Allan McDougall's blog

My karate sensei used to always say, “whatever doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.” He would usually say this before mercilessly beating me in one on one competition. Either way the adage stuck. My ontology is that we are the sum of our experiences, good or bad—everything is an opportunity to learn. Some of the greatest leaders, actors, musicians, and writers in modern history have served to profoundly change the world after facing challenging adversities . . . hopefully you can too (oh yeah, and me).

RISK
Author unknown

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to others is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken,
because the greatest hazard in life is to do nothing.

The person who risks nothing,
does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.

They may avoid suffering and sorrow,
but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.

Chained by their attitudes, they are a slave,
they forfeited their freedom.

Only the person who risks can be free

As promised, albeit over a month ago, this is a follow-up to my previous post about Gen Y in the workplace. In Generation Y Connects (Part I), I succinctly established who Gen Y are and how they’re perceived in the workforce; in this post I’m going to explain the strategies that my company uses to communicate with them. 

My employer specializes in creating integrated communication campaigns that relay Loss Prevention and Safety (LPS) messages to associate-level employees of large American retailers–we do more traditional marketing communications as well, but our specialty is helping our clients protect their bottom line. Just to provide some context, we begin any of our LPS campaigns by researching a given company’s employees’ perspectives on Loss Prevention. We prove that associate-level employees are typically unaware of how to spot potential shoplifters, the consequences of internal theft, and spotting hazards directly affects their personal safety.

While collecting information about employees’ perceptions about LPS in the workplace, we also collect their demographic information (specifically gender and age). So, for example, a typical employee of Winners is a female 17-22 years old, a typical employee of Office Max is a male 20-26 years old. Associate-level employees come from a younger demographic—these positions typically don’t pay very well and don’t include benefits (I’m not suggesting the aforementioned retailers don’t pay well; entry-level positions in any industry don’t pay very well—unless you’re working on an oil rig, but that’s an entirely different story.) As time goes on, and more and more members from Gen Y enter the workforce, our company has come up with four strategies to effectively communicate training messages to them:

1. Voice and Delivery
2. Expectations
3. What’s in it for me?
4. Personalization

Voice and Delivery

As mentioned, Generation Y has grown up in a culture of receiving and assimilating large amounts of information on demand. Employers have to avoid inundating their employees with extraneous information to which Generation Y’ers won’t relate to—quite frankly, Gen Y becomes bored easily and is quick to move on to the next thing. My company use communication and graphic design aesthetics to synthesize information into drillable packets that Gen Y’ers can quickly access and compartmentalize. We use straightforward language and avoid “corporate” jargon–avoiding a dictatorial or overly authoritative communication style voice with that of being team player.

Expectations

Gen Y’ers demand the benefit of the doubt and respect–and this can come across as a sense of entitlement or privilege. We highlight happy, fun or, low stress aspects of their jobs to demonstrate the flexibility in their job tasks. Our communications speak to Gen Y’ers as colleagues, not as subordinates–again, Gen Y has been trained to be confident in their talents and are more willing to cooperate with a friendly boss. Any training material for Gen Y’ers should always be focused on “work” from a realistic and appreciative point of view, but it should also be friendly and have a sense of humour. Regular recognition of good work can also go a long way–tangible rewards of a perceived value are important for engaging those who go above and beyond.

What’s in it for me?

In communicating to a Gen Y audience, it’s important to illustrate the benefits for everyone involved, the consistent expectations for their performance, the potential flexibility available for their unique style, and specificity in how they should operate. It must be made clear what the individual benefit is for doing something, especially if it’s perceived as going above and beyond their job–so, for example, my company has become the industry leader in explaining to employees the benefits of not stealing, reporting internal theft, and working safely. Gen Y’ers have a strong work ethic, however, it is best engaged when they are provided with challenging opportunities that really matter to them, have an altruistic motive, or offer them increased responsibility as a reward for their accomplishments. Furthermore, Gen Y’ers gravitate toward jobs that offer regular constructive feedback for development, ongoing training and learning opportunities.

Personalization

Finally, any opportunity to personalize communications with Gen Y’ers is a good idea. they’re attuned to recognizing hype, spin, or “fluff” and when messages have a sincere, personal touch they tend to be more frequently given the benefit of the doubt and accepted. One way I like to think of this is imagining Gen Y as the Simpsons generation–they’ve been raised around media with a profound sense of ironic and parodic humour, and this carries forward in their ability to detect doublespeak. Communication modes that encourage spending time getting to know employees, recognizing their capabilities, and engage them in mentoring dynamics also tend to be accepted as genuine.

Fortunately, my employer embraces all of these strategies in dealing with their employees as well. I guess that’s why I love blogging about my job.

Check it out: I got some press from press release I sent to the University of Waterloo! I guess the general press release that I wrote wasn’t too bad after all—it generated articles in the Exchange Morning Post and the Waterloo Record. I really learned a lot about PR and event organizing last week.

Fortunately, the CreateAthon went off without a hitch. We provided our 11 clients with new materials that they’re really going to enjoy. I had some great help from our freelancer, Greg, our Sales Manager’s husband, Steve, and our other copywriter, Lindsay, returned from maternity leave to stop by and help. Greg came to help for one hour but stayed for four—he wrote the new website for the KW Seniors Day Program. Steve wrote two brochures for us, Lindsay wrote one brochure, and I wrote five posters (two for the Waterloo Region Block Parent Program and three for the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Working Against Youth Violence Everywhere (WAYVE) program), two brochures (one for the Eating Disorder Awareness Coalition of Waterloo Region and one for the Special Olympics of Kitchener Waterloo), two funding request letters (both for the Block Parent Program), a radio script (for the Christian Family Counselling Centre), and I edited everything else. Good times! (Seriously!) 

