Practice what you read in Brian Clark's article and employ some of his ideas by posting below an introductory post about you and your field of study and, what role communication plays in your work.
How important is communication in a work place? A school? What if it’s both…?
According to 360 Solutions, “A business with 100 employees spends an average downtime of 17 hours a week clarifying communication… [which] translates to an annual cost of $528,443” (2009).
That’s over two work days a week!
NAIT employs approximately 1,800 employees, who are accountable to approximately 26,000 credit program students, 32,700 students in non-credit programs and 13,500 apprenticeship students, from Canada, and 81 international countries (NAIT, 2015). Imagine the hours spent clarifying communication for this institution?
Welcome to my life – work and studies.
In business, we often hear about communications as the messages we send out in purposeful mass emails to our employees, about major events such as change, or strategic positioning. We also think of communication as social media, and how we diplomatically veil our thoughts at the water cooler… but isn’t it so much more? Communication - it's how we build communities, inform and engage. Communications help us overcome barriers, challenges, and celebrate success. It’s about employees, customers, students, community, government, and industry.
This is why I started my academic career in the Masters of Arts in Communication and Technology at the University of Alberta, and how I’ve developed my role at my job over three years. My interests in the MACT program range wildly, from where communication started, how it has evolved and how it is used - to specific, social media content creation and management, and how to engage communities in an online world.
From a post-secondary work perspective, I’m lucky to have a tech-savy millennial generation to keep up with in this realm and keep me on my toes! My job has evolved, and while I am often playing the role of a doorstop: preventing an extra-curricular or support program door from closing when someone is away on leave, I am also charged with developing a communications strategy for each of the programs that we run in Student Engagement, and the department itself, under the NAIT communication and social media strategies.
A study showed that “86% of employees and executives site lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures” (Woolf, 2014). Because of these kinds of statistics, I take my role very seriously, and foresee a growing need for such roles, especially as organizations grow, change, and adapt.
360 Solutions. (2009) How to improve productivity and empower employees through effective communication. Retrieved from http://360solutions.com/documents/Communication%20White%20Paper.pdf NAIT. (2015). Quick facts. NAIT. Retrieved from http://www.nait.ca/50198.htm Woolf, S. (2014). 7 Workplace collaboration statistics that will have you knocking down cubicles. Clear Company. Retrieved from http://blog.clearcompany.com/7-workplace-collaboration-statistics-that-will-have-you-knocking-down-cubicles
Hi Kaylee -- I enjoyed your post. The facts your included were indeed shocking and I found myself sitting here in awe that we spend over 2 days clarifying communication!
Jan, my title keeps changing. I have kind of been forming my own positions to fill gaps, so most recently I was a Campus Ambassador Coordinator, now a Student Engagement Intern, but I suspect that will change within a year or so again. I love what I do, and believe entirely in providing any type of support to aid in a student's academic, professional, and personal success along their academic journey.
Crazy how much time we spend repeating ourselves, clarifying, or re-wording things hey Sareda! Can you imagine, for an organization with thousands of employees, how much wasted time that presents?
Great post Kaylee! The statistics fit well and enhanced your conversation. I for one am a fan of continuos role development and find without proper internal communications positions stay static and eventually become unproductive. Although, the change can be hectic at best, it keeps us on our toes.
How long does it take for you to see a doctor? Imagine being able to see a doctor when you need one, without an appointment and from the comfort of your own home. The Equinoxe Virtual Clinic in British Columbia does just that, making it easy as pie to see a doctor! The Equinoxe Virtual Clinic is a web-based platform that allows patients to connect with physicians using their laptop/computer or Android or Apple device. Physicians using the Virtual Clinic can see patients, prescribe/renew prescriptions and even refer patients to specialists, sending back any notes about your visit to your family physician (Equinoxe Life Care, n.d.).
Initiatives like the Virtual Clinic that aim to digitalize health care is the main reason I’m completing my Master in Public Health. This journey began when I became inspired by health programs using text messages to give consumers accurate health-related information. Although technology has made leaps and bounds since then (where sending text messages seems so basic now), there are even more opportunities we can integrate technology with health care.
