveness gains and better consideration of risk issues. There will be a back-to-basics focus on authentic communication and human relationships in 2025. Despite 2024's challenging economic climate, with many organisations still managing post-pandemic effects, there is greater certainty around areas of risk, and encouraging signs for the public relations sector moving forwards. Notable management and public relations failures in 2024 include the Grenfell Tower and Post Office crises. Reputation was prioritised over victims in both cases. Successful campaigns included the Northumberland National Park's response to the Sycamore Gap tree felling and Led by Donkeys’ activist work to highlight children’s deaths in Gaza. Looking ahead to 2025, key focus areas include employee wellbeing, organisational culture and the ongoing challenge of establishing public relations' value within management structures.Presented by Sarah Waddington and Stephen Waddington For more information visit https://www.wadds.co.uk/ With thanks to our production partners at What Goes On Media

    23 min
  2. 09/19/2024

    Better Business Outcomes is back!

    Sarah and Stephen Waddington return with your favourite management communications and public relations podcast.  ·      Socially Mobile, the not-for-profit PR school aimed at changing the leadership demographic of the industry, has launched a '25 for 2025' fundraising scheme. We’re looking for 25 leaders to donate £750 to help ensure we’re sustainable in 2025. ·      Both Sarah and Stephen spoke at the PRCA conference in London this week. It explored a range of issues facing practitioners from the challenging economy to diversity and from artificial intelligence to changing media consumption. ·      We knew the shift from traditional print and television news sources to digital was well underway, but digital has become the dominant source of news consumption for the first time, according to Ofcom data. ·      According to the CIPR State of the Profession report, practitioners are underpaid and working harder than ever but claim that management increasingly recognises their value. This may be wishful thinking. ·      Sarah is heading to India to speak at PRAXIS about the role of public relations as a force for good and the change practitioners can make to society through activist interventions such as the Asian Communication Network and People Like Us. Presented by Sarah Waddington and Stephen Waddington For more information visit https://www.wadds.co.uk/ With thanks to our production partners at What Goes On Media

    18 min

About

What makes a good leader and how do they harness the power of communications? How important is business purpose? Can stakeholders really make or break a business? Societal inequalities, the environment and cost of living crisis mean that it is more important than ever for organisations to understand the role of public relations and their own contribution to society. Welcome to Better Business Outcomes, a new podcast for directors and management teams that talks to leaders and senior communicators. You’ll understand the areas where you should be focusing to build personal and organisational resilience. We will explore how public relations can support the creation of value through strategy planning, decision making, risk management and stakeholder engagement. Hosted by Sarah and Stephen Waddington. For more information visit https://www.wadds.co.uk/