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Award jointly given to President and CEO Dr. Janice Nevin and Chief Digital and Information Officer Randy Gaboriault ChristianaCare has earned the Transformational Leadership Award for excelling in its development and deployment of transformational information technology that improves the delivery of care and streamlines administrative services. Presented by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and the American Hospital Association, the award is jointly bestowed to Janice Nevin, M.D., MPH, ChristianaCare’s president and CEO, and Randy Gaboriault, MS, MBA, ChristianaCare’s chief digital and information officer and senior vice president. “Their trailblazing commitment to rapid transformation has set an example for the entire industry in how to pursue a leadership vision with determination, brilliant planning and courage to overcome all challenges,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell. Under the leadership of Nevin and Gaboriault, ChristianaCare has created and deployed new organizational, digital capabilities for both patient and caregiver. Using voice-enabled technology, ChristianaCare HomeHealth patients can interact with an internally developed Alexa capability to guide them through their personalized daily therapy regimens. Similarly, ChristianaCare recently launched the ability for in-house postpartum patients to use an Amazon Echo device to ask questions, request help or communicate with their care team. Taking voice and digital capabilities further, in February 2022, ChristianaCare deployed an innovative tool called Moxi, a collaborative robot – or “cobot” – that can assist in the hospital by making deliveries and performing other non-clinical tasks so that nurses and other clinical caregivers can spend more time focused on what they do best: caring for patients. “Randy is a phenomenal leader, with a relentless focus on creating a culture of innovation for impact, solving for the most complex problems and delivering significantly improved outcomes,” Nevin said. “His work has made ChristianaCare a model for how transformative technology can help to create health so that every person can flourish.” ChristianaCare continues to be recognized for leading innovation in the health care industry. The organization was recently recognized by CHIME’s Most Wired program with Performance Excellence Awards in its acute and ambulatory categories. That level is reserved only for organizations that are considered leaders in health care technology who “actively push the industry forward” and are “realizing meaningful outcomes, including improved quality of care, improved patient experience, reduced costs and broader patient access to healthcare services.” “Under Dr. Nevin’s extraordinary leadership, we have made an intentional commitment to placing technology at the center of all our initiatives to enable our caregivers to best serve our patients,” Gaboriault said. “That commitment, reinforced by our organization’s core behavior to continuously look for new ways to innovate, means that we are able to introduce and leverage robotic nursing assistants in a way that drives meaningful value for both patients and providers. And because our caregivers embrace change, we are confident that we will be using our cobots to assume more tasks in the future, and enable our nurses to devote even more of their precious time to direct patient care.”
ChristianaCare Named a Most Wired Health Care Technology Leader for 7th Consecutive Year
For the seventh consecutive year, ChristianaCare has earned the “Most Wired” designation from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), which assesses how effectively health care organizations apply core and advanced technologies to improve health and care in their communities. Among the more than 38,000 organizations surveyed by CHIME, ChristianaCare ranked above peers in categories such as analytics and data management, population health, infrastructure and patient engagement. The survey assessed the adoption, integration and impact of technologies in health care organizations at all stages of development, from early development to industry leading. “At ChristianaCare we are curious and continuously looking for ways to innovate,” said ChristianaCare President and CEO Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH. “Embedding that behavior in our organization has led to brilliant planning and extraordinary execution of new, technology-enabled models of care as our patients demand greater service and convenience, including greater access from home.” ChristianaCare was recognized with a Performance Excellence Award for Most Wired’s acute and ambulatory categories. That level is reserved only for organizations that are considered leaders in health care technology who “actively push the industry forward” and are “realizing meaningful outcomes, including improved quality of care, improved patient experience, reduced costs, and broader patient access to healthcare services.” “We are on the cutting edge of health care innovation, yet we have only scratched the surface of digital care,” said Randy Gaboriault, MS, MBA, chief digital and information officer at ChristianaCare. “We have embarked on building a digital distribution network of health care that strengthens every day. And we are guiding a digital thread that weaves together all the components in and outside the walls of the hospital and provider’s office to improve the health of every person we touch.” The Most Wired recognition highlights ChristianaCare’s success in the launch of the Hospital Care at Home program, which is transforming the very nature of how acute care is delivered, as well as the creation of digital platforms that radically improve the patient experience. Launched in December 2021, ChristianaCare’s Hospital Care at Home program offers the highest level of in-home acute care in Delaware. The program combines virtual and in-person care provided by a team of physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and other providers, and has to date cared for more than 200 patients. These in-person and virtual visits from the health care team mean that a patient doesn’t need to leave home to get better. Virtual technology and home health equipment brought into the patient’s home ensure around-the-clock monitoring and care that mirror a traditional hospital setting. ChristianaCare’s digital patient engagement capabilities have streamlined nearly every aspect of the patient experience. Through these digital tools, the registration, check-in and intake of patients are becoming more streamlined, improving both patient experience and efficiency at ChristianaCare practices. The digital platform also enables patients to self-schedule appointments, easily complete their medical histories and check in to appointments by simply scanning a QR code with their digital device. “These digital offerings have placed our patients in the driver’s seat,” said Lynne McCone, MBA, chief applications officer and vice president of IT at ChristianaCare. “The benefits of a conducive, consistent patient journey and experience in turn improves practice operations and efficiency and dismantles administrative burdens for both patients and caregivers. It’s a huge win for consumers, patients and providers.” The Digital Health Most Wired survey and recognition program serves as a comprehensive “digital health check-up” for health care organizations across the world, according to CHIME. As success in digital health increasingly determines the quality of patient care, the scope of the CHIME Digital Health Most Wired survey reflects the progress of leading health systems, like ChristianaCare, as they reinvent health care for a new century. “We are proud to honor your team’s exceptional dedication to excellence in digital health,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell of ChristianaCare. “Your pioneering performance in the industry inspires other organizations by example. Patients in communities around the world receive better care when you drive change through digital transformation, as you have proven through your success in this rigorous program.”