Compared to programs like Telehealth Ontario (speaking to a registered nurse over the telephone, accessible 24/7), patients can utilize videos or photos and other means to help describe their issues and symptoms to overcome communication barriers with health care professionals instead of using just words. While digital health care will provide more timely access to not only health care professionals but also to health information for patients and make it easier for patients to communicate with physicians, health literacy is an important issue to consider as we want to ensure the messages and information being communicated are easy for patients to comprehend. If digital health solutions can be delivered in a successful manner, the outcome can be outstanding. Take the Virtual Clinic as an example:
“The Virtual Clinic has connected over 25,000 patients with health professionals” “In post-visit surveys, over 94% of patients gave a high satisfaction rating”
These two facts from Equinoxe (n.d.) point to the impact technology can have on our health care.
I currently work in market research where we gauge consumers’ opinions and perspective on a variety of topics, issues and solutions. I was actually involved in surveying patients and speaking to physicians using the Equinoxe Virtual Clinic. In my line of work, we must be careful in how we communicate the data to clients and ensure that any interpretations accurately reflect the data. Being part of research like this is exciting, but I’m ready to make the transition from doing research on innovative programs and initiatives, to developing these programs and initiatives and make a difference.
Equinoxe Life Care. (n.d.) See The Doctor Online. Retrieved from: http://clinic.equinoxelifecare.com/
Janet -- As someone from eastern Canada, I don't myself as immersed in the issues of oil as Albertans, so I found it interesting. Especially to here your perspective on the issue. I found the use of invoking my mind's eye was really good!
Good post Jan. A little controversy always pulls the reader in :) I also love the title. Interesting to hear the perspective of some one working in the oil and gas industry, but who is also highly educated. I observe some of the same attitudes in the agriculture industry (to a lesser extent) and can definitely relate!
Hey Jan, Your first line didn't really pull me in... however, "I was once you, trying to escape the mundane, thinking outside the career box I had made for myself" did. What a way to conjure up emotion! I didn't know whether to agree, feel bad for you, argue in defence or accept the proposition.
I found myself wondering, why can't I just quit? It was -17C on a February day in 2010, and I was going door-to-door trying to sell financial services, mortgage insurance to be exact. I wanted to be anywhere else but here. All of the other jobs I could be doing was running through my mind, but I was stubborn. I wanted to prove I could make it.
I had just left a large firm to go out on my own. I was tired of working for golf clubs and steak knives in a Wolf of Wall Street style environment. I had the misfortune of getting into the business just before the "Great Recession". Times were tough. Nobody wanted to talk about investing. Referrals dried up. Cold calling and trade shows weren't working. There I was going door-to-door thinking people would be able to tell by looking at me that I was friendly and wouldn't have the heart to be mean to me like they would on the phone. I was wrong.
I kept hearing people talk about Twitter. One day I read an article about businesses using Twitter, a free platform, to engage with customers. I decided to give it a try. For two months I didn't know what Twitter was even though I was on it every day. Then one day someone called to book an appointment with me. I was in complete and utter shock. When you sell insurance people don't come to you. You have to go find them. When I asked her how she heard about me she said, "I've been following you on Twitter!" From that day on I made it my mission to figure out this new way of building relationships on a massive scale.
Through Twitter I ended up staying connected with existing clients and gaining new clients and referral sources. I taught other small business owners how to do the same. We expanded growing to a team of nine. I'm currently in the process of finalizing the sale of my business.
I started marketing consulting in March of this year. I lead the marketing for a new peer-to-peer insurance startup. MACT ties directly into my role. We are developing the marketing strategy which includes a content and social media strategy. It's my job to figure out the best way to communicate why we're here and what our cause is. Our company is about bringing people together and building communities. Once we launch we'll need to learn how to listen to what people need and let them know how we can help them. I'm looking forward to putting the theories I'm learning to practice. One of the best things about what I do is working from a virtual office. There's no more going door-to-door in -17C.
