I know many of FleishmanHillard’s clients have innovative programs to address and enhance the changing nature of the workplace. This is a top-of-mind topic that provides a multitude of opportunities for forward-thinking companies to join the discussion in Tier 1 media.

As just one example, Reuters sponsored a panel – The Future of Work: An Exploration of the Transforming World of Work – just before the holidays that underscored the media’s interest in what employment will look like in the next decade. Moderated by editor Lauren Young, the panel included experts from top companies and professional services firms who took a deep dive into the subject.

Here are some key takeaways:

• The rise of “new collar” jobs. No longer white or blue, new collar jobs are all about the skills of a worker. Companies are looking to match employees to jobs that best fit their skills.
• The half-life of job skills is getting shorter. The time that a job is in demand before it’s “innovated away” is getting exponentially shorter and companies and employees must adjust. Spoiler alert: Tech and automation in the workplace will impact not just some of our jobs, but all of our jobs.
• Companies must help employees reinvent themselves. This should not be a random or ad hoc process – companies should build systems and programs to help employees transform and reinvent themselves on an ongoing basis.
• Tech is not replacing jobs, it’s enhancing jobs. Tech may drive the process, but forward-thinking companies understand that change is supported by people. People and technological innovation should work hand-in-hand and not be viewed as a zero-sum game.
• Many tech jobs don’t require years of experience. Certain jobs in AI, data and coding, for example, don’t require a lot of experience or special degrees. Many can be learned in an apprenticeship program with a person going from an out-of-date job to a new and more relevant position.
• Future of work literacy. What today’s jobs require in terms of skills and experience is something that needs constant and close attention. It’s something companies must address for their own good and for the good of their employees.

Keeping employees engaged and aligned during transformation

It’s also worth noting that all of these tech advances with people impacts are a result of the rapid business transformation happening across every industry and sector – and that the pace and breadth of change is only going to increase.

The companies that will successfully navigate their transformations are those that will take time to listen to employees about what they need and want from their employee experience, and then go the extra mile to connect with them personally, especially as AI plays more prominently in our daily lives.

Younger millennials and Gen Z workers, in particular, will continue to crave more face-to-face interaction. That means communications training for managers will be more important, including guidance on how to communicate via video. And the most effective leaders will know how to lean into their soft skills – the things that AI can’t replace just yet, such as empathy and persuasion – which may require closer working relationships with HR.

Sheila Rose is a Senior Vice President and Partner in the New York office specializing in corporate and financial media relations.

Yesterday Commissioner Scott Gottlieb was to take the podium to address attendees at the J.P. Morgan 36^th Annual Healthcare Conference being held in San Francisco.  Unfortunately, due to the current government funding impasse, he did not make it. But had he been there, it is fair to say that he would have had a lot to say. In the past one and a half years since he became commissioner FDA has seen many “firsts”- the first “smart pill” that can track patient adherence, the first time that the immune system has been harassed to fight cancer, the first prescription mobile app, to name only a few. Also in the course of the past year, FDA set new records in approving not only new molecular entities but also generic drugs.

It is evident that Dr. Gottlieb’s tenure at FDA has represented substantial change – not only in what the agency is doing, but in the way it is doing it. Implementation of the 21^st Century Cures Act coupled with a long-standing conviction in modernization approaches that could speed up new approvals, support innovation and, as he has often said, do so without compromising the agency’s gold standard for safety.

But it is another significant change at FDA –the way it communicates agency milestones and policy direction – that might be overlooked. With past FDA Commissioners, it was a relative rarity to issue special statements to the public. The office of the Commissioner had a public face only insofar as it could be perceived from public testimony before Congress or from speeches like the one he is delivering to the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. That is no longer the case.

In 2017, FDA issued a total of 164 press releases, which was more than the year before when 122 were issued. This year, FDA dwarfed that number by issuing 289 press releases, or on average 24 a month. Moreover, the primary driver of the increase came from the Commissioner himself. Of the 2018 releases by FDA, nearly 44 percent were made up of Special Statements from the Commissioner – or about 2 such statements on average a week. Not only have agency communications become more frequent, they are more personalized and represent a seismic shift in style and content.

The topics of those special statement not only mark milestones for the agency – special new approvals, e.g., but they also signal developing policy along a wide spectrum. He stakes out direction. Perhaps no other area saw more comment from him than did that of matters related to the opioid epidemic. He has also made an effort to signal his thinking for the e-cigarette industry. In short, when there is an emerging policy matter that is important, he is not waiting for the opportunity to provide testimony or outline his thinking in a speech, nor through the issuance of warning letters –  he is doing it in real time. That represents a big change for FDA and for the way the industries it regulates to understand policy development within the agency.

It is not only in his liberal use of special statements, but also his use of social media. Twitter, which the agency was slow to embrace, is now liberally used by various offices in the agency and the Twitter feed of the Commissioner has been one of the primary means for getting information about how FDA is operating during the current government shutdown. Since December 21, he has issued dozens of tweets, often as a string, to provide updates and clarify what the agency will be doing and what it will not.

The change in communications represents more than a counting game. It provides a real insight as to where policy is headed, but also with reasoning as to why it is going there. Up until these statements, FDA delivered facts. Now the Commissioner adds reasoning and thinking to the mix.