ExpertFile-powered “Our Experts” site makes health experts findable and accessible to media at a click of a button ChristianaCare and its collaborative partner ExpertFile have been recognized with a 2022 Silver Quill Award from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for its "Our Experts" media database. Designed to easily and quickly connect journalists to subject-matter experts, this online resource has been recognized with the top prize – an “Award of Excellence” in the Communications Management, Media Relations category. The IABC Silver Quill Awards showcase business communication excellence and are acknowledged as among the most prestigious awards programs in the communications industry. “I’m proud to accept the Silver Quill Award on behalf of our organization and our incredible Communications team, including our ExpertFile partners,” said Shane Hoffman, communications director at ChristianaCare. “The ‘Our Experts’ platform has given us next-level ways to engage our experts and share our knowledge as a trusted source of health care information. It has also helped us re-imagine the traditional online news room experience and turn it into a truly new and innovative way to serve the needs of both journalists and our community.” IABC’s Silver Quill awards honor the dedication, innovation and passion of communicators on a global scale. Each entry is scored independently by evaluators who judge the award submission on factors that include: stakeholder analysis, strategic and tactical planning, quality of execution and measurable results. Since launching in March 2021, the "Our Experts" media database has received more than 20,000 online visits and has resulted in more than 200 news stories. “We are honored to earn this Silver Quill Award with our client, ChristianaCare,” said Peter Evans, CEO of ExpertFile. “Despite the pressures of the pandemic, their team collaborated closely with us to create a world-class program that continues to help a variety of audiences discover and connect every day with credible medical experts and groundbreaking research.” Powered by the ExpertFile software platform, the ChristianaCare “Our Experts” site provides a digital media toolkit with advanced search/digital content features to help journalists discover experts and access resources that make it easier for them to complete stories and meet their deadlines. Awarding top honors “with distinction,” the IABC judging panel provided a number of detailed comments on the “ChristianaCare Experts Program”: “Very well-done website. Nice content that is well organized and searchable. From planning and implementation to measurement afterward the program shows great work.” “Great work in the time of COVID. Your knowledge of journalists and their challenges. during COVID was spot-on.” “I liked the media advisories. Having been on both sides of the reporter/media relations thing, I like clear and simple. You achieved this!” “If I were a reporter, the advisory would be invaluable when I needed an expert.” “Very specific and focused on business-results. Great work here.” “Very comprehensive! You thought of everything without getting bogged down in unnecessary details.” Nearly 100 ChristianaCare experts are featured in the database today, and that number continues to grow. “As communicators in health care, it has always been important for us to provide timely, accurate, easy-to-understand information to the communities we serve so that people can make informed decisions about their health,” said Karen Browne, vice president of marketing and communications at ChristianaCare. “The COVID-19 pandemic added an entirely new level of urgency to our role as communicators, and it made it even more important for us to build strong relationships with our partners in the news media so that they can deliver compelling, actionable health information to the community—from experts they can trust.” The pandemic also highlighted the need to do more with less. ChristianaCare’s innovation was driven out of a desire to improve the reach, impact and efficiency of its media relations efforts—amid rapidly increasing demand—without the need to add additional resources. “With our partners at ExpertFile, we leveraged ExpertFile’s outstanding technology platform to create a database of our experts that helps reporters and news producers find the sources they need quickly, and it enables our team to nimbly manage their requests and facilitate interviews in a way that makes the absolute best use of our resources,” Hoffman said. “The ExpertFile team worked as our strategic thought partners throughout this process, and they’ve really embraced our desire for innovation that drives results. They’ve helped us to work smarter and do more without adding a lot of additional resources. Together, we’ve built a system and process that is helping us to communicate in new and better ways—and we’re just getting started.” About ChristianaCare Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, ChristianaCare is one of the country’s most dynamic health care organizations, centered on improving health outcomes, making high-quality care more accessible and lowering health care costs. ChristianaCare includes an extensive network of primary care and outpatient services, home health care, urgent care centers, three hospitals (1,299 beds), a freestanding emergency department, a Level I trauma center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, a comprehensive stroke center and regional centers of excellence in heart and vascular care, cancer care and women’s health. It also includes the pioneering Gene Editing Institute. ChristianaCare is nationally recognized as a great place to work, rated by Forbes as the 2nd best health system for diversity and inclusion, and the 29th best health system to work for in the United States, and by IDG Computerworld as one of the nation’s Best Places to Work in IT. ChristianaCare is rated by Healthgrades as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals and continually ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek and other national quality ratings. ChristianaCare is a nonprofit teaching health system with more than 260 residents and fellows. With its groundbreaking Center for Virtual Health and a focus on population health and value-based care, ChristianaCare is shaping the future of health care.