Very cool! Your opening paragraph did a great job in pulling me in... I felt I was right there with you in -17C and when you got your first appointment through Twitter.
Michelle - great anecdotal grab at the beginning of your post - it truly does draw the reader in. Very interesting to read how you've capitalized Twitter for your business, and how many doors it has opened for you career/education wise!
You have an incredible and innate ability to write online content Michelle! Marketing consulting seems like the perfect place for this skill! I like how you began the article with something attention grabbing, and used the temperature as a tie in at the end. Very cool, good closure.
Oh yes I can absolutely picture this, not least because our first visit to Edmonton was in February...and an amble down Whyte Ave. (what, from my British experience, I thought was the high street), was a frozen ghost-land...I can imagine how your door-to-door would be.
Michelle you have a wonderful way of words and continously intrigue me with your business. Your personal story really grabbed my attention. It's interesting how one social media platform can make (or break) a business. Teach me more!
More often than not, when I tell people that I work on a bee farm, I get the same responses. After we glaze over the fact that no it’s not a “beef” farm, nor a “beet” farm, and most definitely not a “bean” farm – I usually hear one of the following responses: “Oooohhh…. I love honey!” or “Aren’t all the bees dying?” or “I really want to get hobby bees for my backyard!” Though each of these responses are valid (to some extent), they are also a reflection of the lack of knowledge around bees for pollination. I hate to burst your bubble, but we don’t raise honey bees, we raise leaf cutter bees, and no, they don’t make honey. We don’t even wear any protective gear when handling them. Leaf cutters aren’t aggressive, and fun fact: only the female bee stings! Leaf cutters are a pollen bee, used strictly for pollination, initially introduced in North America to pollinate Alfalfa seed, but now expanded to pollinate various other crops, including Hybrid Canola seed, Milk Vetch seed, and Blueberries.
But more so than a lack of knowledge around bees, the more detrimental issue is the lack of communication between the consumer and the producer in the agriculture industry. We likely all have our own opinions (many ill-informed) about where our food should come from, how it should be grown, and how corrupt corporate agriculture companies may or may not be. Luckily, bees remain in peoples good graces because they are seen as salt-of-the-earth, natural, and in Vancouver, where I reside, TRENDY. Who would’ve thought a family business in rural Alberta could make the hipsters of Vancouver love you that much more.
But no, we’re not saints. We are farmers. And even though we farm bees, we pollinate genetically modified canola, which has been treated with pesticides, and we work for corporations that I probably shouldn’t name, who have less than saintly reputations. Before you get up in arms about the bad words I just said, be reminded of some alarming statistics: As of 2011, only 2% of the Canadian population resided on farms, and between 1991 and 2011, the number of farm operators under the age of 55 decreased from 265k to 152k (Beaulieu, 2015). The result: fewer farmers, but bigger farms.
Few people want to grow their own food, but everybody wants to criticize how the food they eat is grown. I’m not here to change your mind, or to make you think that I’m an expert on farming practices. All I can tell you for sure, is that agriculture is business, and we as farmers aren’t out to get you. There is a communication gap between the producer (being the farmer) and the consumer, and a lot of tension and misinformation that comes along with that.
My encouragement to any reader of this post would be to get informed! Don’t trust all of the memes and articles shared on your Facebook Timeline. Find reliable sources, check out the research that goes into modern agriculture, and most importantly – get in touch with a local farm and visit! Connecting on a personal level to the farms in your area helps bridge the gap between the consumer and the producer, and can be a lot of fun! In turn, the hones should be placed on the producer to make himself known. For too long, ambiguity and vagueness has governed communications in the agriculture industry – and I hope to do what I can to foster transparency.
And, finally, to round off my comments at the beginning of this post – and to make a plug for the neglected leaf cutter bees of North America – honey bees aren’t the only bee out there pollinating your food. So yes, while there may be issues with honey bee populations (some inflated by media), there are several other sustainable options to see to it that the seed that makes the food on your table is being pollinated. In fact, there are 20,000 species of pollen bees world wide (Batra, 1994). Hope that helps you sleep easy tonight!
