How SunStar Strategic, a leading financial public relations firm turns to digital conferencing in a time of national crisis.
When your business is relationships and your clients and your team are practicing social distancing, essentially quarantined at home, what can you do?
SunStar Strategic has been providing financial firms with PR and marketing services for more than 25 years. Kathryn Morrison, president and CEO, is used to the hustle and bustle of the busy news cycle. Her experience as a newsroom producer for CNN Atlanta made her uniquely qualified to transition to financial PR.
The SunStar offices are usually alive with the business of the markets. TVs on the wall broadcast current events, client interviews, and market updates. The account executives are in and out of the office as they travel frequently with clients to New York for interviews with major TV, online and print publications. Those in the office on any given day catch up and often collaborate. It’s not unusual to pop into a colleague’s office with “got a second?” as team members bounce ideas off one another.
As the coronavirus spread SunStar, like so many other businesses, had to work remotely. With offices in four cities, the company is no stranger to working across a great distance, but this was new territory.
Maintaining Camaraderie
Today companies rely on phone, email, and FaceTime when traveling, but nothing compares to the daily in-office camaraderie which allows employees to brainstorm, bounce ideas of one another, troubleshoot and plan.
SunStar people were used to working remotely occasionally but not full time. Enter the Zoom meeting!
Since going 100% remote, SunStar has met daily through Zoom. Staff kick off each day catching up with “water cooler talk” sharing what’s going on for them at home and in their neighborhoods. Parents share their struggles with working while homeschooling, others share challenges with overloaded internet, roommates working from home, or even finding groceries!
Seeing each other “in person” every day helps to keep those important co-working relationships alive and thriving. The team quickly moves on to discuss current company business, sharing what their clients have coming up and whether various producers and journalists prefer Skype, Zoom or a traditional phone call.
In addition to helping maintain company relationships and morale, the team is now able to harness the energies and ideas of the whole team at once rather than from that single co-worker they might have approached in the office.
SunStar isn’t the only company turning to Zoom. Earlier this week 343,000 people globally downloaded the Zoom app. CEO Eric Yuan has made the tool free for all K-12 schools.
Let Us Know If We Can Help
Staying safe and virus free has to be everyone’s priority. We hope this “new normal” won’t last too long. How is your team faring during these difficult times? Let us know if we can help you reach out to your clients, secure media interviews, or navigate compliance as you reassure investors.