STORY: CAA gives the gift of live theatre to 200 guests
Life for some of Toronto’s youth just became more magical thanks to CAA’s ticket donation to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. What beats the magic of live theatre? At CAA, the only thing more powerful is the gift of giving back. To help spread some cheer, CAA partnered with Kids Up Front Toronto to donate 200 tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Saturday, November 26, 2022. Kids Up Front Toronto is an organization that distributes tickets to various arts, culture and sporting events to deserving kids and their families in the Toronto Area. Before the show, CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre staff welcomed the lucky recipients with complimentary snacks and giveaways. Plus, they hosted a pre-show photo opportunity for the guests of honour to strike their best wizard poses. After the performance, the cast further delighted the children with an exclusive post-show Q&A session. “We are giving more than just a ticket,” says Taz Ratanshi, Supervisor of Brand Partnership and Events at CCG. “We are enriching children’s lives with valuable experiences by enabling them to engage with the community.” CAA is thrilled to be back at live events to host unique and exclusive theatre offerings that help add financial and emotional value to the community. Learn more about how you can support Kids Up Front Toronto by donating your unused tickets towards this good cause. Experience the magic of this special event by checking out the photos below:
#Expert Perspective: The Journey of an Idea
Creativity is the lifeblood of innovation and cutting-edge business. During a Goizueta Effect Podcast, Jill Perry-Smith, senior associate dean of strategic initiatives and professor of Organization & Management, spoke about her decades of work at the intersection of creativity, innovation, and business. Creativity may come naturally for some, but everyone has the capacity to develop a creative skillset. When we think of creativity, we think of artistic expression. In the workplace, we think of breakthroughs in technology, but some of the most important creativity has to do with problem solving. In today’s flexible workspace, creativity is rewarded and encouraged. Each new idea takes a bumpy journey as it evolves, often cycling back and forth as novelty wears, obstacles arise, and risks become clear. Though circumstances may be different, each idea journey shares distinct phases. In the generation phase, innovators need inspiration. Sharing ideas with strangers rather than friends can be beneficial and can facilitate open-mindedness. During the elaboration phase, creators need support and encouragement to develop their ideas. Deeply analyzing the idea with one or two other people as opposed to sharing it with a larger collective is most valuable. While in the promotion phase, influence and reach are critical due to the risk associated with the idea and its lack of precedent. This is the time for resource gathering and professional networking. For the implementation phase, shared vision and trust are needed. At this point, a cohesive team with a shared north star can drive success. So how can a business facilitate workplace creativity? Perry-Smith recommends the following: Encourage creativity and innovation in your workplace. Make simple changes to the way your organization and teams operate, and always ask for more problem-solving alternatives. More alternatives lead to variety and creative solutions. Be collaboratively flexible and reduce conformity. Think of teams as a tool that is helpful when necessary. Always consider novel approaches. Don’t overlook the “creative nuggets” that arise from the idea journey. Listen to “The Journey of an Idea” podcast on Goizueta Effect. Looking to know more or connect with Jill Perry-Smith? Simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview and a time.
Expert Opinion: Real Fur? It’s Just Not in Vogue Anymore!
Back in 1994, animal rights organization PETA launched what would become one of the most iconic campaigns of the decade – and beyond. “I’d rather go naked than wear fur,” sparked a slew of headlines internationally and won support from celebrities such as Naomi Campbell, Gillian Anderson, Pamela Anderson, and others; many of whom agreed to pose nude or semi-naked in support of the anti-fur movement. Three decades on, in February 2020, PETA announced it was retiring the campaign, saying it was “no longer necessary” and citing the “demise of the trade.” Evidence suggests they are right. Since the early noughties, the use of fur among the world’s foremost luxury fashion houses has steadily declined. The production of mink and other pelts–an industry valued at $1.8 billion in the late 80s–has declined in America by around 45 percent in the last 20 years, according to the Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile, high-end fashion brands like Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, and Stella McCartney have pledged to go fur-free, with Fendi, Saint Laurent, and others set to follow suit in 2022. Fur has never been less fashionable. But can activism alone claim victory in the fight for more ethical fashion practices? Emory’s Giacomo Negro, professor of Organization & Management and professor of sociology (by courtesy), has released new research that suggests another major factor played a key role in the process that led to the abandonment of fur; and it’s none other than perennial style bible, Vogue. When Vogue Speaks, People Listen We know that the use of fur has been dropping off steadily on the supply side, on the part of producers and manufacturers themselves, in the last two decades. What we didn’t know was how much of this was down to pressure from PETA and other highly-visible activism. Or whether there might be other forces at play–industry intermediaries that have a gatekeeping function, such as the fashion press, exerting a more subtle but just as powerful influence on the producers of fur. - Giacomo Negro, professor of Organization & Management Hypothesizing this to be the case, Negro teamed up with INSEAD’s Frederic Godart and Greta Hsu of the University of California. First off, they had to determine the most important and global of fashion’s gatekeepers. “There are other publications, but Vogue is undoubtedly a significant force in fashion. The magazine has long occupied a unique position that is neither an insider nor an outsider in the sense that its editors are intimately connected to the top designers and decision-makers in the industry; simultaneously, it’s an external, independent publication with global reach and singularly powerful influence on fashion’s views and tastes.” If Vogue were to take a certain view of the use of fur in clothing over time, would fashion houses take note and follow suit, the researchers wondered? To test this, Negro et al put together a largescale dataset integrating data from more than 18 years of Vogue’s runway reports: features covering fashion shows in Paris, Milan, London, and New York between Spring 2000 and Fall 2018. The set included 670 fashion houses hosting at least two runway shows in this period, focusing on women’s prêt-à-porter designs. Next, the researchers ran an analysis across the texts published by Vogue after each show. They coded words relating to the moral and ethical dimensions of fur use. “When Vogue publishes a report, you don’t just get a review of the collections,” says