If you want to watch an interesting take on modern, sustainable farming, I would encourage you to check out this Ted Talk sometime:
Communication is free, finding employment should be to!
Picture this. Your get called in for a job interview after applying for a position through one of those job banks like Monster or CareerBuilder. You show up to your interview dressed to impress, resume in hand and interview questions memorized. Then you find out that your actually had an interview with an employment agency who, if you land the job, will take a percentage of your wage… Who wants that?
Career and Employment Consultants with the Government of Alberta (that’s me!) can help you find work for free. Alberta Works helps people connect with a variety of employment programs. It also provides services to help people prepare for and find a job. No costs attached.
Communication is the key to success in my role!
1) Interpersonal communication is used to conduct needs assessment and create return to work action plans. Sitting down with my clients face-to-face and exchanging information allows me to developed personalized plans.
2) Collaborations with government programs, schools and contracted agencies are crucial to connecting clients to various programs. These programs can help clients identify which jobs and industries best match their skills, develop professional resumes, learn how to job search and improve interviewing skills. Group support is offered while looking for employment.
3) Social Media’s use is two fold. I use it to promote services and advertise job fairs. I also use it to collect data to generate targeted services. Special services are designed for specific groups of job seekers, such as youth, single parents, immigrants, older workers, and persons with disabilities.
This work is developed under the ‘Building and Educating Tomorrow’s Workforce’ strategy which aims to generate more workers, educate people and provided innovative safe work places. In a nutshell, I inform people of the labour market trends, develop knowledge and skills, attract job seekers and retain employment in Alberta. Internal and external communications and collaborations, as well as, social media are the key components to making my work a success.
How important is communication in a work place? A school? What if it’s both…?
ReplyDeleteAccording to 360 Solutions, “A business with 100 employees spends an average downtime of 17 hours a week clarifying communication… [which] translates to an annual cost of $528,443” (2009).
That’s over two work days a week!
NAIT employs approximately 1,800 employees, who are accountable to approximately 26,000 credit program students, 32,700 students in non-credit programs and 13,500 apprenticeship students, from Canada, and 81 international countries (NAIT, 2015). Imagine the hours spent clarifying communication for this institution?
Welcome to my life – work and studies.
In business, we often hear about communications as the messages we send out in purposeful mass emails to our employees, about major events such as change, or strategic positioning. We also think of communication as social media, and how we diplomatically veil our thoughts at the water cooler… but isn’t it so much more?
Communication - it's how we build communities, inform and engage. Communications help us overcome barriers, challenges, and celebrate success. It’s about employees, customers, students, community, government, and industry.
This is why I started my academic career in the Masters of Arts in Communication and Technology at the University of Alberta, and how I’ve developed my role at my job over three years. My interests in the MACT program range wildly, from where communication started, how it has evolved and how it is used - to specific, social media content creation and management, and how to engage communities in an online world.
From a post-secondary work perspective, I’m lucky to have a tech-savy millennial generation to keep up with in this realm and keep me on my toes! My job has evolved, and while I am often playing the role of a doorstop: preventing an extra-curricular or support program door from closing when someone is away on leave, I am also charged with developing a communications strategy for each of the programs that we run in Student Engagement, and the department itself, under the NAIT communication and social media strategies.
A study showed that “86% of employees and executives site lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures” (Woolf, 2014). Because of these kinds of statistics, I take my role very seriously, and foresee a growing need for such roles, especially as organizations grow, change, and adapt.
360 Solutions. (2009) How to improve productivity and empower employees through effective communication. Retrieved from http://360solutions.com/documents/Communication%20White%20Paper.pdf
NAIT. (2015). Quick facts. NAIT. Retrieved from http://www.nait.ca/50198.htm
Woolf, S. (2014). 7 Workplace collaboration statistics that will have you knocking down cubicles. Clear Company. Retrieved from http://blog.clearcompany.com/7-workplace-collaboration-statistics-that-will-have-you-knocking-down-cubicles
Hi Kaylee -- I enjoyed your post. The facts your included were indeed shocking and I found myself sitting here in awe that we spend over 2 days clarifying communication!
