In PR, just like TV news, no two days are the same. That is what makes it easy to find excuses to justify fast food and not making time for your health and wellbeing, but it is not sustainable. For more than 25 years I worked in newsrooms where the priority was the story of the day and meeting deadlines. Now, as Managing Director of a PR and digital agency, the pressures are similar, but there is one significant difference – I am the boss.
The old saying is “happy wife, happy life” and a company’s success is certainly dependent on a happy team. In the past 18 months, we’ve expanded offices and doubled staff numbers nearly every three months, and are still growing. Personally, I still find it hard to find time for me. However, there are steps we’ve taken in the office to help improve everyone’s wellbeing, including mine.
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Here are some of those tips:
Learn to delegate
If you have a trustworthy, dependable and experienced team, you will feel more comfortable delegating roles. Although it might be a lengthy process, taking the time to hire reliable people is beneficial in the long run. You will feel comfortable and confident in delegating tasks.
Another approach is to utilise everyone’s strengths. If one team member excels at design, have them create visual content for your business. If another excels at writing, have them write content for your website or your clients.
Set boundaries between work and home
As a mum of two, keeping work and family time separate is always a challenge. While responding to emails or making phone calls might not seem like you are bringing work home, it can have more of an impact than you might think. It is particularly important to set boundaries between work and home if your business has multiple locations and you are required to travel.
For example, I am often leaving Brisbane for client meetings and media training, sometimes at the last minute. Over time, I realised how necessary it is to set boundaries to make time for work and my family.
Encourage health and wellbeing in the workplace
As all business owners know, it is important to lead by example. While this is typically with work ethic, it is just as important to actively encourage health and wellbeing. For example, many of us have diffusers on our desks with natural oils.
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To counter that feeling of being stuck in front of a computer for too long we are embracing walking meetings. Sometimes it’s as simple as the morning WIP doubling as a coffee run. During this time, our Communications Director and Corporate Services Manager will brief me on the day ahead. It’s amazing how motivated you feel after some fresh air and sunshine, and the coffee doesn’t hurt either!
Be stricter about breaks during the day
I do encourage our team to eat lunch away from their computers. The temptation, especially in a communication and digital agency, is to stay tapping away at your keyboard but it’s important to give your eyes and your brain a break.
Our Administration Assistant selects fitness classes close to the office for the team to attend at lunch. It not only encourages everyone to take some time out during the day but helps build a strong team culture with a positive attitude towards health and wellbeing.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
As a business owner, admitting you don’t know something can be difficult – particularly as you are leading a team. It is often expected you should know almost everything in the industry before launching a business, which isn’t the case.
Industries, whether it be Public Relations, Health, Tourism, Mining or Finance are constantly changing, and it is almost impossible to be across all of these changes. It is important to remember it is okay to ask for help or find a mentor. Listening to their advice will broaden your knowledge and it is a huge stress relief to get those questions answered!
About Leisa Goddard
Leisa Goddard is the Managing Director of Digital and PR Agency Adoni Media. Leisa has more than 25 years of experience working and presenting news and current affairs for Australia’s three commercial television networks including time as a foreign correspondent and war correspondent. Her award-winning agency has offices in Sydney and Brisbane.
