Where does the Buck Stop for Bad Public Relations?
So, I'm still ranting about USSPEEDSKATING's public relations and media failures, and I've gotten some input from some of my unnamed co-conspirators. On the topic of bad PR, we would like the USSPEEDSKATING Board of Directors to ask some tough questions.
Where does the buck stop for bad promotion and PR at an event? If PR Director Melissa Scott is competent and has the desire to do a good job, then why can't she? Who gives her the priorities? Who sets the tone for her messages? Who edits her copy? Who evaluates her performance and therefore sets the true incentives on what to do in her job? Who gives her the training and education about the sport to go with her PR background so she can do a great job?
Do these people (USS) understand what the media, the athletes, the members, the event organizers need and want from USS and its PR function in the 21st century? Do they listen to Melissa's assessments and requests and take her advice in her area of professional expertise, or has she been "trained" in the ways of "Don't make waves, and we'll let you keep your job?"
I have some thoughts on this aspect. Not long after Melissa started working for USSPEEDSKATING, she contacted me with a request to do an athlete blog for USSPEEDSKATING, because she thought I'd be an interesting athlete to follow, and that I'd have something to say. I had to warn her in two separate emails that I probably wasn't the one to be writing such a blog, because I had too many controversial things to say. The first time, she replied by saying not to worry - that I could be as sarcastic and funny as I wanted.
I remember thinking, "Oh, boy, is she in for a surprise." She's gonna find out how the federation really treats its athletes, what the athletes really think of the federation, how the idea of what her job was going to be will conflict with the reality of what Katie Marquard and Andy Gabel want from her, and how much she will have to compromise in order to keep her job.
Do Katie, Andy, and all the others really want someone with Melissa's expertise to do her best to make the organization and the athletes shine? Is USS realistic in what they expect of her, or do they give her extra tasks to do, like cater to VIP's from the USS board and ISU officials so that Katie and Andy can look good and keep their jobs/committee positions? Do these extra duties make it tough for Melissa to do her stated job of USSPEEDSKATING PR director?
OK, if USS management and policy makers aren't at fault for this debacle because of how they handled the operation of PR, then did they screw up before that? You must ask: If Melissa is not the right person for this job, is it her fault, or is it the people who hired her? What did they do wrong/right in designing the PR job description? In matching the expectations and skills desired with adequate pay to attract qualified people? Did they go out and recruit a large pool of applicants? What has USSPEEDSKATING done to keep itself from becoming a place where competent PR people (and coaches and other staffers) with competitive offers from other potential employers avoid even applying for the job because of the reputation of the organization, its Executive Director and Board?
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SETTING UP THE CONDITION OF MAKING ANY COMPETENT PERSON NOT WANT TO WORK FOR USSPEEDSKATING?
Who is responsible for the interview process? The hiring decision? If Melissa is not the person for the job (which I'm inclined to think is not the case) then who picked her for the spot in the first place?
It's kind of late at this point to blame Melissa, isn't it? Doesn't the path take you to either the President (Andy Gabel) or the Executive Director (Katie Marquard)?
But at this point, these USS leaders pass the buck, perhaps blaming the local event organizing committee (a group of hardcore volunteers from clubs in the area) or the venue hosting the event. I have heard horror stories of how the "USS Blazer Crew" treats local organizing committees - after these volunteers have knocked themselves out to provide a first-rate event, all the "fat cats" can do is complain about how the appetizers in the hospitality room are cold, or the flags are hung the wrong way at the awards ceremony.
To me, it's actually incredible how often it's brought up that Andy and Katie seem to be frustrated former skaters whose dissatisfaction with their own careers might be affecting their ability to run USS. One of my friends says, "So Andy and Katie, if only back in the day you could pass other skaters as well as you pass the buck, you would be Olympic medalists too (OK Andy, relays count, you are an Olympic medalist, but you should make mention in your bio and everywhere else that this was a team medal instead of always trying to pass it off as an individual one! If you really believed in your heart team medals were as prestigious as individual ones then you would have no problem making your own medal's origins well known, yes?"
But even if he could be honest about this one little detail, then we'd still have this problem of poor performance with no accountability to the higher ups. What are the answers to the questions above? Do you continue to pass the buck, or do you accept responsibility?
Or do you just whitewash everything and pretend it was all great and say, "What's the problem? There's nothing wrong here - the PR and the event were GREAT!"
Do you fix the problem? This question goes out to this year's newly elected Board of Directors: DO YOU HAVE THE GUTS TO ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS? Do you have the guts to find the answers? Do you have the guts to actually FIX the problems that have plagued this federation?