DeleteThanks Jan and Sareda!
DeleteJan, my title keeps changing. I have kind of been forming my own positions to fill gaps, so most recently I was a Campus Ambassador Coordinator, now a Student Engagement Intern, but I suspect that will change within a year or so again. I love what I do, and believe entirely in providing any type of support to aid in a student's academic, professional, and personal success along their academic journey.
Crazy how much time we spend repeating ourselves, clarifying, or re-wording things hey Sareda! Can you imagine, for an organization with thousands of employees, how much wasted time that presents?
Great post Kaylee! The statistics fit well and enhanced your conversation. I for one am a fan of continuos role development and find without proper internal communications positions stay static and eventually become unproductive. Although, the change can be hectic at best, it keeps us on our toes.
DeleteMoving Health Care into the Future
ReplyDeleteHow long does it take for you to see a doctor? Imagine being able to see a doctor when you need one, without an appointment and from the comfort of your own home. The Equinoxe Virtual Clinic in British Columbia does just that, making it easy as pie to see a doctor! The Equinoxe Virtual Clinic is a web-based platform that allows patients to connect with physicians using their laptop/computer or Android or Apple device. Physicians using the Virtual Clinic can see patients, prescribe/renew prescriptions and even refer patients to specialists, sending back any notes about your visit to your family physician (Equinoxe Life Care, n.d.).
Initiatives like the Virtual Clinic that aim to digitalize health care is the main reason I’m completing my Master in Public Health. This journey began when I became inspired by health programs using text messages to give consumers accurate health-related information. Although technology has made leaps and bounds since then (where sending text messages seems so basic now), there are even more opportunities we can integrate technology with health care.
Compared to programs like Telehealth Ontario (speaking to a registered nurse over the telephone, accessible 24/7), patients can utilize videos or photos and other means to help describe their issues and symptoms to overcome communication barriers with health care professionals instead of using just words. While digital health care will provide more timely access to not only health care professionals but also to health information for patients and make it easier for patients to communicate with physicians, health literacy is an important issue to consider as we want to ensure the messages and information being communicated are easy for patients to comprehend. If digital health solutions can be delivered in a successful manner, the outcome can be outstanding. Take the Virtual Clinic as an example:
“The Virtual Clinic has connected over 25,000 patients with health professionals”
“In post-visit surveys, over 94% of patients gave a high satisfaction rating”
These two facts from Equinoxe (n.d.) point to the impact technology can have on our health care.
I currently work in market research where we gauge consumers’ opinions and perspective on a variety of topics, issues and solutions. I was actually involved in surveying patients and speaking to physicians using the Equinoxe Virtual Clinic. In my line of work, we must be careful in how we communicate the data to clients and ensure that any interpretations accurately reflect the data. Being part of research like this is exciting, but I’m ready to make the transition from doing research on innovative programs and initiatives, to developing these programs and initiatives and make a difference.
Equinoxe Life Care. (n.d.) See The Doctor Online. Retrieved from: http://clinic.equinoxelifecare.com/
Great question to start off with! It not only catches interest, but generated emotion (for me anyway).
DeleteThanks!
Thanks ladies!
DeleteJanet -- As someone from eastern Canada, I don't myself as immersed in the issues of oil as Albertans, so I found it interesting. Especially to here your perspective on the issue. I found the use of invoking my mind's eye was really good!
Good post Jan. A little controversy always pulls the reader in :) I also love the title. Interesting to hear the perspective of some one working in the oil and gas industry, but who is also highly educated. I observe some of the same attitudes in the agriculture industry (to a lesser extent) and can definitely relate!
DeleteHey Jan,
DeleteYour first line didn't really pull me in... however, "I was once you, trying to escape the mundane, thinking outside the career box I had made for myself" did. What a way to conjure up emotion! I didn't know whether to agree, feel bad for you, argue in defence or accept the proposition.
