by Sue Horner | Oct 11, 2023 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog, Writing samples
Porch concerts were a thing in some neighbourhoods during the pandemic. It’s not surprising; music has been shown to lessen the effects of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, all of which soared then and remain high. My client asked me to write about...
by Sue Horner | Aug 31, 2023 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Kindness. Compassion. Respect. These aren’t necessarily words you associate with social media, are they? Surprise! They feature in my latest roundup of social media posts you might have missed, these specific to employee communication. I also found some interesting...
by Sue Horner | Jun 28, 2023 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog, Writing samples
If you spent limited time with family over the pandemic, you probably have a new appreciation for a good old-fashioned family reunion. RTOERO asked me to talk to some of their members, who are mostly retired teachers and other education workers, about family reunions....
by Sue Horner | Dec 20, 2022 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog, Writing samples
This year, I had the privilege of writing for the 80,000+ mostly retired members of RTOERO and their magazine, Renaissance. RTOERO has its roots in the Ontario Teachers’ Federation although not all members are teachers. They work in or are retired from the...
by Sue Horner | Sep 27, 2022 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Managers can be better writers, and some of my clients have asked for help to make that happen. The thing is, most companies judge their people by how well they handle their specific jobs. While clear writing would help managers communicate, writing doesn’t usually...
by Sue Horner | Jun 27, 2022 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
“I’m excited to announce…” “We’re delighted to welcome…” “It’s with mixed emotions that I announce…” I’ve seen a flurry of business announcements lately that start like this, on the way to introducing a new employee or a changed role. Don’t those emotions seem a...
by Sue Horner | Nov 9, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Is your company doing the important work that supports diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)? Or is it settling for “performative diversity”? The subject came up after I shared an article on social media that listed some “easy ways” communicators could support...
by Sue Horner | Apr 8, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Dense, complicated and potentially boring subjects need explanation, no matter who you’re writing for. That’s often what I’m asked to do, and here’s my “secret” for turning a potentially boring subject into an interesting one: Find the human, because...
by Sue Horner | Jan 25, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
With so many people working from home during the pandemic, companies have more remote workers to reach than ever. And there’s no end in sight. Research firms say 82% (Gartner) to 86% (Gallagher) of companies plan to let employees work remotely at least part of the...
by Sue Horner | Nov 25, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
As the pandemic wears on, is the pace of communication easing for you? Comparing conditions in May 2020 and September 2020, a Simpplr survey found that at first, employees received company-wide updates daily, even several times a day. By September, the updates were...