Anyway, it was a very worthy event but I was simply shattered afterwards. I think the entire creative team really hit the wall around 6am, but I was impressed with our Art Directors and our Creative Directors ability to discuss the materials with clients at the 7:30am official unveiling. Personally, I was too tired to speak with clients at that point . . . plus, the way I figured it, who would want to talk to the writer anyway?

Some important professional lessons I learned while being responsible for the writing of 11 projects in 24 hours.

1. Make sure everyone is on the same page. When the deadline is a tight one like this, it’s imperative that everyone constantly communicates the status of their work to Project Managers.

2. Don’t take criticism personally. If the clock is ticking on a tight deadline like this, people are bound to get stressed out and say things that they might not normally say. Keep the context of the situation (i.e., high stress) at the top of your mind and show some empathy for the other person’s position.

3. Save yourself for the official unveiling. My biggest regret from the CreateAthon was not speaking with the clients more about the materials I helped generate for them. I was tired, grumpy, and I felt gross. Hindsight is 20/20 but if I ever have the opportunity to do something like this again, I am going to ensure that I speak with the clients about the work I’ve done for them.

4. Drink lots of coffee and eat. Thanks to Tim Horton’s for generously sponsoring our event—the coffee was really the glue that brought the whole project together . . . Okay that might be overdramatic but it really did help. Actually, we had some awesome team members who donated the entire evening to baking lasagna for dinner and lots of cookies and snacks, so those were just as important as the coffee.

5. Thank the people you worked with. I made a point of personally thanking my colleagues who motivated me, worked with me, fed me, and put up with me for those 24 hours. There is nothing more validating than some genuine thanks.

Well that’s enough for now *yawn*. I need some more sleep.

Below is a Press Release that I sent to the University of Waterloo Public Relations department. I thought it worth sharing for any who might be interested. Maybe I’ll get published! 

CAMBRIDGE, Ontario – September 16, 2008 – For the third consecutive year, Punch Integrated Communications is participating in CreateAthon®, a 24hour marathon of pro bono advertising and marketing services for selected non-profit organizations. This year, Punch will again provide over $100,000 in campaign materials for 10 local charities in the Waterloo Region, including the Food Bank, Special Olympics Ontario, kidsLINK, and the Waterloo Regional Block Parent Program. Punch is the only company in Southwestern Ontario participating in this year’s CreateAthon, and one of only three in Canada. But this year Punch has a new writer: University of Waterloo coop student, Allan McDougall.

“I’m in the MA program in the Department of English Language and Literature, and I’m currently on an eight-month cooperative placement term as a copywriter at Punch,” says McDougall. “My research interests are the intersections of literary studies with healing and rehabilitation, specifically focusing on prisoners. Punch’s senior copywriter recently accepted a position at a local technology company and so now I’m the only writer, which is a great opportunity. I’m excited to do the copywriting for CreateA thon as this will help out so many worthy organizations. One campaign that I’m dying to write for is the Block Parents of Ontario; Block Parent enrollment has dropped by over 2000 members in the last three years and we’re going to get them back in the public eye with an exciting new PR campaign.”

For the past two CreateAthons, Punch has produced projects valued in excess of $200,000. The work has ranged from brochures, posters and print ads to more advanced services, such as videos, new identity materials and marketing/public relation plans. Punch has helped a range of local non-profit organizations supporting learning disabilities, terminal illness, crises counseling, teen homelessness, and sustainable living.

Ed Roszczka, President of Punch Integrated Communications, adds, “The Punch team is once again eager to contribute within our community by participating in this year’s CreateAthon, and supporting our first co-op student, Allan. CreateAthon makes a difference in our community and the emotional responses from these special clients leave us all changed. We’re pleased Allan can contribute to our team.”

The 24-hour marketing marathon will begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18 and the new marketing campaigns and materials will be presented to the charitable organizations at 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 19. Punch graphic designers and copywriters will work through the night, with the support of the account and project management teams—not to mention numerous cups of coffee. McDougall’s story is a fine example of how UW cooperative placements do more than just drive local industry: his participation in CreateAthon will help local non-profit organizations . . . one word at a time. Local media are welcome to join the Punch team and local nonprofits in kicking off the 2008 CreateAthon.

About Punch

Punch Integrated Communications Inc. (www.punch.ca) develops highly effective employee communications programs for improving culture and operations in areas such as loss prevention and safety for leading retailers throughout North America. Punch, headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, is consistently recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing privately held companies.

About CreateAthon®
Since 2002, RIGGS expanded CreateAthon’s scope to a national level. To date, 40 advertising and marketing firms across North America have joined the CreateAthon® network and have pledged to hold 24-hour creative marathons in their respective markets. The effort has helped more than 1008 nonprofit organizations by delivering 2,143 marketing projects valued in excess of $8.5 million. For more information on the program, please visit the web site at www.createathon.org.

(Me at work)

(Me trying to look smart by standing near some books)

(Me being silly)