As the release date of the BLS’ “The Employment Situation – April 2013” neared, most economists remained encouraged, in spite of March’s initally disappointing employment figures, as only 88,000 new jobs were generated.

Prior to the release of the BLS’ latest jobs report, some financial experts predicted 140,000 jobs would be created in April, while others were even more positive, anticipating a rise in employment of 150,000.

Despite their optimism, economists’ projections were actually lower than the BLS’ published results, as 165,000 jobs were added to the national economy last month. Long-term unemployment decreased to 4.4 million, a decline of 258,000, when compared to March’s data. Since April 2012, the total number of long-term unemployed has decelerated by 687,000.

Even though the national underemployment rate rose to 13.9 percent and the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased to 34.4 hours, April’s jobs report was quite positive for the most part. With total employment increasing by 293,000, and total unemployment declining by 83,000, the national jobless rate dropped to 7.5 percent, the lowest rate recorded since December 2008.

Recent jobs revisions were also very encouraging, as February’s total job creation rose from 268,000 to 332,000, the highest monthly total since May 2010. And March’s previously disappointing figures improved, rising to 138,000. As a result of these revisions, 208,000 new jobs have been generated per month, on average, since November 2012.

In fact, new jobs have now been added to the national economy every month since March 2010. A majority of these positions have been generated by the private sector.

“The economy has now added private sector jobs every month for 38 straight months, and a total of 6.8 million jobs have been added over that period,” said Alan Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. “Over 800,000 private sector jobs have been added over the last four months.”

Although we are still working toward full recovery, most of the results of April’s jobs report indicate that steady economic progress is occurring. Since January, unemployment has decreased by 673,000, while nonfarm payroll employment has risen by 169,000 per month, on average, since April 2012. In addition, average hourly earnings continued to progress in April, rising to $23.87, the sixth consecutive month of increases.

Know why you’re meeting, with whom, and how
Let’s face it, most meetings really are necessary, but occasionally there are times when a meeting really isn’t required. So, the first step is determining if a meeting is truly needed and what you plan to accomplish as a result. Once you have clear goals, identify the key individuals who must be invited and decide if what you need to accomplish needs to be done face to face or can be accomplished via conference call. Allowing attendees to call in from remote locations — even from their office down the hall — makes it more convenient for everyone.

Set an agenda. And stick to it.
Every meeting has a purpose — and if it doesn’t, there’s no point in meeting — so make sure that all of the attendees are on the same page before the meeting begins. Create an agenda in advance and circulate it amongst key players to generate feedback and ensure that everyone knows why you’re meeting and what you hope to accomplish. Send updated agendas prior to the meeting if there have been any changes, and provide additional copies at the meeting in case people arrive without theirs.

Remember, you want the meeting to be as productive as possible, so use the agenda as your guide — stay on the topics you’ve identified and insist that everyone else does, too. If issues arise that require further discussion but are not directly related to the topic you’re meeting about, suggest having a conversation at a later time.

Make it unplugged
You won’t accomplish much if half the people at the conference table are checking their iPhones while the others are fielding calls on their cell phone. So, ask attendees to leave their laptops and cell phones out of the meeting, and schedule breaks at strategic intervals during longer meetings so they can check their messages. And, of course, if you’re asking others to give up their gadgets while you meet, be sure to do the same.

Watch the clock
Start your meeting on time — even if all of the attendees haven’t arrived. Be sure to stay on task with discussions and keep small talk to a minimum. Don’t feel bad about cutting people off if their comments go on too long — respectfully thank them for their input and let them know it’s time to move on. If the meeting is a long one, schedule breaks when appropriate. And remember, starting on time means ending on time. Everyone will appreciate that.

Noteworthy follow up
Great meetings promote a healthy discussion level — and result in decisions. So include an administrative assistant to take notes or ask one of the attendees to keep a record of the conversation and any decisions reached. These will come in handy after the meeting, as details can be lost when a lot of ground
is covered.

Afterward, follow up with a short email thanking everyone for their participation, answering any questions or providing any additional information as promised during the meeting. This is also a great time to send along the notes from the meeting to ensure that everyone is clear on what was decided and why.

Consistency is key
Once you develop a reputation for holding productive, efficient meetings, people will come to expect that same level of professionalism, so try to be consistent. As a result, you may notice that people are more energized when they’re attending your meetings. Since very few of us enjoy feeling like our time is being wasted, knowing that we’re attending a meeting that will actually lead to results makes us more likely to attend - and participate at a higher level. You may even notice others in your company employing some of your tactics to improve their own meetings.

Tip 2: Know Your Budget
Once you have your goals outlined, consider how much it will cost. Create a budget outlining all potential items that you need to make the event a success. This includes promotional giveaways, video production, hotel accommodations, food & beverage, audiovisual, photographers, decor, entertainment, signage, etc. Use pricing from the local area (not the year before) if this is an annual meeting or event.

