ADVOCACY

Acknowledged amongst Asia’s Power Women leaders 2023 Published author of the book ‘Little Joys of Communications’ In Dec 2020, she turned into a published author with her maiden book ‘Little Joys of Communications’ earning rave reviews. This is a mini gospel for aspiring communicators and publicists where she has talked about various aspects of Communications & PR. Ritu has created and conducted workshops and masterclasses on topics like Work Ethics, Leadership Skills, Integrity as a vital tool for publicists, D&I, and Safe professional Interactions. She is a passionate Communicator/Publicist who likes to call herself a constant learner. Integrated communications, External Communications, Internal Communications, Public Relations, Media Engagement & Management, Media Training, Strategic Communication, Crisis Communication, Branding communication, Social media, Industry Engagement, Press Releases, Content writing, Articles/ Blogs, Press Conferences, Corporate Affairs, Advocacy, Workshops on Soft skills in Corporate. Let’s Get Inspired In Conversation with Ritu Bararia – Preeti Juneja Q. Talking of gender mainstreaming, where women are empowered in the true sense, given the decision-making powers, and there is greater gender equality, what changes or improvements would you suggest as National President- WICCI Public Relations & Digital Marketing Council? First and foremost, I am certain many of my counterparts would agree that Public Relations is quite a women-centric profession where you will find women leading this particular profile in various organisations. However, this fact alone does not necessarily mean true women empowerment. Disparities do exist. As the National President- WICCI Public Relations & Digital Marketing Council, my key emphasis in this regard would be upon salary parity amongst genders, active involvement of women colleagues in decision making, and to take them seriously when they want to make a ‘comeback’ to work after a hiatus considering that their credibility does not go away with a few years of sabbatical. Q. To promote mentorship and support for other women in the workplace, how can WICCI help? WICCI can tie up with organisations/ institutions where the council members can go and mentor women about leadership skills, about gender sensitivities, Diversity & Inclusion and of course the PR profession at large. The main idea would be to motivate women to achieve success through various means. Q. Transitioning from being an executor to a leader in the communications field demands specific skills and education. What guidance would you offer young women aspiring to assume leadership roles? To become a successful leader in your space, firstly you need to be well versed with the industry that you are a part of so much so that you become the ‘go to’ person for all stakeholders. That I feel, is constant education in itself. You must be a team player, a people person, someone who believes in an open-door policy. Be confident, trustworthy and adaptable. Integrity, I think is very important. Critical thinking and problem-solving are vital too. Perseverance, Empathy and Mindfulness are great characteristics of a leader. Q. Can you share a leadership experience that significantly impacted you? I would like to share my stint at Bird Group where I was spearheading Marketing Communications. The ED (Late) Ankur Bhatia’s leadership style impressed me significantly. He was a great visionary, a go-getter, extremely sharp in his thinking and extremely well-versed in the industry. Most importantly, he was a people person, always available for his staff, acknowledged people’s loyalty in his own way, and was a great problem solver. He gave a free hand to the people he trusted. And the best thing, he balanced his work life and family life very efficiently which is rare for someone at his level. Q. What was the greatest communication challenge for you as a spokesperson of Kingfisher Airlines and/ or The Park Hotels? The communication between the media and me as a spokesperson was very open and mutual. I had gained the reputation of being the ‘go-to’ person for media for not just my organisation-related information but for industry-related information. Similarly, I used to receive a lot of pertinent information from the media as well. I enjoyed a great camaraderie with my media colleagues as I made myself available to them and went the extra mile to provide them with the correct information. To be honest, I did not face any communication challenges as a spokesperson. Q. If strategic communications as a way to achieve business goals is the key to enhancing brand presence and reputation, then why is it that corporate communications is mostly a one-man army or an outsourced wing? If you were at the helm of the organization, how would you conceptualize its structure? You are right in saying it’s mostly a one-man army with the majority of work being outsourced to PR firms as the extended arm of an organisation. However, pardon me for quoting the instance of Bird Group yet again, I had a well-structured in-house team under me (besides the PR firm) comprising a content writer, marketing specialist, event specialist, internal comms specialist, graphic designers, web designers and a coordinator for my department with various stakeholders. I would pretty much propose this structure to be followed by an organisation. Rapid-Fire: Chief Reputation Officer (CRO) is a need or a fad? Need What is the career progression for a corporate communications role? MD/ CEO. Is public relations education in India different from institutes abroad? Yes to an extent. Would you recommend a big brand or a small agency to manage public relations for a startup? Small agency. Can WICCI become the next BNI for India? Not really, I think both the platforms are quite different in approach. would it be? I’ll be a very good animator.   One-Liners: Can WICCI become the next BNI for India? Not really, I think both the platforms are quite different in approach. One newspaper that I trust the most: Mint. Online Reputation requires constant: Monitoring. Public relations is: Creating publicity and awareness about an organisation/ brand/ individual. About Author Ritu Bararia Ritu Bararia, National President – WICCI Public Relations & Digital Marketing Council, is a veteran Marketing and Corporate