How Twitter Saved My Business:
ReplyDeleteI found myself wondering, why can't I just quit? It was -17C on a February day in 2010, and I was going door-to-door trying to sell financial services, mortgage insurance to be exact. I wanted to be anywhere else but here. All of the other jobs I could be doing was running through my mind, but I was stubborn. I wanted to prove I could make it.
I had just left a large firm to go out on my own. I was tired of working for golf clubs and steak knives in a Wolf of Wall Street style environment. I had the misfortune of getting into the business just before the "Great Recession". Times were tough. Nobody wanted to talk about investing. Referrals dried up. Cold calling and trade shows weren't working. There I was going door-to-door thinking people would be able to tell by looking at me that I was friendly and wouldn't have the heart to be mean to me like they would on the phone. I was wrong.
I kept hearing people talk about Twitter. One day I read an article about businesses using Twitter, a free platform, to engage with customers. I decided to give it a try. For two months I didn't know what Twitter was even though I was on it every day. Then one day someone called to book an appointment with me. I was in complete and utter shock. When you sell insurance people don't come to you. You have to go find them. When I asked her how she heard about me she said, "I've been following you on Twitter!" From that day on I made it my mission to figure out this new way of building relationships on a massive scale.
Through Twitter I ended up staying connected with existing clients and gaining new clients and referral sources. I taught other small business owners how to do the same. We expanded growing to a team of nine. I'm currently in the process of finalizing the sale of my business.
I started marketing consulting in March of this year. I lead the marketing for a new peer-to-peer insurance startup. MACT ties directly into my role. We are developing the marketing strategy which includes a content and social media strategy. It's my job to figure out the best way to communicate why we're here and what our cause is. Our company is about bringing people together and building communities. Once we launch we'll need to learn how to listen to what people need and let them know how we can help them. I'm looking forward to putting the theories I'm learning to practice. One of the best things about what I do is working from a virtual office. There's no more going door-to-door in -17C.
Very cool! Your opening paragraph did a great job in pulling me in... I felt I was right there with you in -17C and when you got your first appointment through Twitter.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMichelle - great anecdotal grab at the beginning of your post - it truly does draw the reader in. Very interesting to read how you've capitalized Twitter for your business, and how many doors it has opened for you career/education wise!
DeleteYou have an incredible and innate ability to write online content Michelle! Marketing consulting seems like the perfect place for this skill! I like how you began the article with something attention grabbing, and used the temperature as a tie in at the end. Very cool, good closure.
DeleteOh yes I can absolutely picture this, not least because our first visit to Edmonton was in February...and an amble down Whyte Ave. (what, from my British experience, I thought was the high street), was a frozen ghost-land...I can imagine how your door-to-door would be.
DeleteMichelle you have a wonderful way of words and continously intrigue me with your business. Your personal story really grabbed my attention. It's interesting how one social media platform can make (or break) a business. Teach me more!
DeleteThe Truth About Bees
ReplyDeleteMore often than not, when I tell people that I work on a bee farm, I get the same responses. After we glaze over the fact that no it’s not a “beef” farm, nor a “beet” farm, and most definitely not a “bean” farm – I usually hear one of the following responses: “Oooohhh…. I love honey!” or “Aren’t all the bees dying?” or “I really want to get hobby bees for my backyard!” Though each of these responses are valid (to some extent), they are also a reflection of the lack of knowledge around bees for pollination. I hate to burst your bubble, but we don’t raise honey bees, we raise leaf cutter bees, and no, they don’t make honey. We don’t even wear any protective gear when handling them. Leaf cutters aren’t aggressive, and fun fact: only the female bee stings! Leaf cutters are a pollen bee, used strictly for pollination, initially introduced in North America to pollinate Alfalfa seed, but now expanded to pollinate various other crops, including Hybrid Canola seed, Milk Vetch seed, and Blueberries.
But more so than a lack of knowledge around bees, the more detrimental issue is the lack of communication between the consumer and the producer in the agriculture industry. We likely all have our own opinions (many ill-informed) about where our food should come from, how it should be grown, and how corrupt corporate agriculture companies may or may not be. Luckily, bees remain in peoples good graces because they are seen as salt-of-the-earth, natural, and in Vancouver, where I reside, TRENDY. Who would’ve thought a family business in rural Alberta could make the hipsters of Vancouver love you that much more.
