Staffing News: How to Build a Team When the Game Keeps Changing
by Pilot PMR
“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”
When it comes to team building, Babe Ruth’s words ring eternal. The question for communicators today is what it takes to win. The old PR model has been disrupted. The playing field has changed. The range of skills and expertise, the degree of creativity and technical and strategic talent, the variety of disciplines in play—all make building the right team more challenging and exciting than ever.
It’s a good thing we’ve been so focused on agency growth and development over the last three years. Pilot PMR continues to build the most highly-diverse and collaborative team of communicators and creative and technical professionals in our industry. These individuals include public relations specialists, digital and brand strategists, and journalists, editors, videographers, producers, directors, web developers and designers.
In April 2013, James Beardmore, owner and operator of web design studio BitFoundry, joined us as User Experience Director. His arrival is an important one as we continue to grow and evolve as a creative communications agency backed by cutting-edge technical expertise. Since arriving, James has overseen the design and implementation of various digital projects, including, most recently, the launch of an industry-leading financial literacy blog aimed at young adults.
Lucy Leiderman, the co-founder of Canto Labs, a B2B web development and strategy co-operative, joined us last summer as a Senior Consultant. Lucy brings a wealth of experience in content marketing, SEO, research and analysis, digital strategy and multi-channel outreach. Lucy’s contribution to Pilot has been critical as we work with clients to extend their influence, online and off.
In May, Anne-Marie Denault joined us as Research Analyst. Anne-Marie is a professional researcher and video producer who has conducted research in health communications and environmental studies. She has also worked on television campaigns, television series, and short films.
More recently, Alex Guibord, Consultant, joined us as a community manager after producing digital content and managing social media for Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada.
Peter Saltsman also joined us as a Consultant. Peter was Associate Editor at Toronto Life Magazine, where he edited the magazine’s Navigator section. His writing has appeared in the National Post, Sharp, and Gear Patrol. Peter’s knowledge of traditional and online media, his keen editorial eye, and his ability to produce highly compelling stories make him a valuable strategic addition to our team.
And Robert Furtado has been promoted to Account Director. Robert continues to lead accounts that call on his sound judgement as a strategic communicator and expertise as a writer and content strategist. His latest project is CommerceLab, a new online resource helping Canadian businesses commercialize homegrown digital research and technology, where he is responsible for overall strategy and managing a diverse team of content creators.
Other additions to the team include Laura Creedon as Account Director, and more recent hires Katy James, Consultant, and Leah Fraser, Account Coordinator.
You could say we’re just warming up. In 2014, we look forward to growing the roster. Already, we think it’s the best in the industry—at least when it comes to communications. Our baseball skills are as yet untested. But we’ll work on them. Babe would want it that way.