by joshua2 | Media
Camphor laurel is a stunning evergreen tree, growing up to 30m tall. The leaves have a glossy, waxy appearance and smell of camphor when crushed. In spring the trees produce lush, bright-green foliage and masses of small white flowers.
Camphor laurel trees were introduced into Australia from Asia in 1822 and planted as a garden ornamental along eastern Australia from northern Queensland to Victoria.
In recent years the trees have been declared an invasive species and are no longer commercially grown or sold, however they continue to propagate and flourish in areas from southern Queensland to central New South Wales.
A beautiful, often honey-coloured timber, camphor laurel heartwood (the ‘dead’ central core of a tree trunk) varies broadly in colour from pale to mid brown and can often be streaked with darker brown or red.
The sapwood (the younger, outermost wood, used to transfer water from the roots to the leaves) has many colours ranging from almost white to dark browns and reds.
Camphor laurel grain is usually interlocked with a moderately fine and even texture. Its extraordinary strong dark grain against a yellow base creates distinctive furniture and especially fine looking casket and coffin designs, such as our Ashington Camphor Laurel (pictured).
If you haven’t done so already, why not add one of our camphor laurel models in to your range.
Tip: Each camphor laurel coffin or casket looks unique, as the grain varies widely. Therefore, it is advisable to always give the same camphor laurel coffin or casket to the family, that they selected in your showroom.
Camphor laurel tree, berries and leaves
Camphor laurel timber in our factory being prepared for use
Related article: You’ll be amazed at the care and craftsmanship that goes into making our beautiful Artisan casket
by joshua2 | Media
True story:
- A huge blunder occurred in the Austrian town of Weiz which involved two dead pensioners
- A male, 90, was due to be cremated when the family asked for a last-minute viewing
- When they went to see him, they saw someone else; an unrelated 86-year-old man
- Their relative had been buried some days earlier by the family of the man in his coffin
- The funeral home was forced to dig up the man’s body and his coffin was cleaned up and brought to the ceremony for them to finish the disastrous service.
- The embarrassed firm of undertakers took responsibility for the error, saying that an employee had not taken proper notice of the toe tags.
- Adreas Adlmann from Koller-Adlmann funeral directors admitted: “This was a human error that should never have happened.”
How would you handle this situation?
Public relations disasters are difficult to handle in any industry, but when they occur in the funeral industry, their outcomes can be extremely challenging to deal with.
A company’s reputation can be ruined or saved by the way it handles its crisis communications – here’s 6 tips from telegraph.co.uk on how to do it well:
- Emphasise your business’s positive track record
“If you are in the midst of an unexpected crisis, it’s important to put the situation into context to help protect your long-term reputation. Consider a manufacturing plant with an exemplary safety record that has never had an accident. If one occurs, it needs to make that point to remind the public this is a one-off.
“A good example of this was a Virgin Trains crash in Cumbria in 2007. In his TV interview in response to the incident, Sir Richard Branson said: ‘I’ve been in the transportation business for nearly 25 years. We have transported half a million passengers and fortunately have never had to be in this situation before. One can only imagine what it was like for the passengers.’
“This skilfully gave the context, while also expressing empathy for the passengers.”
- Leaders must be prepared to take responsibility
“Honesty and accountability should be the key components of any communications strategy, crisis or not. Time and time again people think that ‘spin’ or downright lies are the safest route, which they are most definitely not.
“Just look at last year’s Kids Company [child charity] debacle, which was woefully handled from its side, with the scandal overshadowing the exceptional work it did and hastening its demise. No one, not the chief executive or trustees, took responsibility for the claims of financial mismanagement. The company needed a credible, empathetic face that worked with the media, not against them.
“It should have issued regular statements, either at press conferences or in a written form, openly addressing the key points as they arose – confronting and responding to claims head-on. It did not, however, and instead senior management appeared to scramble in order to preserve their own reputations.”
- Be prepared to talk to customers directly
“In 2009, employees at Domino’s Pizza uploaded a video to YouTube, showing them passing wind on a pizza. Instead of communicating with online users via social media immediately to reassure them that this was a one-off incident that was being dealt with, the company later admitted to delaying an online response to the incident, in the hopes of preventing more people from watching the video.
“Its [Domino’s] lack of response had the opposite effect and the video went viral, receiving about one million views.”
- You can’t avoid scrutiny with a vague and impersonal response
“Sports Direct hit the headlines in 2015 following a Guardian investigation that revealed employees being paid below minimum wage and incidences of bullying by management. An immediate response by a named senior official, promising an internal investigation and immediate remedy, would have done much to repair the brand’s reputation.
“Unfortunately, an unnamed spokesperson simply said there were inaccuracies in the report, but declined to comment further. This defensive response and lack of information only served to validate the findings in the eyes of the public.”
- Always have a crisis plan for social media
“In social media, preparedness is key. Much like having a PR crisis communications plan, we recommend clients develop a social media plan to mitigate any situations that may arise. Even if your social media profiles weren’t originally created for customer service purposes, it won’t prevent someone from contacting you or talking about you there.
“A proactive and transparent approach is best practice when handling a complaint. Rather than waiting for people to demand answers, be as open and honest as possible. Acknowledge that something has happened, even if you don’t have a solution or answer available yet.
“It also helps to respond first on the channel where the crisis first broke. For example, if it is evolving on Twitter, be sure to address that audience in the first instance.”
