Where insurers can help corporate health
Speak up when leader’s leave of absence risks rumour disease, says KAY WILLIAMSON
Far and wide rippled the relief when Antonio Horta-Osorio resumed the helm at Lloyds.
He declared himself delighted to be back. So were a banking group to which he had brought so much energy and promise, its shareholders, the market and not least the Government, which needs to see Lloyds succeed to get its – or should I say our – money back.
The positive reaction to his return served to emphasise how damaging can be the effect of the loss or absence of a powerful leader, and how serious the dent that can be made in its image and fortunes.
And yet that damage, which had a direct impact on share prices, could have been so much less had there been much greater clarity about the problem that took him away from his desk.
All we had from the Lloyds board was an opaque statement saying that following medical advice he was taking a temporary leave of absence due to illness.
Cue alarm in a financial world never slow to get an attack of the jitters. Just how serious was this illness? With no clue from Lloyds the speculation rapidly grew that the stressed-out chief had suffered a breakdown and, rather than temporary, his absence might turn out to be permanent.
It was only after long days of information void in which the media bandied stress and breakdown as fact that we were permitted to know Antonio had been working over-long hours, that he had been suffering from lack of sleep, and that a change of regime would see him restored to full power.
So – what has all this to do with health insurers? Nothing on the face of it, you might think. But it does prompt the thought that in their discussions with corporate clients they are very much in a position to offer some word-to-the-wise, added-value advice.
It would be that when a key executive takes leave of absence for health reasons, there are implications for the health of the company too.
Kay Williamson
Posted in 
What’s new for the green £
We’ve chosen what we think are the most interesting environmental debates to follow in 2012. But is there a debate out there you find more compelling?
Please post suggestions via the discussion forum below and the best answer – in our opinion - will win a bottle of champagne.
- The cost of green energy to the UK
- HS2 – is it worth it?
- The Daylight Saving Bill – will the Government acknowledge the environmental benefits?
- Energy costs – will the big 6 continue to pass on lower wholesale prices?
- The Thames Estuary Airport – will wildlife conservation arguments get any hearing?
But what of the baker’s dozen?
I’d like to address all those that suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia but I fear (no pun intended) that today they will be unreachable. It is more likely that they’ll spend the day in the safe hands of their duvet. They certainly will not venture to their laptop because in doing so they may encounter a whole myriad of dangers.
Likewise they’ll steer well clear of ladders and black cats; not step on the cracks in the pavement or place new shoes on a table and if nature does call, and the very bravest do dare to leave the sanctuary of their beds, you can bet your bottom dollar that they get out on one particular side…
But what is it about Friday the 13th and the phobia known as friggatriskaidekaphobia, obviously, that spooks us?
Is it because the number 12 is deemed in many cultures to be the sign of completeness – 12 months in the year, 12 hours in the day, 12 gods of Olympus and the 12 apostles of Jesus…and so on. While, the number 13 is often considered as irregular thus transgressing completeness. Some believe that if there are 13 diners for dinner that one will surely die, if we follow events at the last supper.
Whatever the reason, and there are many theories surrounding both the number and the day, friggatriskaidekaphobia has spawned many tales now archived in folklore and many blockbuster movies and novels. I’m ok though because I don’t subscribe to wanton superstition, well, not now that I left my house this morning armed with a rabbit’s foot, sprig of heather and a four-leaved clover.
A friend of mine is a baker, he’s gone to work today but then again bakers laugh in the face of the fear that 13 brings.
Dean Enon
The day health new year resolutions wither
Jan 9 is the day most Brits break their New Year’s resolutions.
Attempts to ditch the smokes, be less of a soak, get to bed early or eat better go out of the window for 75% of us by this date, as our survey showed the world.
Just about every one of the nationals ran our survey-driven story that day, proving that the media will publish a well-crafted survey press release exposing human foibles especially on physical and emotional well-being topics.
So our copy stressed the finding that well-being topped the priority lists for all Brits this New Year over stuff like financial resolutions. It signposted millions of Brits to our client’s web-site – www.allabouthealth.org.uk – reminding the weak-willed majority of this powerful online source of advice and user-friendly tools to stiffen willpower, with advice from running legend Kriss Akabusi and community pharmacist legend Ajit Malhi.
Ajit, our client, trusted media commentator and gentle ‘people-person’ is as good at nudging people into changing unhealthy behaviour as anything emerging from the Cabinet Office’s Behavioural Insight Team and the so called choice-architects they are encouraging.
Good team-result, I say, between client and our consumer health team.
Kay Williamson
Healthy PR helps kick the habit
New Year is a time for resolutions. But let’s face it, going cold turkey on bad habits or changing your life with big aspirations – at the most depressing time of the year – is… well… hard.
For all the good intent, it is only a week or two later that the majority of us start to wobble or worse. So let’s hope the Department of Health’s latest brainwave has more staying power.
Freud PR has been handed a £1million deal to run all Whitehall health drives. Distinct strands of public health work – such as obesity and smoking – will now be brought into a single campaign.
We’re told the move will increase efficiency by streamlining all communications, but some worry it will mean less grassroots PR at a regional level (perhaps where it could be most powerful). Others have voiced concern that the agency also lists several fast and snack food producers among its clients – Pepsi, KFC and Walkers Crisps for example.
The reality is, the general public is bombarded with billions of pounds worth of advertising for unhealthy products, so there is a real need to fight back with education campaigns – and we believe Freud did this well in its handling of the anti-obesity Change4Life campaign. So well done to them for increasing their workload.