Tip 3: Location and Timing
Your target audience will determine where and when you want to hold your event. Whether they are international or domestic attendees, you want to hold your event in a city that has easy in/out airport access. You also want to think about timing.  Avoid holding an event during holidays (unless it’s a holiday party) or in cities that are hosting a city-wide event during your potential dates.

Tip 4: Invitation and Registration
The invitation and registration process is one of the most important aspects of the entire planning process. You want to provide your attendees enough time to respond and secure personal arrangements, if time away from home is required. If travel is involved, five weeks prior to a conference is a good rule of thumb to ensure you are able to secure optimal pricing on flights.  Otherwise, local events only require three weeks advance notice. Make sure your registration site is easy to understand and captures any information you require to make your event a success. For example, if you are giving out t-shirts, capture attendee sizes or remember to capture special dietary requests.

Tip 5: Site Inspection
Visit your event location prior so that you can envision what your guests will experience. Walk a mile in your attendees shoes—where should you place signage to avoid confusion, do your food function spaces provide the ambiance you want, or do you need to consider additional decor to dress up a function?

For more insight into the marketing, creative and communications industry, contact your local Paladin team!

Social media now acts as any company’s complaint department – but with the ability to reach beyond the four walls of the building and end up on national news. When a United Airlines flight attendant makes you gate check your prized guitar, and breaks it, you can take to YouTube and make a music video of your brokenhearted rage and watch as the United stock falls by ten percent because of it, amounting to a loss of $180 million. When Pretzel Crisps offends you with their “You can never be too thin” campaign, you can blog your thoughts on the irresponsibility of their motto and bring the ad to a halt. When Ann Taylor LOFT posts to their Facebook pictures of a 5’10” model in a pair of cargo pants, and you demand to see them on a “real” body, sit back and enjoy the fashion show of women who work in varying departments of LOFT’s corporate office… All of which are wearing the pants you weren’t sure would look as good on your 5’2” frame, but that you now know will. Social media has power because it demands transparency - and more and more companies are taking note of that, and running with it (or drowning from it).

Get your head out of the sand

According to Forbes, companies can be their own worst enemies: an earlier RightNow study found that of those surveyed, 82% had stopped doing business with a company because of poor customer experience. Social media, and how companies respond to complaints, matters.

New avenues for positive PR

Ignoring negative feedback can severely harm your brand image, but social media can also have the opposite effect, if inspired by a good experience. Reacting in a positive way can create your best brand Evangelists. MINI Cooper, for example, accidently spammed some of their customers with over a hundred emails in one week. Before any complaints had a chance to surface, MINI sent a care package including: chocolate roses, Duck tape, and, of course, Spam. With a clever note and a sincere apology, MINI boosted their positive image without spending millions of dollars on an advertisement.

Go the extra mile

In Jacksonville, Florida, a deployed soldier wanted to have a pizza delivered to his wife from her favorite restaurant on her birthday. They don’t deliver. But this time, they definitely delivered. Mellow Mushroom went the extra mile – they baked the soldier’s wife a heart-shaped pizza and, on their way to deliver the pie, they also picked up flowers and a few balloons. And they didn’t charge the soldier a dime. Facebook helped spread the word of this sweet deed and before long Good Morning America picked up the story. Not bad publicity for a local pizza shop, eh?

With social media acting as the megaphone of the disgruntled customer, or the loudspeaker of the happy patron, it’s more important than ever to make sure someone is monitoring and engaging this medium.

In the Apple App Store alone there are over 775,000 apps. With new mobile applications being released every day, it’s not easy to find the ones you need among the rest. Luckily for you, we’ve done some digging and found the best ones for the Creative, Marketing, and Communications industries.

1. Voxer - This “push to talk” application allows users to instantly send voice communications, text and photo messages to people or groups in real-time. With a “Voxer for Business” specialization, this app could be beneficial for business and internal purposes.
2. Chirp - Chirp allows you to create a… wait for it… “chirp.” A chirp is basically an audible QR code that allows other people who have the app receive the link/picture/note that your sending via the noise. Chirp is a free application for iPhones that could be really helpful when trying to transmit information to a crowd during a large presentation or event.
3. Postagram - Turn images from your Instagram account into real-life postcards. This is a cool social media integration that’s easy to use. People are beginning to use this instead of sending traditional save-the-dates and invitations.
4. Evernote - Just like its elephant logo suggests, Evernote never forgets anything! Evernote makes it simple to remember everything from your everyday life using your computer, phone, tablet and the web.
5. Guide - This new technology, which aims to make getting the news easier than ever, takes the content from your favorite websites and creates a passive medium for stories by turning them into video and audio reports. In a nutshell, it could take all your favorite content from this blog post… and it could make a digital puppy dog on a screen speak the entire thing. So instead of browsing and reading this blog the first thing in the morning when you get to your desk, you could watch/listen to a digital avatar read it aloud for you while you’re brushing your teeth. Rad.