- Appoint a spokesperson
“Decide who can speak on behalf of the company – and who definitely can’t. This can be complex with a bigger organisation with multiple senior team members, board members and high-profile stakeholders. But it’s the key to handling a crisis.
“If you don’t agree your spokespeople in advance, you end up with everyone from board members to junior staff speaking on behalf of the business, thinking they’re doing you a favour – and often offering divergent views.”
Related article: The 6 steps of crisis management
Article sources:
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4335686/Grieving-family-discover-WRONG-BODY-coffin.html
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/connect/small-business/how-to-manage-a-public-relations-disaster/
by joshua2 | Media
As a small business, the idea of special programs to support employee flexibility in the workplace may seem undesirable. However, flexible workplace strategies can reduce absenteeism and promote loyalty.
Here are some ways flexibility can benefit your business and some strategies to employ to make a flexible workplace a reality.
What is a flexible workplace?
The idea behind increased flexibility on a workplace level is to create a work-life balance that works in favour of your business and your employees. It usually means tailoring work hours and the approach to day-to-day work to suit the people involved.
Practically, flexibility might mean allowing employees to work from home, where possible, or offering parent-friendly hours. It may also include such things as reduced contact hours, job-sharing, time-in-lieu etc.
Offering flexible options maximises productivity through reducing the tension between work day requirements and employees’ lives outside of work. It creates a focus on quality work by giving people the opportunity to perform with less distractions and/or reduced pressure from conflicting responsibilities.
Why choose a flexible approach to work?
A study by the Diversity Council of Australia found flexibility is a key driver of employee satisfaction. It found that 1 in 5 employees had considered leaving their current employer due to a lack of flexibility.
Researchers at the Judith Lumley Centre found 1 in 3 parents are experiencing significant conflict between their working lives and parenting duties, which reduces focus and creates stress.
The Victorian government’s Better Work and Family Balance Grants Program was designed to help small businesses to address these issues. The side effects were a greater ability to retain staff, increase morale while strengthening team building and attracting a higher quality of new employees.
Head of Research at Beyond Blue, Nick Arvanitis, believes in the power of good strategies for stress reduction. “Many of the strategies that promote wellness also prevent stress. Increasing an employee’s control is one key example,” he explained.
“This can be achieved by giving employees a say in how they do their work or manage their time, and providing greater flexibility through start and finish times and when people take breaks.”
What strategies can you employ to offer flexibility?
From sole operators through to small business, anyone can make flexibility a part of a successful business strategy.
Ideas that make a significant impact include:
- Rethink office space
Consider reducing rent and other overheads by encouraging remote workers, introducing work-from-home days and hot desking at co-working centres in lieu of having a physical office space.
- Timetable to suit lifestyle
Investigate part-time, time-in-lieu and job share arrangements to encourage quality over quantity during work hours. By working with your staff to help them timetable work and life together, you can help keep them focused on work better by reducing the impact of conflicting priorities.
- Support new ways of working
Use technology as an ally to flexibility. There is an array of technology solutions that allow you to immediately identify workers and rostering needs plus they can easily allow remote workers to check in for time tracking purposes. Use online project management tools, virtual conferencing and Skype/Facetime etc to stay connected no matter where your team may be.
- Offer choice to your employees
Another vital component is designing workplace flexibility to suit those it impacts the most.
“People want choice, and they’re happy to ask for it,” shared Catherine Heilemann, a former human resources manager turned self-employed business coach.
“They will choose one small business employer over another and design their own self-employment journey around flexibility because it matters that much. The best way to find out what your employees want is to ask them. By using something like a survey, you can quickly find out what your people need.”
By working together to provide the right tools, carefully considering your options and allowing your employees to have a hand in designing the strategies you’ll use, you can take your small business to the next level with flexibility.
Related article: 5 ways to avoid team burnout
Article source: insightsresources.seek.com.au
by joshua2 | Media
Our Expression Coffin’s creative team was asked by a funeral home in a small country town to, “Create a unique coffin for Melbourne Storm’s biggest fan”.
Within a few hours our team had completed the Expression Coffin design and sent the digital proofs to the funeral home. The family saw the proofs of the coffin design and responded with an overwhelming, “Yes! That’s him”.
The family (and funeral home) were thoroughly grateful for our quick turnaround time to produce and ship the coffin in time for the funeral. We even heard back through the funeral home that several family and friends took photos of the coffin at the front of the chapel!
If you are serving a family that would like a special NRL club* or sporting club design, then contact our Expression Coffin’s team and they’ll create a truly special coffin design that will help to make your client-family’s funeral more meaningful.
*Please note: We are officially licensed by the National Rugby League to create and sell NRL club Expression Coffins.
by joshua2 | Media
The ‘Baby Crib’ from our Return to Sender line of coffins is a beautiful option for families who have lost a special child.
Its gently curved shape makes it easy to cradle and gives the casket a soft, rounded look. It is made from sustainably harvested plywood and the interior is finished with a plush Australian wool fleece mattress. The internal size of the Baby Crib is a versatile 55cm x 24cm x 18cm (L x W x D) design.
The Baby Crib, as with all our Return to Sender range, is part of our Memorial Tree Program.
Please contact us for a Return to Sender catalogue, or better still download it from our Resources page today.
