New Irish Website Offers Anonymous Reporting For Whistle Blowers

 

Ethicspro is a recently launched website which facilitates reporting by company personnel into inappropriate behaviours or actions of others within an affiliated organisation. While predominantly aimed at improving internal governance in organisations, the company works with business in promoting best practice and sound business reputation.

A unique feature of the venture is that it allows for anonymous whistle-blowing while outwardly demonstrating best practice policy and procedure in an organisation. It serves to manage a company's governance and ethical standards in a strictly confidential manner.

 

On sign-up a company is given unique login which is then communicated to employees, often through an organisation's specific "ethical reporting at work policy" or through HR documents and contracts. On logging an incident the 'reporter' can track progress of the report by a unique case number assigned and known to them only. As the service prioritises confidentiality and discretion, neither names or emails address are required by the reporter. The reported incident is then sent securely by EthicsPro to the Company's management who then decide how to proceed or follow up.

Graham Burke is managing director of Ethicspro, and is principal of Burke & Associates, a firm of registered auditors, and also a leading forensic accounting firm in with offices in Galway & Longford. Burke explains "With many businesses availing of forensic accounting services I saw the need for a forum whereby people could report professional unethical matters without the fear of intimidation or penalty. Many companies do not take account of the HR or legal matters which can potentially arise in a situation where there has been a fraud against a company, albeit that the fraud is perceived beyond a reasonable doubt".

In its first year of business Ethicspro hopes to build a strong foundation of both national and international clients who value the benefits of using internal resources to build transparency throughout an organisation. The fundamental concept of Ethicspro is to maintain awareness in organisations, that wastage, fraud bribery or corruption all have an impact on business both financially, and by damage to reputation setting the "tone at the top" and delivering that throughout an organisation can be a challenge in itself. Over 40% of frauds are detected by "tip off" and Ethicspro's future plans are to be that watchful eye, becoming reliant on the ethics of individuals to report internally, and perhaps save their company thousands in the process.
 More information http://www.ethicspro.ie/

Flippin' Pancakes in Sligo

For anyone who missed the RTE Six One News last Tuesday evening, check this clip out below to see the flipping fun in Source Cookery School Sligo

If pancakes are out of your cooking repertoire check out the cooking classes coming up this month on http://www.sourcesligo.com/

A PR Launch Using Female Breast Milk

An ice cream manufacturer using Breast Milk as an ingredient for a PR stunt.

Gimmicky or ingenious? What do you think?
At first we thought is was  a good talking point that generated alot of ink both here and over the pond  but defeated the purpose by turning us off their ice cream.


However, that was until we saw the name of company 'Icecreamists' and realised their niche is extreme ice cream. Brilliant!
They named it Baby GaGa and now Team Lady Gaga is looking to sue - Brilliant-er

See News Clip From BBC London Here

Thanks to Brand Ireland for story lead

Read Review of Cava in Weekend Magazine, 19 Feb

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Weekend Magazine
19 Feb 2011













Well done all in Cava Spanish Restaurant and Tapas Bar!

Look Who's Talking Now!

Top 3 PR Tips for New Leader

Brian Cowen proudly declared he did not have a communications advisor. Instead, he rarely gave interviews, when he did speak it was often at ill-judged times, spoke incoherently and used phrases and political jargon that did not resonant with the general public. Communication was not his strong point and he choose to do it as little as possible.

1. Communicate Regularly. Golden Rule Number 1, that means the good, the bad and the ugly. Hold, at least, quarterly State Of The Nation press conferences where the public are informed of progress, or lack of, reasons and solutions. When there's a crisis or a developing situation address the public. If there is no absolute solution or strategies are being assessed, then tell them that.People trust people that are open and honest. No one has all the answers but everyone hates to feel ignored.

2. Who Are You Talking To? Be mindful of who you are talking to when being interviewed. While speaking to media you are speaking to the nation. We DO NOT want to hear opposition bashing, we DO NOT want to hear childish blaming or self indulgent back-patting. That's boring and irrelevant to us. We want to hear clear and simple answers and concrete reasons for decisions.

3. Keep Your Dignity and Respect the People. Keep a personal sense of dignity and act morally. If you do screw up, which invariably you will, have an Action Plan in place, address the situation immediately, be upfront, apologise and move on. DON'T look for weak excuses, DON'T lie, DON'T blame game (see Point 2) and DON'T ignore (see Point 1). People respect this.

Most business owners would know these basic rules of communication and basic emotional intelligence. Rules apply to addressing share holders, staff and clients.

Source Sligo Restaurant, Wine Bar and Cookery School - A Must Visit!

Source Sligo has recently opened on John Street, Sligo with instant praise from food lovers, wine buffs and cooking enthusiasts.

A three storey building in the heart of Sligo Town tastefully houses a large open- plan Restaurant on the Ground Floor, a subtle and relaxed wine bar on the First Floor and a state-of- the- art Cookery School on the Top Floor.


Each floor adheres to the Source philosophy of producing locally sourced quality food in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. Indeed the interior reflects this ethos by combining elegance with a home-grown retro feel. Owners and operators Ray and Eileen Monahan believe that the concept of developing a Restaurant and Cookery School is also a testament to the quality of produce available in the Sligo area and promoting this produce is something that they are passionate about.

The Cookery School runs classes for fun, for knowledge and for education from the, “Can’t cook and won’t cook to those who are passionate about baking or those who may constitute the dinner party brigade. Eithne O’Sullivan the Cookery School Manager explains “the Come Dine with Me evenings are proving very popular as are the family-focused classes like One Pot Meals. We also run special private classes for groups of 12 or more and these can be tailor-made to suit any group from “Hens who would like to cook Mexican” to groups who would like to learn about cooking special meals i.e. for diabetics or those with special needs

Head Chef at the Restaurant, Gerard Reidy, is originally from Kerry and is renowned for his love of Irish food. He has spent many years cooking internationally and representing Ireland cooking for notable politicians and officials. His passion for good wholesome food is evident from the delectable menus and specials on offer each day.

