Monday, August 18, 2014 get by with a little help from your friends
Are you getting the most from networking? No, then read on...
by GUEST EDITOR Emma Rodgers 
So, here’s the thing. When I first started working in pr & communications, I got to hating everything about ‘networking’*.
It felt false, contrived and quite often disingenuous. Probably this was because I worked in quite a cut throat yet ‘pr fluff’ environment. It was private sector in the late nineties and early noughties. Even the phrase sent shivers down my spine.
I also felt it was all about ‘who you knew and not what you knew’ – something that didn’t sit well with me and which was opposed to my work ethic, even then in my early 20s.
Working in the public sector 16 years later, my thinking is now the complete opposite and I think networking and building relationships is one of the best tools a 21st Century communicator has in their comms toolkit.
Here’s why.
You can tap into learning
Communicating public services at a time when we’re required to make huge savings, redesign what we do and have a completely different relationship with residents is challenging. As communicators we need to be evolving constantly so we’re part of the solution.
This means we need to be learning all the time. Building relationships, whether that’s on-line, via community networks or through professional forums is a great way to do this.
It saves time and money
In the public sector, people are happy to share ideas & feedback & even practical resources where they can. The last organisation I worked for saved £4,000 because through relationships I had, we managed to get free advice that gave us a solution to a problem that up until then was going to cost cold, hard cash.
Working in this way also saves time and resources. You don’t have to start from scratch and you can get additional benefits by linking together to best effect. Other examples of this is whereby through people I know, we’ve managed to secure training for free or share insight that would otherwise have cost time and people to deliver.
It prompts innovation & stretches you
Ultimately though it prompts ideas, innovation and creativity and stretches your thinking. Mixing with people who have different ideas or different ways of working brings the best from you. It’s made me think in ways I know I wouldn’t have if I had kept working in my inward looking way.
It makes you more employable and is fun
Networking has definitely made me more employable – I cannot tell you how many people approach me about jobs now compared to two/three years ago and I would say networking has been the main difference between then and now. It’s also meant I’ve been able to be part of some great things like Commscamp14 with the brilliant Dan Slee, Darren Caveney and Ann Kempster.
So you’re convinced about the value of networking. Here’s my tips on how.
It’s a two-way street
Building relationships has to be genuine and it’s a two-way street. Don’t go into something thinking about what you can get from it. Instead start from the view of what you could share from it. People will soon tire if all you do is take, take, take….
Use the social in social media
It goes without saying that social media is perfect for building relationships. If I had a £1 for every time I heard someone say that they know someone from twitter even if they’ve never met them. Same for linkedIn. You can access new ideas and connect with people who you find interesting or who you know you could work with in a mutually beneficial way. So if you’re not already proactively on social media in some way in your own right, make this your first step.
Chuck yourself in
Public sector peeps are in my experience always happy to share connections. And it’s quite normal for you to approach someone you admire and connect with them. Start small – in fact don’t even think about it – just crack on and chuck yourself in.
Make it part of who you are
Don’t try too hard or you’re in danger of being too contrived. Go with networks that interest you or connect with people you have something in common with. It could be emergency planning is your thing. There will be a group of people who feel the same. Do a little research and see what you find. By making it part of who you are, it’s more likely to not feel like a chore and that way you’ll get the most from every opportunity.
Tap into communication networks and events
There is a huge amount on offer. LG Communications is just £250 for a whole organisation to join – this includes access to six seminars a year for free. I know I’m biased but I still think this is amazing value for money. There are also regional groups in your area like CIPR or CIM that you can check out. Other options include more informal learning groups like Brewcamp in Birmingham or Rocketcamp in Hereford.
Don’t let it be the first thing to go
In the current space we’re operating in, it’s easy to say that we can’t get out of the office. I take you back to the fact that ultimately building relationships in this way is likely to save your organisation time and money. And it doesn’t have to cost financially to do it. There are creative & free ways to meet people and make connections.
Find the time
We can only stay on top of our game as communicators and help to solve the really tough issues if we invest time in what we do. In my view, you can only build professional relationships if you put some time in. It’s like anything, the more you put in, the more you get out.