But no, we’re not saints. We are farmers. And even though we farm bees, we pollinate genetically modified canola, which has been treated with pesticides, and we work for corporations that I probably shouldn’t name, who have less than saintly reputations. Before you get up in arms about the bad words I just said, be reminded of some alarming statistics: As of 2011, only 2% of the Canadian population resided on farms, and between 1991 and 2011, the number of farm operators under the age of 55 decreased from 265k to 152k (Beaulieu, 2015). The result: fewer farmers, but bigger farms.
Few people want to grow their own food, but everybody wants to criticize how the food they eat is grown. I’m not here to change your mind, or to make you think that I’m an expert on farming practices. All I can tell you for sure, is that agriculture is business, and we as farmers aren’t out to get you. There is a communication gap between the producer (being the farmer) and the consumer, and a lot of tension and misinformation that comes along with that.
My encouragement to any reader of this post would be to get informed! Don’t trust all of the memes and articles shared on your Facebook Timeline. Find reliable sources, check out the research that goes into modern agriculture, and most importantly – get in touch with a local farm and visit! Connecting on a personal level to the farms in your area helps bridge the gap between the consumer and the producer, and can be a lot of fun! In turn, the hones should be placed on the producer to make himself known. For too long, ambiguity and vagueness has governed communications in the agriculture industry – and I hope to do what I can to foster transparency.
And, finally, to round off my comments at the beginning of this post – and to make a plug for the neglected leaf cutter bees of North America – honey bees aren’t the only bee out there pollinating your food. So yes, while there may be issues with honey bee populations (some inflated by media), there are several other sustainable options to see to it that the seed that makes the food on your table is being pollinated. In fact, there are 20,000 species of pollen bees world wide (Batra, 1994). Hope that helps you sleep easy tonight!
If you want to watch an interesting take on modern, sustainable farming, I would encourage you to check out this Ted Talk sometime:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvFD6DRn0Cg
Sources:
DeleteBatra, Suzanne. "Diversify with Pollen Bees." Bee Research Laboratory. U.S. Department of Agriculture, 19 Nov. 1994. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Beaulieu, Martin. "Demographic Changes in Canadian Agriculture." Statistics Canada. 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Haha - well don't feel bad, it is a valid question! There have been issues with honey bee populations in North America.
DeleteCommunication is free, finding employment should be to!
ReplyDeletePicture this. Your get called in for a job interview after applying for a position through one of those job banks like Monster or CareerBuilder. You show up to your interview dressed to impress, resume in hand and interview questions memorized. Then you find out that your actually had an interview with an employment agency who, if you land the job, will take a percentage of your wage… Who wants that?
Career and Employment Consultants with the Government of Alberta (that’s me!) can help you find work for free. Alberta Works helps people connect with a variety of employment programs. It also provides services to help people prepare for and find a job. No costs attached.
Communication is the key to success in my role!
1) Interpersonal communication is used to conduct needs assessment and create return to work action plans. Sitting down with my clients face-to-face and exchanging information allows me to developed personalized plans.
2) Collaborations with government programs, schools and contracted agencies are crucial to connecting clients to various programs. These programs can help clients identify which jobs and industries best match their skills, develop professional resumes, learn how to job search and improve interviewing skills. Group support is offered while looking for employment.
3) Social Media’s use is two fold. I use it to promote services and advertise job fairs. I also use it to collect data to generate targeted services. Special services are designed for specific groups of job seekers, such as youth, single parents, immigrants, older workers, and persons with disabilities.
This work is developed under the ‘Building and Educating Tomorrow’s Workforce’ strategy which aims to generate more workers, educate people and provided innovative safe work places. In a nutshell, I inform people of the labour market trends, develop knowledge and skills, attract job seekers and retain employment in Alberta. Internal and external communications and collaborations, as well as, social media are the key components to making my work a success.