Leading Allen Hall PR Through a Global Pandemic
By Account Executives Paige Morishita and Hadley McKinnon
Kenzie Hudler has been a valued member of Allen Hall Public Relations (AHPR) since Fall 2019, and she has been quickly promoted in the firm due to her hard work and charisma. Hudler began her work in AHPR as an Account Executive for the Marching In Their Footsteps (MITF) account and became Account Supervisor for MITF in Spring 2020. At the end of the Spring 2020 term, she was selected to be the AHPR Firm Director for the 2020-2021 academic year.
It is safe to say that Hudler is leading AHPR during turbulent times in ways no one could have predicted. We reached out to her to gain her perspective on how her role as firm director and how AHPR as a whole has changed during the pandemic.
What made you want to pursue the position of Firm Director?
Ever since joining AHPR, I was more interested in the management side of the firm. One of my greatest strengths and passions in the work that I do for AHPR is making meaningful and genuine connections between our clients, employees and target publics. I naturally take on leadership-oriented roles in anything I get involved in, and I’m really thankful for the opportunities AHPR has given me.
How is AHPR different during the pandemic? Has it been hard to adjust?
AHPR has had to adjust for the pandemic, but not in ways that take away from the meaningfulness of the experience for both the clients and employees. We have had to convert all of our team meetings and firm meetings to virtual means, which presents a challenge in keeping our teams engaged and clients connected. However, our leadership team and account teams have seen this challenge as more of an opportunity, as opposed to an obstacle.
Has working remotely due to COVID-19 changed your leadership style as Firm Director? If yes, in what ways?
Working remotely during COVID-19 has changed my leadership style. For me, one of my strengths as a leader is my charisma and energy that I bring to any situation. However, as you can imagine, it’s difficult to bring the same amount of energy and enthusiasm to Zoom meetings. There is definitely something to be said about motivating employees through face-to-face interactions and human connection. With that in mind, the pandemic has challenged me to find creative ways to support my employees and remind them how much we appreciate them.
Do you believe the PR industry as a whole is affected by the pandemic? How?
At first, PR may seem to be a non-essential aspect of a business — meaning that when something as catastrophic as a global pandemic hits our economy, PR professionals/agencies should be the first to go. However, when panic ensues and nothing is certain, consistency and genuinity within brand messaging are more important than ever to maintain critical connections between organizations and their publics. From this challenge, PR professionals will have more creative “tools” in their belt when it comes to crisis response going forward.
What advice would you give to future AHPR members about navigating the virtual workplace, both in AHPR and their postgrad jobs?
In terms of navigating the virtual workplace, it’s important to have a place in your house where you feel you can be most productive to separate your personal and professional life while working at home. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when working from home and there’s not much separation between professional tasks and personal tasks. For this, I always find it helpful to make to-do lists so that I can visualize which tasks need to be prioritized.
It’s clear that AHPR is in good hands during these turbulent times, and will be able to adapt and grow to meet the changing needs of the industry because of it. For more information about AHPR and our clients, click here.