Negro. “You also get the magazine’s opinion and appraisal of the clothing.” Fur Ethics and the Decline of a Centuries-Old Industry Parsing the attention to fur ethics expressed in these reports and looking at the frequency of the appearance of fur on runways over time, he and his colleagues found something striking: a clear, quantitative correlation between the magazine’s coverage of fur ethics and a drop off in its use by fashion houses, starting in 2011. “From around 2009, Vogue starts referencing the ethical and social concerns around fur and this continues through to 2014. In 2011, you begin to see a steady decline that follows in the use and appearance of fur on catwalks in the major fashion capitals of the world.” But could this simply be credited to an increase in activism at the same time? Unlikely, says Negro. He and his colleagues also looked at data on media coverage of anti-fur events in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. and failed to establish any meaningful correlation with Vogue’s editorial position over the same period. “What seems most plausible is that as an influential industry gatekeeper, Vogue was driving a change in views on fur ethics and fur use, alongside its own changing position on the ethics of fur,” says Negro. And it’s interesting to remember that fashion, like other creative industries, tends to operate in accordance with its own set of rules and its ‘artistic freedom.’ When activists targeted Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fall Show of 2009, he simply announced that he loved fur and would continue using it. However, when Vogue starts weighing in with an opinion, that’s when designers start following suit. - Giacomo Negro, professor of Organization & Management Which isn’t to say that activism did not have a critical role, he adds. In leading and reshaping the conversation around fur over the last three decades, PETA and others have brought the key issues to the attention of the world’s media like no other, says Godart: “Our findings also suggest that specific forms of anti-fur activism such as advertising campaigns, and legal maneuvers, became effective in influencing fashion houses’ decisions to move away from fur when amplified by Vogue’s references to moral concerns around fur use.” For any business or industry looking to navigate changing perceptions, tastes, or sentiments, gatekeeper entities–intermediaries like experts, media publications, and others–can provide useful signals that can help strategic decision-making, say Negro, Godart, and Hsu. Though in the age of social media, it may become that much more difficult to distinguish signals from noise. Proactive organizations might do well to identify and engage with social movements and gatekeepers ahead of change, they say, rather than bide their time until pressure forces their hand. Interested in learning more? Then let us help with your questions or coverage. Giacomo Negro is a professor of Organization & Management and Professor of Sociology at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. Simply click on his icon now to connect and arrange an interview.
Building Your Own Expert Network - How Expert Personas Help you Organize & Develop Your Talent Pool
As business continues to evolve at an unprecedented rate, companies need new ideas and strategies that help them rapidly transform to keep pace and grow. This explains the massive popularity that expert networks are having as companies look to connect with subject-matter experts with specialized sector and functional expertise who can accelerate their transformation efforts. Expert networks now represent a multi-billion dollar industry, helping companies in a variety of ways. From helping build primary research to assessing new market or acquisition opportunities to conducting due diligence for new technology purchases or competitive benchmarking, expert networks provide a valuable service. While many companies are increasing their use of traditional expert networks, there is also a trend toward organizing and developing internal talent by implementing a "knowledge management platform" or "employee skills marketplace." These can also be extended to engage broader audiences when experts are listed publicly as part of an Expert Center, Media Room, or Speakers Bureau. Depending on the scope and market visibility organizations wish to commit to in sharing their expertise, such programs can yield the following benefits: Improved access to shared knowledge throughout the organization Faster innovation through an improved discovery of key experts available for project opportunities Higher amount of cross-functional engagement between departments A more collaborative relationship with employees through better knowledge engagement and skills development Less reliance on outside consultants and traditional expert networks Improved brand reputation by engaging experts in thought leadership activities Increased media coverage and speaking engagements Improved business development opportunities by engaging experts earlier in the sales process Improved connection with the local community Additional ways to foster Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion throughout the organization What is an expert network? An expert network is a service that matches clients with experts who are willing to share their knowledge and advice via short conversations. These are usually in the form one hour long expert interviews conducted with the client. Expert networks such as GLG, AlphaSights, Guidepoint Global, Third Bridge, and Coleman Research help match the client's interest to specific experts in their private database of experts on call. They also look after logistics such as scheduling the expert interviews and have detailed processes for qualifying experts to ensure compliance with the exchange of information. And they handle time tracking and billing of interviews which are typically charged based on an hourly rate. They also handle the payment of fees to the experts following the interview. Building your own knowledge platform There is a growing trend towards organizing their expertise given the profound challenges organizations are facing. And these challenges didn’t just start when the pandemic hit. In a recent Deloitte survey, 63% of executives reported that work in their organizations is currently being performed in teams or projects outside of people’s core job descriptions, 81% say work is increasingly performed across functional boundaries, and 36% say work is increasingly being performed by workers outside of the organization who don’t have defined jobs in the organization at all. Yet fewer than half (42%) of respondents say their organization’s job descriptions do an “excellent job” of specifying the work that needs to be done in their positions. As work becomes far more fluid, packaging skills into rigid job descriptions leads to a lot of untapped human capital in organizations. It’s an issue that hasn’t gone unnoticed by leadership. Research shows that only 18% of executives strongly agree that their workforce is using their skills and capabilities to their fullest potential. 