For Immediate Release

How much should a company's employees know about AI? Some companies are now looking for employees who can bring a range of AI skills with them for virtually any job the company has to offer. In this short midweek episode, we discuss how companies like software firm Deel and furniture site ufurnish.com are using AI tools like ChatGPT to boost efficiency. For example, they use AI to write website copy, code, and even employee performance reviews. Experts say AI adoption is accelerating, with job posts that reference AI skills doubling over two years globally. However, they caution that AI still requires human supervision, and biases in the underlying data could lead to discrimination if not managed properly. AI is starting to transform workflows, but true transformation requires rethinking processes, not just optimizing what already exists. Are employees ready? Are companies helping them get ready?Continue Reading → The post FIR #371: Employee AI Competencies appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Most organizations have remained silent about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Leaders don't see how any reference to the war is relevant to their companies' operations, purpose, or values, and they can't imagine any statement would satisfy everyone. Yet most employees want to hear from their leaders about the situation. Research found that trust in leadership rises considerably when they do speak up. But what employees want to hear from leaders, particularly their immediate managers, is not which side leaders are on. Neville and Shel discuss employees' expectations in this short midweek episode.Continue Reading → The post FIR #370: War, Managers, and Empathy appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In Paris, commercial murals on walls are permitted only without logos or product images. Oatly, the non-dairy milk company, was entering the French market and planned and out-of-home (OOH) campaign that involved wall murals. Intent upon showing their product without violating the law, the company turned to a guerilla marketing effort that has gone viral. Neville and Shel explain in this short midweek episode.Continue Reading → The post FIR #369: Outdoor Guerilla Marketing Campaign Goes Viral appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

PRSA has released as set of guidelines to govern the use of Artificial Intelligence by public relations professionals. The association has used its Code of Ethics as a roadmap. In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel explore the recommendations -- and the landscape of AI ethics guides for the PR profession.Continue Reading → The post FIR #368: AI and PR Codes of Ethics appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Individual employees can reap a clear benefit from participating in online social networks. The companies for which they work also benefit from smarter employees who can reach out for help that can speed up the completion of projects. New research suggests that the company's advantage goes deeper depending on how many employees are participating robustly in these networks. Neville and Shel share the research and discusses what businesses need to do to tap into that benefit in this short midweek episode.Continue Reading → The post FIR #367: Innovation Thrives When Employees Engage in Professional Networks appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Pundits are proclaiming social media dead (or dying), and they have data to back up their beliefs. If it's true, what does it mean -- for society, for networking, and for business? Neville and Shel examine the evidence and trends and discuss the implications in the monthly long-form episode for November. Also in this episode: ChatGPT pauses new signups and other news A look at ChatGPT's GPT Builder The state of news on social media Generative AI and journalism A high-profile executive's fake Twitter accounts In his Tech Report, Dan York talks about Twitter's woes, WhatsApp news, Automattic backing off Tumblr growth, and the Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year Continue Reading → The post FIR #366: DIY GPT appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

RyanAir has a reputation: For the lowest airfares in Europe, you'll get where you're going with the bare minimum of service. The airline's social media accounts -- notably TikTok -- have done a brilliant, irreverent job of setting expectations for anyone planning to fly on RyanAir, which the social media manager's skills were first-rate. When he left the company -- reportedly because of its cultural shortcomings -- he abided by the 90-day quiet period, then applied his social media skills to share his experience. His posts (not surprisingly) made headlines. In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel break down what this might mean for RyanAir.Continue Reading → The post FIR #365: RyanAir’s Social Media Chief Doesn’t Leave Quietly appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Internal communicators have long known how important employees' immediate supervisors are to the communication process. Based on the results of a new study, communicators need to shift their focus. Managers still need to serve as a conduit of information in both directions, but there's an even more important role they play that communicators are best suited to help them learn and apply. Shel and Neville discuss the study and its implications for internal communications professionals in this short midweek episode.Continue Reading → The post FIR #364: Managers’ Most Important Communication Role appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

A review of the trove of articles about how brands have addressed the conflict in the Middle East suggests that there is no way to satisfy everybody, even for brands that opt to say nothing at all. Neville and Shel explore the peril of speaking out, even as expectations continue for companies and their CEOs to address societal issues. Also in this monthly long-form episode: The closure of Pebble (formerly T2) has implications for the entire fractured social media ecosystem A global PR body has ratified 10 principles for the ethical use of AI in PR and communications LinkedIn influencers are becoming a force to be reckoned with A poll from MIT explores key decision points for deploying AI in the enterprise Silicon Valley appears to have given up on news in social networks In his tech report, Dan York shares details about the flailing of Twitter, changes in Threads, WhatsApp channels, and Automattic's purchase of Texts.Continue Reading → The post FIR #363: Is the Israel-Hamas War a Communications No-Win

T2 rebranded as Pebble because when tossed in water, pebbles create ripples (except in the song "Ripple," in which "there is no pebble tossed, nor wind to blow"). The microblogging social network created by former Twitter staffers never created enough ripples to sustain it. In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel lament Pebble's passing, consider the reasons it is shutting down, and ponder what it means for the post-Twitter social media landscape.Continue Reading → The post FIR #362: Why Did Pebble Sink? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.