Share the love
I loathe it when people use networking as a power thing. They see it as giving themselves more power and as a result don’t want to share their connections with others. That’s not cool and it’s not welcomed. So if you do start to build relationships, then please do ‘share the love’
Get by with a little help from your friends
I’ve already said why I think it’s a ‘must do’ above. I only really started to do it myself two years ago and I didn’t even realise I was doing it at the time. Some kind encouragement, a few introductions, a little confidence building and I was off. It was organic and genuine and I enjoyed it. It keeps work and life interesting and if I’m honest now very much spills over into my personal life. And I wouldn’t go back for love nor money. If you start from the right place, you will find it comes naturally.
Ultimately though my life has been massively enriched by getting to meet the interesting, motivated and creative people that I have. And from a work point of view, it’s a win-win. So don’t treat networking as a dirty word, embrace it for what it is and get by with a little help from your friends.
Emma Rodgers Emma Rodgers is Strategic Manager [Communications and Marketing], Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
*Official dictionary klaxon – Networking is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as ‘interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts’.
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Reader Comments (5)
I agree with you, Emma, that networking is very important. But I think that what has made networking useful to me is the way social media helps you make and deepen contacts. Those superficial events where people are thrown together and forced to make small talk were always a pain for me. And then, at the very start of the social networking revolution, someone organised a conference and set up an online network (I think it was a Ning or something similar) in advance of the event. Suddenly, when I got to the conference, I was in a room full of people I already had some knowledge of, and I could pick up online conversations face-to-face, without any of the initial awkwardness.
Social media enables us to build meaningful relationships with real people we can actually get to know
Hi John
Thanks for your comments and agree exactly on what you're saying. Social media has enabled me to do exactly that and is for me a massive part of how networking happens. I too love going to an event knowing that I either know people before hand and feel so much more comfortable in the environment as a result. It truly has changed my view of my own work and my own development. That too was intended to be the undercurrent throughout this post but if that doesn't come across strongly enough then my bad.
Having said that I can't tell you how many comms people I have met and regularly still meet who don't have their own profile or don't do social media on a personal level and don't buy into the many advantages it brings. The regular quote back is 'how do you find the time?' or 'I don't want to do work outside of work'. For me, it's getting people to understand as you've said before that social media and work/life aren't always two separate things. In my view if we want to be fight for comms to get recognition as a true profession then we have to embrace development and being part of the solution at all levels even if it is 'after hours'. We owe it to ourselves to keep industry experts and not just passive recipients of changes but active drivers that help to find the answers for 21st Century communications challenges.
A great post Emma and some good points to share with those people out there who are afraid of networking. I have found many Comms folk who communicate confidently behind a computer, tablet or phone are not as confident when communicating in person.
Social media is a great way to deepen relationships as John Popham says and still too many events / conferences that don't share delegate twitter handles on delegate lists. This should be standard practice so we can all play that fab conference game 'Place the Twitter Face.'
Hi Emma. Fab post.
Communications isn't my job, but is an important part of my job. Being interested in people's lives isn't in my job description, but hey, I'm maybe a nosy sort. I find that when I know something of the person, I understand better what they're saying and why they're saying it and so I'm more likely to want to communicate with them.
So, I'll just put this out there - I don't mind if you post a pic of an omelette that finally, after 10 years, came out right, a pic of your dead Great-Uncle's grave in Flanders or even a blurry selfie of you and some mates down the curry house having fun times (Not trout pouts. Never trout pouts. Ever.) on twitter or facebook or wherever. I'll love that you're human and have more than one dimension. You don't have to be work, work, work. You can be your work self and be yourself too. Hell, you can even post kitteh pix.
Clearly, dogs are better than cats though. I'm obviously right on that, but I really do think that making some personal connections helps a great deal with building relationships.
Thanks Kate and Asif.
You know what I love about this blog post. That I agree with all the comments that have been posted.
I had this conversation with a colleague the other day. It went like this. 'It is good to meet people, it builds relationships and ....I am so more likely to do something for someone if I know them. '
Now I know there's probably something not quite right on one level but it's the reality of human nature. If you can build a relationship - on or off-line in a genuine way I think it holds you in good stead and by building relationships, it builds opportunities for both you and your organisation. You learn things you don't know, you meet people who may have ideas that connect with something happening over there. It's all good. So while the name is still not good, the ethos and principles behind any networking in whatever form, as long as it's genuine, is I think worthwhile.