So, I'm still ranting about USSPEEDSKATING's public relations and media failures, and I've gotten some input from some of my unnamed co-conspirators. On the topic of bad PR, we would like the USSPEEDSKATING Board of Directors to ask some tough questions.
Where does the buck stop for bad promotion and PR at an event? If PR Director Melissa Scott is competent and has the desire to do a good job, then why can't she? Who gives her the priorities? Who sets the tone for her messages? Who edits her copy? Who evaluates her performance and therefore sets the true incentives on what to do in her job? Who gives her the training and education about the sport to go with her PR background so she can do a great job?
Do these people (USS) understand what the media, the athletes, the members, the event organizers need and want from USS and its PR function in the 21st century? Do they listen to Melissa's assessments and requests and take her advice in her area of professional expertise, or has she been "trained" in the ways of "Don't make waves, and we'll let you keep your job?"
I have some thoughts on this aspect. Not long after Melissa started working for USSPEEDSKATING, she contacted me with a request to do an athlete blog for USSPEEDSKATING, because she thought I'd be an interesting athlete to follow, and that I'd have something to say. I had to warn her in two separate emails that I probably wasn't the one to be writing such a blog, because I had too many controversial things to say. The first time, she replied by saying not to worry - that I could be as sarcastic and funny as I wanted.
I remember thinking, "Oh, boy, is she in for a surprise." She's gonna find out how the federation really treats its athletes, what the athletes really think of the federation, how the idea of what her job was going to be will conflict with the reality of what Katie Marquard and Andy Gabel want from her, and how much she will have to compromise in order to keep her job.
Do Katie, Andy, and all the others really want someone with Melissa's expertise to do her best to make the organization and the athletes shine? Is USS realistic in what they expect of her, or do they give her extra tasks to do, like cater to VIP's from the USS board and ISU officials so that Katie and Andy can look good and keep their jobs/committee positions? Do these extra duties make it tough for Melissa to do her stated job of USSPEEDSKATING PR director?
OK, if USS management and policy makers aren't at fault for this debacle because of how they handled the operation of PR, then did they screw up before that? You must ask: If Melissa is not the right person for this job, is it her fault, or is it the people who hired her? What did they do wrong/right in designing the PR job description? In matching the expectations and skills desired with adequate pay to attract qualified people? Did they go out and recruit a large pool of applicants? What has USSPEEDSKATING done to keep itself from becoming a place where competent PR people (and coaches and other staffers) with competitive offers from other potential employers avoid even applying for the job because of the reputation of the organization, its Executive Director and Board?
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SETTING UP THE CONDITION OF MAKING ANY COMPETENT PERSON NOT WANT TO WORK FOR USSPEEDSKATING?
Who is responsible for the interview process? The hiring decision? If Melissa is not the person for the job (which I'm inclined to think is not the case) then who picked her for the spot in the first place?
It's kind of late at this point to blame Melissa, isn't it? Doesn't the path take you to either the President (Andy Gabel) or the Executive Director (Katie Marquard)?
But at this point, these USS leaders pass the buck, perhaps blaming the local event organizing committee (a group of hardcore volunteers from clubs in the area) or the venue hosting the event. I have heard horror stories of how the "USS Blazer Crew" treats local organizing committees - after these volunteers have knocked themselves out to provide a first-rate event, all the "fat cats" can do is complain about how the appetizers in the hospitality room are cold, or the flags are hung the wrong way at the awards ceremony.
To me, it's actually incredible how often it's brought up that Andy and Katie seem to be frustrated former skaters whose dissatisfaction with their own careers might be affecting their ability to run USS. One of my friends says, "So Andy and Katie, if only back in the day you could pass other skaters as well as you pass the buck, you would be Olympic medalists too (OK Andy, relays count, you are an Olympic medalist, but you should make mention in your bio and everywhere else that this was a team medal instead of always trying to pass it off as an individual one! If you really believed in your heart team medals were as prestigious as individual ones then you would have no problem making your own medal's origins well known, yes?"
But even if he could be honest about this one little detail, then we'd still have this problem of poor performance with no accountability to the higher ups. What are the answers to the questions above? Do you continue to pass the buck, or do you accept responsibility?
Or do you just whitewash everything and pretend it was all great and say, "What's the problem? There's nothing wrong here - the PR and the event were GREAT!"
Do you fix the problem? This question goes out to this year's newly elected Board of Directors: DO YOU HAVE THE GUTS TO ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS? Do you have the guts to find the answers? Do you have the guts to actually FIX the problems that have plagued this federation?
posted by Eva at 2:54 PM
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