After a day of eating, cooking and chatting, there’s only one last thing to try, the exclusive wine collection. Relax in the Wine Bar upstairs with background music provided by the in house pianist. Mull over the wine list which includes a range of 12 different wines from the owners vineyards in France. Then sit back and enjoy the views over Sligo town towards the tabletop mountain Benbulben.

Cooking Classes can be booked individually or as part of a course.

For more information call 071 9147605 or see www.SourceSligo.ie

The PR Source for Source Sligo

Those Two Girls PR are delighted to have be choosen as the PR company to work with and represent Source Sligo.

Source Sligo is an exciting new concept located in the heart of Sligo Town. A three-storey building lovingly decorated with vintage scananavian furniture an large images of local suppliers it consists of a ground floor Restaurant, a Wine Bar on the first floor and, with panoramic views, the cookery school on top.

The ethos at Source is to produce quality food using locally sourced produce. We can personally testify that this ethos is serving up yummy foods, the Pear and Gorgonzola salad with red wine vingarette is to die for. Yum, surprising Sligo indeed!

Watch this space for exciting info from Source Sligo. Website coming soon.

Book Your Table Now!

The popular Fiesta Seville Tapas Menu is back at Cava Spanish Restaurant and Tapas Bar.

A Tapas Feast Made For Sharing

To celebrate the annual Seville Tapas Fair in February, Cava Spanish Restaurant and Tapas Bar in Galway has announced its exciting 2011 Tapas Fiesta Menu.

This popular excuse for a get together offers groups of 8 or more the chance to taste and to share various tapas from different regions throughout Spain including 8 exciting meat, fish and vegetable dishes. The menu is only available for the month of February.

Mouth watering additions this year include free range duck in Pedro Ximénez sauce; the amazingly light tortillitas de camarones – shrimp fritters; Andalusian olives; roasted pepper salad; tiny Boquerones – fresh anchovies; Calamares – rings of tender squid; grilled pork loin; and Albondigas Con Salsa de Almendras y Azafran - Meatballs in Saffron-Almond Sauce.

The menu is priced at €25 per person based on 8 people or more which includes a tempting Spanish Chocolate cake as desert and glass of beer or Spanish wine. Booking is essential.

For more information see www.cavarestaurant.ie or phone 091 539 884.

2,000 affected in Fine Gael data breach - RTÉ News

It was announced over the weekend that Fine Gael outsourced their much acclaimed getting-down-with-the youth-ofIreland website to a US company for reportedly 40,000USD! And the video is not in a Temple Bar Coffee Shop but a café in Miami!
When will the political parties in Ireland ever get their PR right we wonder..? one step forward 3 steps back. Very damaging to their campaign and they have obviously annoyed all the capable website designers and programmers out there... 2,000 affected in Fine Gael data breach - RTÉ News

Top PR Tips for 2011

Feeling Snowed Under by PR and Marketing?

Now that the freezing conditions are gone don't get snowed under by your PR and Marketing in 2011.

Many people dread the idea of developing a PR and Marketing Plan envisaging hours spent typing, researching, doing competitor analysis to ultimately abandon the plan as being redundant or running out of budget to keep up the implementation.

Keep it simple - even a one page plan can prove to be more realistic by keeping the following tips in mind.

1. Pick a Market and Stick to it.
Although you might offer your handmade chocolates to everyone because 'everyone loves chocolate', trying to target 'everyone' unless you've an infinite budget, is going to prove exhausting, frustrating and quite possibly ineffective.

Instead choose a niche, and develop your marketing and PR plan directed and tailored to this market. For example a chocolate brand aiming their recent marketing at females aged 25-45, adverts depict a professional lady sharing an apartment with two other girls takes time out to enjoy her hidden chocolate.

Contrary to what you might believe, targeting one particular market will not alienate other markets who will still buy your product but it will help you position yourself and build brand strength.

If you produce a niche product stick to it, for example if you operate an Italian restaurant then exclusively offer Italian food. You might feel tempted to add Fish and Chips to make your menu a more 'something for everyone' type of offering, you will be diluting your brand and then fall into the trap of trying to market to 'everyone'.

Find your market and stick to it, use this as your basis for your Marketing and PR Plan then become very, very good at servicing that market and become known for it. Which brings us on to Top Tip number 2.....

2. Communicate Clearly and Consistently

Once you have decided on the marketing niche you will pursue, or are very clear on your niche offering communicate this throughout all your marketing and PR activities. Develop tag lines that concisely communicates to your market. Develop packages that would appeal to this market i.e. if your market is honeymooning couples don't keep shouting about how child-friendly your resort is. Keep the message consistent and keep the messages frequent.

3. Develop relations with other suppliers or producers targeting a similar market.
Looking at year ahead mark months where a new PR and Marketing campaign will be launched. For a clothing store this could be as simple as an End of Season Sale or something more intense like a Fashion Show.  Then using this as a base look at hooking up with other complimentary suppliers who are aimed at a similar market and join forces for one of your marketing campaigns. For a teenage clothing End Of Season sale perhaps consider working with a music store on discounts and vouchers with each purchase. By aligning yourself with other stores or businesses targeting a similar market will strengthen your positioning and reinforce who and what your target market is.

There are many forms of inexpensive marketing and PR tools at your disposal. Consistent communication with your target market is what will make one business stand out from another. For businesses developing an ongoing plan spending little time often is more effective then high impact one hit campaigns. Get creative, but most of all stay true to your niche.

Best of luck in 2011 and a very Happy New Year.