85% of HR and business executives say organizations should create more agile ways of organizing work to improve speed and swiftly adapt to market changes. These issues underscore the need to better organize and develop internal talent by implementing a "knowledge management platform" or "employee skills marketplace." This is for a variety of reasons. With vast amounts of acquired knowledge pooled across various departments and teams, it can be difficult for other employees to access this knowledge when it is outside their area of expertise - as the old saying goes, “people don't know what they don't know.” Organizing your expertise for external audiences also can provide huge benefits for building reputation, relationships, and revenues. How to position your experts as industry thought leaders More and more organizations are looking at employees who can advance their innovation efforts internally, often as part of a cross-functional team or special project. And there are also important revenue-generating activities, such as sharing research and perspectives through content generation (blogging, webinars, podcasting) or speaking (at internal events, industry conferences, or as an expert source for media interviews). Determining how to best identify and put experts to work isn't a simple process. That's because to do this right requires a more disciplined approach to assessing and developing the talent across your organization. One that goes beyond linear career paths and traditional job titles we assign to employees. It also requires a more progressive approach to diversity and experience. One that is not simply correlated to seniority or authority in an organization. Given the current state of the talent market, most organizations are also recognizing the importance of managing their talent, listening more to employees, and helping them achieve their goals - both professional and personal. And that extends to how best to tap into their skills that can benefit the organization both internally and externally. That's why we developed a talent framework that helps identify opportunities where subject-matter experts can best contribute as well as potential options for professional development. To make this process more intuitive, we have developed a model that outlines 4 "expert personas" that detail the various characteristics related to experts in an organization along with a potential development path. Level 1: Experts in the "Practitioner" persona group can offer their organizations a wide range of skills. Our research and in-field experience with companies focused on innovation reveals that organizations can realize significant gains by tapping into this broad pool of talent. To better engage practitioners, we have helped universities better engage their Ph.D. candidates who are approaching graduation to conduct research and writing content that promotes their work and institutional brand to prospective students or donors. This also extends to corporate innovation. A recent example of this was our collaboration with a Fortune 500 company in the CPG sector, where we completed the build of an internal expert network. One of the key challenges this organization faced was the inability to quickly engage with “practitioners” - subject-matter experts across the organization who could help with specific R&D and innovation projects. While this organization had legacy HR and intranet communication platforms, they had experienced a number of challenges engaging their researchers. To make things worse the pandemic forced many to work from home, creating the need for more opportunities to engage online. They needed the ability to conduct simple searches to find other researchers relevant to their work who could help them with projects. Our research/writing team started the process by taking an inventory of experts and then developed profiles for each researcher in collaboration with the company’s research/innovation team using the ExperFile SaaS software platform. With the unique data structure used to categorize this broader set of biographical information, we then enabled advanced search capabilities to build a private, SOC2 (security) compliant expert network which was easily integrated into their existing talent platforms. With thousands of researchers across the globe, they now have the ability to quickly search for experts on areas such as skills, topics, work experience, research publications, company/industry experience and IP/patents. It’s important to note that activating all this hidden expertise not only lays the groundwork for faster innovation. It also can reduce the fees associated with outside expert networks and consultants, maintains tighter internal control of proprietary research information and forges stronger collaborations between experts across the globe. Level 2: The "Ambassador" category represents experts with a more developed set of skills and a reputation both inside their organization and within their community of practice. Working with them to generate more exposure through internal speaking engagements and within their local community is a great way to create market visibility. For example, we have worked with a number of professional services firms to make experts at this level more visible in their local markets. Building reputation and generating new client opportunities with thought leadership activities such as blogging, webinars and speaking at local business events or on podcasts is a proven way to tap into this talent. These activities have allowed organizations we have worked with to bring in new clients and increase revenues across various practice areas. Ambassadors are also perfect for involvement in on-campus recruitment events where competition for talent is high. Particularly in fields such as engineering, law and accounting. One way to make these experts more approachable to a wider audience is by creating a speaker’s bureau. Remember that not all your experts will be comfortable speaking to the media, however, they can still meaningfully contribute as a keynote speaker or panelist at an event. Organizing your experts on key topics enables local event and conference organizers to find you more easily in Google search results and on your website. In addition to getting your experts on the podium, it’s a proven way to get your expert's guest appearances on webinars and podcasts. Given the growing importance of these channels, we recently formed partnerships with the leading marketplaces for webinars and podcasts - BrightTalk and Podchaser to help our clients promote their experts for speaking opportunities. Level 3: Experts in the "Authority" category have developed a strong reputation as an expert in their field, often speaking at academic or industry conferences. At this level, they have also developed a degree of proficiency in speaking as an expert source with the local or national media. They can be found speaking as a guest on podcasts to share their knowledge and are often active on social media. In higher education, these people are critical to helping media relations and other departments generate media coverage that is essential to building a reputation. We have worked with many organizations that effectively engage their Authorities by staying connected to their research and publications and collaboratively creating regular content with them to reach a broader audience. You will find regular opportunities to boost coverage with local and national media by utilizing this group of experts. We work with media teams to conduct Google Search (SEO) analysis to identify what topics their target audiences are searching for. This allows them to more strategically focus on key experts to promote. They are also focused on delivering more engaging content formats such as