Finally, FDA has become not only a more robust playing field in terms of communications, but has become a more “real-time” regulatory body.  The agency has joined the ranks coming to the realization that providing information and reasoning to the industries it regulates actually benefits that oversight, and does not hinder it. That does not mean that Dr. Gottlieb’s words from the podium at this conference are not worth listening to – he is also a prolific speaker – but it does mean that when we hear those words, if we have been listening between the speeches, we will have a good idea of the directions in which we are going. Everyone wins.

While I am passionate about accountability and expectation setting, I haven’t always understood them.  Once, when I was young, I was supposed to be watching my brother, but instead, I was on the phone for an hour talking to my friends (the days when you would pull the cord as long as it would go and find a closet or room to talk in privately). My brother was busy during that hour. He found a snake and released it into the house. For my punishment, I had to do his chores for a week and was grounded. And, we never found the snake… #accountabilityfail.

During my professional career, I was lucky to be mentored by a few people who helped me bridge my youthful understanding of accountability and expectation setting into the workplace. When you work and serve clients and customers in a highly matrixed and global environment, trust matters. And to build and maintain trust, I argue you must:

• Set clear expectations to your key stakeholders on who you are, what you will deliver and what your values are
• Hold yourself accountable to the expectations you set

FleishmanHillard TRUE Global Intelligence, the global strategy and intelligence practice I lead, surveyed 2,000 engaged U.S. and U.K. consumers in July 2018 for our #authenticinsights survey and we found that lack of face-to-face accountability is arguably the most important expectation on which a company needs to take a stand: 70% of U.S. consumers think a lack of face-to-face accountability is extremely or very important as a cultural issue. Over half of those expect companies to take a stand on accountability. Moreover, the most important actions a company can take to improve consumer opinions of it are:

• Being committed to doing the right thing (77%)
  • More important to females and the silent generation (73+ years old)
• Contributing to society to make a positive impact on the community (74%)
• Agreeing to be held accountable for behaving, and acting in support of its position on social issues (71%)

U.S. consumers expect the companies that they buy products and services from to take a stand on many issues that are important to them. Perhaps it is time for another “P” in the marketing mix: “position” on issues. Businesses need to understand how those hot-button issues intersect with their corporate values and demonstrate accountability according to those values by addressing them proactively and authentically.

If you don’t hold yourself accountable, your key stakeholders surely will.

The annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco starts today. More casually known as “JPM,” it is the year’s must-attend event of the healthcare world.

Billions of dollars are at stake. At JPM, leaders of healthcare companies and organizations stand in front of investors to persuade and demonstrate why they should risk capital. Say the right thing at the right time to the right people, and your company’s fortunes could change.

The competition is high and the noise is loud. It’s not easy to get in front of the “right people” when your competitors do, too. In addition, journalists are a crucial conduit to reach far beyond conference halls and meeting rooms. With so much information – hundreds of companies will flood communication channels with information – it’s hard to know what really matters.

Lastly, while it’s sometimes forgotten, what happens at JPM has a real impact on anyone who depends on a medicine to stay healthy, a hospital to perform a surgery, or a chemist or biologist who wants to invent a therapy that will save someone’s life.

Here’s what we’ll be watching, and stay tuned for more.

The news cycle for JPM already started. How long will it last, and will early announcements drown out other companies’ news?

On Thursday, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced it would acquire Celgene in a cash and stock transaction with an equity value of approximately $74 billion. According to the trade publication BioWorld, if the acquisition is completed, it would be the largest M&A deal in biopharma history.

For JPM attendees, it’s almost a yearly tradition to hope for a large M&A announcement but leave disappointed. Perhaps this deal, judging by the amount of media attention it’s already received, bucks the trend. But what will “Part 2” of the story beat JPM, and can other companies breakthrough? Celgene is historically the first company to present at JPM, and this year is no different. You can bet their presentation on Monday at 7:30 a.m. PT will be standing-room only.

The FDA can’t continue its record-setting pace if it isn’t open for business.

The FDA was extremely productive last year, approving 59 new molecular entities, an all-time high for the agency. New drug approvals make or break a company’s business. But with the government experiencing a partial shutdown, the FDA, and the companies who depend on it, is at a distinct disadvantage.

Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who has (as well-documented by my colleague Mark Senak) been an excellent, even prolific, communicator, hasn’t let the shutdown stop him. He’s used Twitter extensively over the last week to issue “guidance by tweet.” But even he cannot prevent some activities from grinding to a halt. Most importantly, a government shutdown means the FDA cannot accept any regulatory submissions for new drugs, biologics or medical devices that require a fee payment – unless the required fee was paid before Dec. 22 when the last continuing resolution expired.

Who can grab our attention?

As professional communicators, we’re always looking for who can execute what we feel is a vitally important skill. We’ve seen plenty of smart, capable executives get in front of a packed room that may as well have been empty. Minutes in, attendees are scrolling through their phones or checking their laptops. For many CEOs, their JPM presentation is the most important one they’ll make in 2019. Who will take full advantage? Who will grab our attention and not be afraid to take a risk by using video, interactive images or other engaging tools? And who will also be deft enough to use social media to make sure the company is visible beyond the walls of the conference room?

FleishmanHillard will be on the ground in San Francisco this week. As communicators, we’ll be paying close attention to how companies communicate and what captures widespread attention. Our healthcare team will be sharing a daily report highlighting announcements and conversations at the conference. If you’d like to receive the updates, send an email to [email protected].