We all start somewhere and strive for people to receive the best experience possible, especially if they are new to the PR industry. Gabrielle Tutheridge of Articulate Productions shares her tips for managing interns based on her experience.
The best conversations happen over a hot cuppa
You just hired an intern who you are managing and therefore you are in charge of their well-being, workload, and experience within the industry - congratulations! That’s something to be proud of. The next step upon meeting your new intern is to take them outside of the office. It’s always nerve-racking walking into an office of busy bees and feeling like you are just a tiny piece of the puzzle (though that couldn’t be more false). Offer them coffee/tea, sit in a cafe, or go for a walk around a park - just you and your intern - as this is the best way to break the ice when meeting someone new and instilling confidence in them. It's also a good idea to ask them if they have any questions/worries about their new exciting role in your workplace.
The Little Black Book
On their first day, there will be so much information being thrown at them - just learning everyone's names alone is no small feat. It’s important you give them a physical or digital book of information about (insert your company's name), including the people within the company, clients, passwords to websites/useful apps, and - most importantly - the role they play. Interns are sometimes an afterthought, so it’s important to let them know what their role is, how they can best support your team, and how you can best support their career goals. Ask them what they are interested in and what they are not - try to cater to them as much as possible to give them the best experience.
The day-to-day experience
It’s super important to ensure your intern has a list of tasks as soon as they arrive in the morning. This way, if your day gets busy, they are not waiting around twiddling their thumbs. In PR, days very much ebb and flow, so the more tasks they can help you with to make your team’s workload easier, the better. Remember to treat them as equals, no matter their role. The typical (old and outdated) narrative is that interns are expected to make the coffee runs and be at the endless mercy of their leader’s tasks. This should not be the case, as internships are purely for the candidate to gain experience in a field of interest.
Breaks are SO important
This gets overlooked in not only our industry but the New York work culture. A recent survey conducted by Indeed showed that over half (52%) of survey respondents are experiencing burnout in 2021—up from the 43% who said the same in Indeed’s pre-pandemic survey. This is a reality among individuals who do not take a lunch break, get away from their laptops during the day or leave work at an appropriate time. Make sure you insist that your intern takes a 30-minute to 1-hour lunch break. Even better, be the leader and take lunch with them so that they can ask you questions about PR to get the most out of their internship.
Pick their brains
Usually, interns are fresh out of college or are still in college - therefore they are receiving and studying the most up-to-date information about the industry. Better yet, they are studying a new course and have insight into new technologies, systems, applications, and ways of working. Stay curious.
Make sure they are getting college credit, or pay them an honest wage
Gone are the days that interns are unpaid - if you would like them to work 3-5 days a week, make sure your intern is getting school credit, or is being compensated accordingly. Interns are just as much an integral part of the team as anyone else!
Mistakes are learning experiences
We are ever-changing humans who make mistakes, and it's important to remind interns that mistakes are simply great learning experiences.
J/PR, formerly J Public Relations, recently debuted a rebrand to mark a new era for the fast-growing firm’s continued evolution and expansion. The agency’s new ethos, “Own Your Story,” reflects 15+ years of success in traditional PR and more recently social media strategy, as well as new offerings including photography, content creation, influencer relations, brand partnerships and crisis communications. Today, J/PR represents an A-list client portfolio across travel, hospitality, lifestyle, consumer brands, health, wellness and real estate. The company has grown from its offices in San Diego and New York City, with a current presence in London, Los Angeles, Nashville, Toronto, Denver and Scottsdale.
"We have seen our team grow in strength and resiliency, and new doors have opened not only for our team but also for our clients,” said Partner Sarah Evans. “Over the past 15 years, we have grown into a global powerhouse, while maintaining the core values and relationships that are the agency’s backbone. Our team, clients and new vision reflect our organic global evolution.”
Notable long-term clients
Relais & Chateaux, Jumeirah, Four Seasons Lanai, The Palms, The Shore Club, The Chanler, Ritz-Carlton, Visit North Carolina, The Goring, Iconic Luxury Hotels, Adare Manor, Chewton Glen, Clivedon House, Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Twin Farms, Great Wolf Lodge
Recent client wins
Hilton Luxury Brands, Richard Branson's Necker Island and Moskito Island, Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, Conrad Punta de Mita, Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas, JW Mariott Scottsdale Camelback, Palazzo Ricci, Hilton Los Cabos, Geneo, Chatham Inn Relais & Chateaux, Joali Maldives
What was your biggest business challenge this year and how did your team overcome it?
THE DOWNFALL - MARCH 2020
2020 was a year we’ll never forget. "We were like a rocket ship that fell out of the sky.” A direct quote from my business partner, Jamie Lynn Sigler, in Real Leaders Magazine this past Summer. It was set to be our biggest year ever - February 2020 was our biggest month ever. We were billing $1.1 million per month and had recently signed marquis clients including Richard Branson’s Virgin Limited Edition to launch Moskito Island and re-launch Necker Island. Each of our offices, NYC, LA, San Diego, London and Toronto were thriving.
In 8 days we lost 65 percent of our revenue with no warning - we fell with the travel industry. Our hotel clients were closing, clients and friends were losing their jobs. We’d been through 9/11 and 2008 and nothing could have ever prepared us for this. Our industry and our company was in crisis. After one week we had to lay off 1/3 of our team (we had 75 people pre-pandemic). We were making extremely hard decisions in a matter of hours that should have taken weeks or months. We’re an independent company without a board. We have a 7 person Exec team and most of us have worked together for over 10 years. We’re involved in organizations like YPO, EO and Summit so we stayed close to other entrepreneurs and trusted industry friends throughout.
After the first couple of weeks things were still going down but together we came to a clear and confident decision. We decided that no one else could go. We began holding weekly updates with the team - we were honest and vulnerable. We said we weren’t going to take a salary and we were willing to do whatever it takes. We put employees on job share programs to share responsibilities while we were on life support - we were all in it together.
THE RECOVERY
Vulnerability, heart, soul and drive propelled every bit of our recovery. We cried in front of our team. We were sad, scared and we were honest about it but we didn’t back down or stop for a second. There was no choice but to survive and eventually thrive again.
We’re very seasoned at offering counsel to our clients but never have we ever had we been counseling them whilst going through our own crisis. This was impacting the world and our entire industry - one of the silver linings is that we’ve all grown more connected as an agency and as clients.
Here’s what we did to take immediate action:
We gave our employees a voice in the crisis plan
We let our team see that we’re only human
We stopped the free fall
We reacted as fast as humanly possible
We kept our eye on a positive future
We communicated clearly and often
We’ve always been committed to customer service and it never waived. We believe that’s why a lot of our clients stayed with us and are coming back. Our business philosophy has always been that relationships come first. It paid off.
We started to pivot our business immediately and since March have signed about ten non-travel clients including Genalyte, Bakery Bling, JitJatJo, Blue Canary, PUR Cold Pressed Juice and Kevin’s Natural Foods. We also signed travel clients like The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort, SetJet, Tour Company in Africa, Boutique properties in Jackson Hole, Encinitas, SET JET private jet company, etc. We started working on our rebrand and new website.
In July 2021 we surpassed our pre-pandemic business levels. We've hired back many of our team members and currently have a team of 75 and growing. We've opened new office locations (Nashville and Toronto) and rolled out our new brand and website. We're stronger than ever.