video interviews and Q&A to boost Google PageRank and audience engagement across their website. And they are working collaboratively with their faculty to post media advisories and a regular stream of content that contributes to higher rates of discovery by journalists looking for expert sources. Level 4: Experts in the "Evangelist" category are those go-to experts that you often see in the media as key spokespeople representing a certain topic. They are seen as notable authorities with deep domain expertise within their community of practice which has often been earned through heavy research and publications. Chances are they have also authored books that provide a path to speaking engagements at conferences and media interviews. These are also the people who have developed a regular audience through blogging or by hosting a podcast and have a well-established social media following. Ultimately, what separates this group from the others is the significantly broader market profile they have earned as a thought leader. These individuals have an intuitive sense of how to communicate complex topics in a relatable way that both educates and engages. That makes them particularly valuable to the organizations whose brands they represent. Given the degree of qualifications required to operate at this level, it’s to be expected that you will find far fewer “evangelist” category experts in any organization. Many are naturally found within the ranks of the executive team. These are the people who are comfortable in interviews, and most have extensive public speaking experience appearing on a large stage and on radio and television. At this level, organizations need to be far more strategic about how they utilize this talent pool to build a reputation and reach a wider audience. We have seen first-hand how strategic thought leadership programs can build a platform for these experts that can pay huge dividends. One healthcare system we have worked with recently forged a relationship with ABC News to feature one of their medical experts (a medical doctor) on a weekly segment related to important Covid-related health topics. Given the frequent appearances this expert has made on television, this was an earned media home run and a great way for this healthcare system to build visibility and trust within the community by providing accurate medical information. Their commitment to making their medical experts more discoverable and approachable online has also helped them promote their strengths in areas such as cardiology, neonatal, cancer, and genetic research. And the results are impressive. Over the past year, they have doubled their national media coverage and are currently outperforming much larger healthcare systems in their area. How to organize your experts Personas by their very nature are designed to provide a more standardized approach for planning using "clusters" of talent that are grouped against common characteristics. However, we're very aware that they cannot possibly capture all the nuances you will find within your organization when it comes to talent. But our experience helping leading organizations in knowledge-based industries to better manage thousands of experts shows that having a more methodical approach pays off. It optimizes the internal/external contributions and the development paths of experts to create win-win opportunities. but it also helps forge a stronger connection with employees who feel their organization is taking the development of their professional skills more seriously and more actively creating avenues for them to engage and contribute. With an understanding of these personas, we can then focus on another important consideration - where can we best engage our experts to more effectively tap into their skills inside and outside the organization? To help answer that question, we developed a "Talent Assessment Grid" (TAG) that helps you identify key areas where each of these personas can contribute. As a planning tool, it's meant to provide a more organized approach that helps you assess your bench strength and create a more tangible system for measuring progress over time in areas such as skills development or contributions to cross-functional innovation projects or outside industry consulting. Playing to the individual strengths these experts have while moving them out of their comfort zone to develop additional skills also yields additional marketing benefits. Contributing content; speaking at conferences or community events or to the media are proven ways to build market visibility, establish trust and generate revenues - and experts play a vital role in this process. A thriving network where knowledge is easily discoverable inside an organization and strategically shared outside in the community and beyond can make a huge difference in boosting innovation and culture. When properly promoted, these experts will also help you grow your reputation, relationships, and revenues. Although this process requires commitment, it positions you to be more agile and outperform your competition by ensuring you are optimizing every employee’s true potential and making them more discoverable both inside and outside the organization. How are you putting your expert talent to work? Do you have a process you use today for identifying and engaging your experts? We would like to hear from you. For more insights on how you can organize your experts online to support your internal knowledge management or promote them to a wider audience, visit us at https://expertfile.com/resources to learn more.
Professor of biotechnology appointed as new executive editor of prestigious journal
A biotechnology professor in the College of Health and Life Sciences at Aston University has been appointed as the new executive editor of the journal, BBA Biomembranes. Professor Roslyn Bill is sharing the role with Professor Burkhard Bechinger of the University of Strasbourg and will be jointly responsible for the editorial direction of the journal, including overseeing the peer review process of submissions. Roslyn's own area of research focuses on membrane protein structure, function and regulation. She is particularly interested in the regulation of aquaporin water channels in the brain and their development as drug targets to prevent life-threatening brain swelling. BBA Biomembranes is part of a family of 10 Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) journals, which are celebrating their 75th year of continuous publication in 2022. They were the first international journals to cover the joint fields of biochemistry and biophysics. Commenting on her appointment, Roslyn said: “I am delighted and honoured to join BBA Biomembranes as Executive Editor in BBA’s 75th anniversary year. “The journal has an international reputation for publishing high-quality articles in all aspects of membrane biology and biophysics. I look forward to working with the BBAMEM team to drive the journal’s continuing success.” Areas of research covered by BBA Biomembranes include: membrane structure, function and biomolecular organization, membrane proteins, receptors, channels and anchors, fluidity and composition, model membranes and liposomes, membrane surface studies and ligand interactions, transport studies and membrane dynamics. For more information on Professor Bill’s research, visit the research pages. For more information about studying in the School of Biosciences at Aston University, please visit our website.
