It’s been a long and winding road here at Aspectus PR New York in regards to office space. During Hurricane Sandy, the first telltale sign that we would not be returning to our beloved One West Street building were the images on TV of the front steps of our office engulfed in water. With the entirety of the Aspectus New York team working remotely for the week following the devastating storm, it soon became clear that change was inevitable.

It’s a rarity when an entire office telecommutes, but the New York office post-Hurricane Sandy never missed a beat. In the world of communications, consistency and availability are key traits of a successful PR agency. Our clients’ business is our first priority, and our all-hands-on-deck mentality kept the “office” running smoothly. After a week of working from home (for the lucky ones who had power), the New York team reassembled at 57^th and Lexington for what was originally thought to be a temporary solution to our office-less situation. As time passed, the days of working down at Battery Park became a distant memory, and our makeshift workspace became a much clearer reality.

Now six months on, we are delighted to announce that Aspectus New York has found its happy new home at 117 East 24^th Street – Suite 2A, New York, NY 10010. Equipped with sparkling new furnishings, the team is up and running in the vibrant Gramercy area of the city that boasts great dining and entertainment, and is just a stone’s throw away from the plush greenery of Madison Square Park.

There is something to be said for a group of colleagues who can roll with the punches and work together cohesively through challenging circumstances. Throughout this saga, we have continued to see new business wins, and deliver client messaging and positioning campaigns, content generation, top tier and trade media coverage and media tours.

We’ve even hosted a media party and participated in cooking classes. Our temporary office may have been a tighter squeeze for everyone, but the spirit has not faltered. Aspectus New York has emerged unified and even stronger than before – ready to keep on making business news.

Last weekend saw one of the most important events in the media calendar. No, not the Cannes Lions or PRWeek Awards, but the annual ‘Hacks v Flaks’ competition, where PR professionals and journalists get to dust off their football boots and netball skirts and do battle in the name of charity.

And for the second year running, two members of the Aspectus PR team headed down to the Bank of England Sports Centre to take part (and see whether or not they could relive their glory days of school netball).

For the boys, the day belonged to the Flaks, who won the football 5-2. Meanwhile, on the netball courts, the Flaks ‘A’ team took a beating as the Hacks scored 52 goals to their 11.

But the real excitement was on the B team courts (alright, there may have been a bit of buzz around the A-list actor playing football on the pitch nearby), where the game got off to a flyer with the Flaks winning the first quarter 3-0. However, it could be argued we gave our tricks away a little too early, as the Hacks managed to power through the next three quarters to win the match – although the final score seems to have escaped me…

Once the games were over, we were able to quench our thirst with a Pimms and lemonade and enjoy some friendly banter with our industry colleagues. A common theme was the umpire’s surprise about “how a group of intelligent women could fail to understand the basic rules of netball”.

Aching muscles aside, the day proved a great success, raising £10,000 for Drayton Park School Art and Community Centre in Islington. And we are now looking forward to the Rounders and Cricket taking place this summer.

Work relationships are important, and let’s face it, so is food. So, what could be better than marrying the two to create team spirit and delicious creations? An agency outing cooking class of course!

Recently, our Aspectus PR team gathered at a lovely townhouse in NYC where we learned to cook some spectacular dishes including lemon risotto, leg of lamb, and chocolate soufflés (that were to die for). Upon arrival, our entire team (including our fearless leader, Bill) was put to work. Whether we were assigned to peeling vegetables, greasing the pans for our individual soufflés, or choosing the best wine paring for our meal, we all got involved.

The result was a fabulous three course meal that could have rivaled many of the top restaurants in NYC. More importantly, we all felt a sense of camaraderie that just can’t be garnered during daily activities in the office.

Building rapport and team spirit is critical within all industries, but particularly in the field of PR and communications. Rarely is it the brilliance of one individual that fosters success for a client, rather it is the joint efforts of an entire team.

Team building in the workplace contributes significantly to employee motivation and nurturing trust among employees, which ultimately ensures better productivity. It’s also been proven that employees who feel they are part of a team and that their ideas are being heard are much more likely to be productive. Additionally, a team is better adept in creating and analyzing solutions for any potential client issues as two or more heads are better than one and everyone has shared skin in the game.

At Aspectus, we recognize that the landscape for our clients is constantly changing. We need to be prepared to quickly adapt and pivot our strategies to be continuously successful in communicating our clients’ messages across all channels. And we firmly believe that team building not only helps to better position us to do just that but a whole lot more too.

On Thursday, April 4^th the growing Aspectus New York office hosted its second annual Media Party at Flute Gramercy – just blocks away from the soon-to-be-new New York office. This year’s guest of honor was Aspectus PR’s Global Group Director Bill Penn who crossed the Atlantic to share in the festivities and experience the Aspectini (an apple martini with a lemon twist) firsthand.

50 guests joined in the revelry, including business media such as Bloomberg, Dow Jones and CNBC and industry publications like Financial Planning, On Wall Street, AdvisorOne, Waters Technology, Bank Systems & Technology, Bank Innovation, Wall Street Letter and Markets Media. Local and far flung clients also joined the mix including, NICE Actimize, Asset Control, Fidessa, Quadron Data Solutions, G2 FinTech, EcoSys, HedgeOp Compliance/The IMS Group, eFront, Kx Systems, RES Software, and Sammons Retirement Solutions.

To add to the fun of the evening, our clients helped us raffle off prizes – champagne, fine wine, a Broadway show, a New York Harbor flight and Amazon and Starbucks gift cards.

Having these companies all in one room and being at the center of it reminded us of just one of our roles as a PR firm, and that is to help connect intelligent and knowledgeable sources with thoughtful journalists looking to tell unique and compelling stories. And as a connector between clients and the media, we have taken on a real responsibility to help these clients make their business stories newsworthy and ensure both sides are getting the most out of the relationship. For our media, that’s access to creative ideas, timely news angles and strong sources. For our clients, that’s strategic positioning, messaging and an understanding of how to be a good source.

In most cases, love triangles are doomed to fail. But three is company when the right people are connected and all working toward a shared goal. What’s more, that strategy allows us to be more than just a connecter for our clients. We strive to work with them as partners in achieving their larger business, marketing and communication objectives truly making business news.