There are also numerous conflicting health messages appearing almost daily in the media, so it is little wonder surveys show the public feels confused and distrusting of such ‘advice’. The danger is that those in most need of help and support are not being reached.
So while the Government expects everyone to look after their own health better, people expect the NHS to be there when things go wrong. The DH spends big bucks trying to prevent problems through a range of communications, yet many feel affronted if it is suggested they should change their lifestyle, so they choose to ignore wise words.
To make public health campaigns work it takes a local, regional thrust and we hope that Freud PR puts as much resources into regional PR as they do national.
Ps – good luck with your new year resolutions!
Kay Williamson
Eat, drink and tweet positive
‘Tis the season to be jolly, tra la la la la, la la la la… so why is the top trending tweet of the day currently #endoftheworld?
Carol singing brings out the best in us and I thoroughly enjoyed the spontaneous outburst of joy and laughter as we sang ever so slightly out of key at our recent office party. What we lacked in choral competence, we more than made up for in enthusiasm. A good time was had by all.
It’s also the season of goodwill to all men (and women), so there’s plenty to be cheerful about and lots to be thankful for. The best time to have such optimistic, rose-tinted thoughts is when we’re stood in a mile-long queue at the tills, worrying if we’ve done enough, collectively, to save the high street, and whether all our online purchases will arrive in time for Christmas.
Soothsayers have been predicting the end of the world since the dawn of civilisation, but we’ve always found solutions to the problems. And even on a cold, dark and gloomy winter’s night, despite all the world’s problems, we can all find a way to look on the bright side of life and reflect back on 2011 as a year we all battled through.
Though we will bring baggage into 2012 from the current economic turmoil, European crisis and UK domestic issues, we must also find the strength to face up to fresh challenges.
Whatever happens, we’re a long way from the end of the world and, as countless Olympic gold medallists will tell us come the summer, it’s the hard work and determination to succeed you put in week after week that get you through – not by jumping on the bandwagon of 140-character doom-mongering.
Andy Rea
TEAM GRAVITASH
This is what you get from 30 days moustachery in aid of Movember – the men’s health charity. Our three dedicated moustachiers have raised £750 for the charity Movember which promotes awareness etc. of prostate cancer. Finally, happily, the razors are coming out of the bathroom cabinets. We have had styles like the spiv, the Greenwich village intellectual and the adult film lead male, but all have amused. Twitter and Facebook have promoted the cause. Our £750 is small beer given to the global total of £62 million, but we’re proud, and rather interested in how this social-media based campaign has been so successful at a time when everyone is feeling the pinch.
The daily photo updates will amuse you in an idle hour – go here – http://mobro.co/gravitash where donations are still being taken!
Communications for care
The Equality and Human Rights Commission today published a damning report on the treatment received by the elderly in care homes.
It follows a spate of negative publicity plaguing the care industry of late, with stories of neglect, abuse, or poor living conditions.
Surely the care home sector can’t really be that bad? Well, no, as a matter of fact it isn’t, though that’s the impression the average reader is bound to take away.
The truth is that the vast majority of residential and nursing homes – whether privately or local authority run – provide efficient, professional and humane treatment for those in their charge and are as horrified as the rest of us by the bad apples in their midst.
In the welter of negative publicity, however, that easily gets lost – the sector clearly needs to be shown how to present its nicer, kinder face. It also needs to know how to deal with problems in the unfortunate event they arise.
So, by way of some helpful advice…
• In preparation for a crisis, designate a senior spokesperson and ensure all staff know who that person is. Prepare a statement for the media which is open and honest. Finally, never say “no comment” when asked a question by a journalist – it implies guilt.
• Tell the media what’s good about what you do… Organise events involving the community, and invite local celebrities and the media to show yourself in the best possible light.
The media will come knocking if the story is negative, but to get positive coverage you must be proactive.
If ever a sector needed some tender, loving care, it’s the care sector.
King of the Swingers Urban Swingers VIP
“Don’t look down” is a good tip to give someone about to do their first abseil, particularly when it is down the side of Europe’s tallest fixed abseil structure. The National Abseil Centre, visible from miles around, is a scary place. I’m glad I did it – scaring yourself silly puts routine stresses into context – and we helped raise £18,000 for Children in Need. But I spent the four hours beforehand fishing for tips on how to cope. I busied myself thinking of a “descent-song”. I badgered my fellow jumpers from AAH, Annette, Niki, Samantha and Steven, and John from Thornton Ross, for ideas, and Steve nominated Mission Impossible, but he had the muscles to match that song. When my ever resourceful husband suggested the King Louie song from The Jungle Book it had the feel good factor I needed. So, while I did Louis Prima no favours with my tuneless take on “I’m the King of the Swingers”, it helped me get down. As the macho men nudging me off the tower agreed, it was better than cussing. They even joined in and commended the choice. I’m now composing a ‘nerve-settling desert-islands list’ of song tones for testing times. Email us your ideas and we will share them.
See the real proof on film here http://tinyurl.com/7u4aamd
Kay Williamson
Facing the heat this winter
A great journalist will not pull punches in pursuit of a story, so when our clients are in the eye of a media storm a robust reaction is required.
What clients rate most is our ability to take the heat out of a situation, media training for their spokespeople and achieving fair and balanced coverage or keeping things from the public eye completely.
We have recently helped a number of NHS Trusts, GPs and clients in the pharmaceutical and medical instrument worlds to face up to crisis PR.
As trained journalists we know our media law and can quickly convey we will not tolerate any deviation from the ‘rules of the game’ by reporters.
‘Keep calm and carry on’ is a clever slogan when talking to the media, and this is a great piece of advice: always be honest.
Andy Rea
The Home of Gravitas PR