Are You an Expert? Here’s How to Tell
Have you ever wondered whether or not you are an expert? When asked this question about what defines expertise, you will hear a variety of answers. Many will reference key requirements such as an expert must have extensive knowledge in their field. Others will see education, published work, or years of experience as key qualifiers. Yet there are so many other dimensions of expertise that contribute to how visible, influential and authoritative they are within their community of practice or with the general public. Who Qualifies as an Expert? I started looking closer at this topic for two reasons. The first is my personal work with experts. Having worked with thousands of them across a variety of sectors I've observed that many are driven to develop themselves professionally as an expert to meet a variety of objectives. Often these are focused on raising one's profile and reputation among peers or with the broader market to inform the public. Some see media coverage being an essential part of their strategy while others are more interested in developing a larger audience for their research or client work, by speaking at conferences or on podcasts. Others have a focus on improving their PageRank on search engines. All these activities can enable important objectives such as attracting new clients, research funding or talent. The second reason for this deeper dive into expertise is a need to better organize how we look at experts within organizations. My work with communications departments in knowledge-based sectors reveals that they are keen to learn more about how they can better engage their experts to build reputation, relationships and revenue. However, better engagement starts with a better understanding of what qualifies someone as an expert - what attributes can we objectively look at that define expertise? With that knowledge, we can first better appreciate the amount of work experts have put into establishing themselves in their field. Then organizations can nurture this expertise in a more collaborative way to accomplish shared goals. My observation is that with a little more insight, empathy, and alignment, both experts and their organizations can accomplish incredible things together. And there has never been a more important time for experts to "show their smarts." By definition, an expert is someone with comprehensive or authoritative knowledge in a particular area of study. While formal education and certifications are a starting point for expertise, many disciplines don’t have a set list of criteria to measure expertise against. It’s also important to recognize other dimensions of expertise that relate not just to the working proficiency in a field but also to the degree of influence and authority they have earned within their profession or community of practice. Because of this, expertise is often looked at as a person’s cumulative training, skills, research and experience. What are the Key Attributes of Expertise? In evaluating your accomplishments and the various ways you can contribute as an expert to both your community of practice and the public, here are some key questions that can help you assess how you are developing your expertise: Have you completed any formal education or gained relevant experience to achieve proficiency in your chosen field? Are you actively building knowledge in a specific discipline or practice area by providing your services as an expert? Are you generating unique insights through your research or fieldwork? Are you publishing your work to establish your reputation and reach a broader audience such as publications or books? Are you teaching in the classroom or educating and inspiring audiences through speaking at conferences? Do you demonstrate a commitment to impact your community of practice and help advance your field and generate an impact on society by informing the public? Have you established a reputation as a go-to source for well-informed, unique perspectives? Some Additional Tips to Help you Develop Your Expertise To further the discussion, I’ve also shared further thoughts about the meaning of “expertise”. As you think about developing your own personal skills, or if you are a communicator who is responsible for engaging with your organizations experts, here are a few additional principles to keep in mind. Experts Aren't Focused on Some“Magic Number” Related to Hours of Experience Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” (2008), outlined the now famous “10,000-hour rule” as the magic number of greatness for the time it takes to master a given field. As the rule goes, you could become a genuine expert in a field with approximately 10,000 hours of practice — roughly 3 hours a day, every day for a consecutive decade. But is that what it really takes to become an expert? But is that what it really takes to become an expert? Or did Gladwell oversimplify the concept of expertise? Some of his assumptions for “Outliers” (which became a major bestseller) relied on research from Dr. Anders Ericsson at Florida State University who made expertise the focus of his research career. Contrary to how Gladwell outlined it, Ericsson argued that the way a person practised mattered just as much, if not more, than the amount of time they committed to their discipline. It also depends on the field of research or practice one is involved in. Some disciplines take decades to achieve expertise and many experts will admit they are just scratching the surface of what they are studying, well after they have passed the 10,000-hour mark. That might be just the first stage of proficiency for some disciplines. Experts are Continuously Learning It’s difficult to claim proficiency as an expert if you are not staying current in your field. The best experts are constantly scouring new research and best practices. Dr. Anders Ericsson observed in his work that "deliberate practice" is an essential element of expertise. His reasoning was that one simply won’t progress as an expert unless they push their limits. Many experts aren’t satisfied unless they are going beyond their comfort zone, opening up new pathways of research, focusing on their weaknesses, and broadening their knowledge and skills through avenues such as peer review, speaking, and teaching. The deliberate practice occurred “at the edge of one’s comfort zone” and involved setting specific goals, focusing on technique, and obtaining immediate feedback from a teacher or mentor. Experts Apply their Knowledge to Share Unique Perspectives While many experts conduct research, simply reciting facts isn't enough. Those who can provide evidence-based perspectives, that objectively accommodate and adapt to new information will have more impact. Expertise is also about developing unique, informed perspectives that challenge the status quo, which can at times be controversial. Experts know that things change. But they don’t get caught up in every small detail in ways that prevent them from seeing the whole picture. They don't immediately rush toward new ideas. They consider historical perspectives and patterns learned from their research that provide more context for what's happening today. And these experts have the patience and wisdom to validate their perspectives with real evidence. That's why expert sources are so valuable for journalists when they research stories. The perspectives they offer are critical to countering the misinformation and uninformed opinions found on social media. Experts Connect with a Broader Audience Many experts are pushing past traditional communication formats, using more creative and visual ways to translate their research into a wider audience. We conducted research with academics in North America and in Europe who are trying to balance their research (seen in traditional peer-reviewed journals) with other work such as blogs, social media, podcasts and conferences such as TEDx - all with the goal to bring their work to a wider audience. While that's an essential part of public service, it pays dividends for the expert and the organization they represent. Experts Are Transparent More than ever, credible experts are in demand. The reason for this is simple. They inspire trust. And the overnight success some have seemingly achieved has come from decades of work in the trenches. They have a proven record that is on display and they make it easy to understand how they got there. They don't mask their credentials or their affiliations as they didn't take shortcuts. They understand that transparency is a critical part of being seen as credible. Experts Don’t Take “Fake It Till You Make It” Shortcuts The phrase “fake it till you make it,” is a personal development mantra that speaks to how one can imitate confidence, competence, and an optimistic mindset, and realize those qualities in real life. While this pop psychology construct can be helpful for inspiring personal development, it gets problematic when it becomes a strategy for garnering trust with a broader audience to establish some degree of authority - especially when this inexperience causes harm to others who may be influenced by what they see. When self-appointed experts take shortcuts, promoting themselves as authorities on social media without the requisite research or experience, this blurs the lines of expertise and erodes the public trust. Experts Are Generous The best experts are excited about the future of their field, and that translates to helping others become experts too. That's why many openly share their valuable time, through speaking, teaching and mentorship. In the end, they understand that these activities are essential to developing the scale and momentum necessary to tackle the important issues of the day. How Do You Show your Smarts? How do you personally score on this framework? Or if you are in a corporate communications or academic affairs role in an institution how does this help you better understand your experts so you can better develop your internal talent and build your organization’s reputation? As always we welcome your comments as we further refine this and other models related to expertise. Let us know what you think. Helpful Resources Download our Academic Experts and the Media (PDF) This report, based on detailed interviews with some of the most media-experienced academics across the UK and United States draws on their experiences to identify lessons they can share in encouraging other academics to follow in their path. Download the UK Report Here Download the US Report Here The Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing for Higher Education (PDF) Expertise Marketing is the next evolution of content marketing. Build value by mobilizing the hidden people, knowledge and content you already have at your fingertips. This win-win solution not only gives audiences better quality content, but it also lets higher ed organizations show off their smarts. Download Your Copy
Beyond the Media Pitch: How to Secure Better Coverage in Today’s Noisy Market
At our webinar earlier this month, we were joined by Wilf Dinnick, a communications and media professional with more than 25 years of global experience as a journalist working in national broadcast, digital and early-stage startups. Wilf has covered major stories for news networks including ABC News, CNN, CBC News and Al Jazeera and is a past winner of the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award. This vast experience on both sides of the camera has given him a keen understanding of what it takes to secure media coverage in today’s environment. Here are 3 key takeaways you missed: #1 The Odds of your Media Pitch Resulting in Coverage are Disappointingly Low - And the Trend is Not Good Wilf Dinnick discussed the sobering stats from a study of over 400,000 pitches conducted by Propel media that reveal that only ⅓ of emails sent to journalists are opened. But equally disappointing is the fact that only 3% of pitches result in coverage and this trend appears to be continuing. What Dinnick went on to explain is that “journalists see many pitches as an interruption as most fail to clearly demonstrate relevance to the stories they want to publish for their audience. #2 Journalists are Busier than Ever. So You Need to Connect with Them In Places they are Going for Story Ideas and Expert Sources Dinnick also shared some important data that reveals how journalists are spending their time. Where they get their story ideas and how they search for experts. This helps explain the diminishing rate of return on traditional media pitches. For instance, Twitter remains dominant as a platform used by journalists to quickly discover trending stories. So making your story ideas more discoverable with appropriate hashtags on social is an important way to promote your experts in the flow of the conversation as a story is breaking or emerging. Wilf also highlighted the importance of dialling into the daily news cycle by looking in the same areas journalists are going for their ideas. The latest research reveals that journalists find newspapers and magazines most valuable. Why? Sites such as the Washington Post, CNN, BBC, New York Times and Axios are well funded and resourced to develop the longer format, well-researched stories. They often focus on exclusive stories and break important news that is echoed through other outlets. And they set the pace of the news cycle as it echos through regional news outlets where journalists look to localize the story for their audiences. Closely monitoring these sites allows you to be in touch with the key stories and offer clear value to journalists, by offering your experts who can help explain key developments in the context of their research or localize the story for a regional audience. #3 There are Ways to Beat the Odds and Improve your Media Coverage by Following Proven Best Practices When Pitching Despite the poor odds when pitching journalists, there is hope for media relations and PR pros. Dinnick unpacked a number of important best practices that can substantially improve your odds. Drawing on research from a number of media organizations that track journalist engagement, he laid out a number of guidelines that you should be following when putting together your media pitches. Some of these included: Timing Your Pitch Journalists are more receptive to pitches early in the day between the hours of 5am and 11am. This is when the stories are breaking and work is being assigned - and journalists are looking for expert sources. Also, there is evidence that pitching earlier in the week on a Monday or Tuesday yields better results. Keeping it Brief The research Dinnick presented on the profound changes that have been happening in Newsrooms and the overload that journalists are experiencing underscores the importance of being to the point with journalists. That begins with understanding how journalists are spending their day - glued to mobile devices. “This impacts how you need to write subject lines that generate curiosity and fit into mobile devices, given the limited set of characters they can display,” said Dinnick. He also shared stressed research that shows the body copy of a pitch should be under 200 words. Mind the Links Loading a journalist up with lots of links to research, videos, and media coverage in the body copy of your pitch may seem like a good idea to help them evaluative a story idea But this is a no-no. It creates unnecessary clutter and detracts from the key messages you want them to focus on. Instead, journalists report they want as few links as possible. Wilf Dinnick recommends 1-2 links max. It’s important to note that this will present a challenge if you don’t have your content organized into comprehensive expert profiles which include important information that journalists want to see such as past media and speaking appearances, research, publications, education/credentials, affiliations etc. There was a lot to take away from this session which was jam-packed with research and best practices for media relations and PR pros. However, perhaps the most important lesson was how to ”flip” the traditional approach to pitching 180 degrees - starting the pitch process by first developing “owned” content that gets published to your website. As Wilf Dinnick stated, “you have to think like a journalist” as you approach the story ideas you want to pitch. Start with owned content and publish stories that focus on your experts which clearly show them to be relevant and credible while making their work more engaging and human through visual media helps “set the table for the journalist.” If it’s well structured and engaging, it gives journalists the added context they need to immediately understand how your pitch is relatable to their audience. What’s most powerful about this approach is that it helps media relations and PR pros avoid the “earned media trap.” Instead of being overly focused on coverage, we can think more strategically about the value we bring to the organization as storytellers to create quality “owned” content that boosts search engine (SEO) authority and PageRank as well as site engagement with visitors to boost reputation, relationships and revenues. It was clear from the many examples shared by healthcare organizations, universities and associations that this approach is where the real gains can be made. And how media relations and PR pros can show more tangible value to their organizations. Stay tuned for more on this topic of owned content and how it helps improve your media coverage as we explore this in our next post. To see the entire webinar, make sure to sign up for BrightTalk to watch the full webinar here.