Top >> Managing_PR External PR resources - not sure, considering, yes - but time to review published May 2003 With most companies facing a new financial year on July 1 it is timely to look at various aspects of hiring external PR resources. In this ‘compendium’ we pose some questions from three perspectives: the non-user of external PR and the roadblocks they see in ‘going outside’ the organisation which has decided they need to go outside the organisation that’s already using external PR but needs to re-assess. Five reasons why there’s often reluctance to appoint external PR agencies: We don’t have the budget. We can’t afford it. That’s a genuine reason. But often budgets are available - it’s simply a question of re-allocating existing budgets to new areas. Also, if you have a large internal resource and you lose staff during the year, you may find it more cost effective to use external services. It’s important to remember that PR agencies can be used on a project or ad hoc basis. And don’t forget that with PR agencies there’s no holidays, no sick days, no payroll tax and no superannuation. I’m expected to handle PR. Hiring an agency may reflect badly on me. Most of your other heads of departments have budgets for external resources - legal, accounting, HR etc. They can all justify ‘going outside’. If PR is to play its role it has to operate in the same way. International ‘best practice’ is for large organisations to use both internal and external PR resources. Furthermore, your career will be assisted through the experience of managing an external agency. An external agency will take too much time to become familiar with our company and needs. Any reputable agency with knowledge in your area will quickly pick up your business. In fact, they may bring insights from other work that will provide a depth of understanding that may surprise you. Indeed, that should be one of your key selection criteria if you decide to use external resources. I want to retain control of my media contacts. Use your PR agency to complement what you do. If retention of your media contacts is important use your agency to add value with new strategies or to do most of the backgrounding and preparation. That will give you more time to retain and develop your media contacts. You control how the agency should work. You should define their area of work to best support you. The selection process is too time consuming. Hiring an agency is less time consuming that hiring a new senior staff member. There’s no reason why you can’t have a new agency on board within 4-6 weeks of deciding to go in this direction (depending on the process). Remember too that an agency can usually start immediately - unlike new staff who have to give notice to their existing employer! Five reasons for considering using external PR assistance in the coming year: I need specialist resources for areas we can’t handle internally. It’s great relying on internal PR capability - but you can’t cover everything. Internal staffing should cover the core and recurring needs. Where there’s a specialist or one-off need it makes sense to go outside. And through an agency you will be able to buy top level expertise simply on an hourly basis or for the duration of your special need. I need ‘smarter’ support, knowledge and expertise to achieve the increased expectations placed on my area. Corporate and marketing expectations of PR constantly increase - therefore its vital to bring in outside resources to cope. Often it’s not more people that is the answer - rather more strategic capability and more insight. And often key contacts. Agencies typically provide a huge depth and variety of resources that you can use. There are competitive and market pressures that I simply need more PR ‘firepower’ to handle. It might be pressures on the industry in which you operate - or it could be a major new project/launch/initiative. The advantage with an external agency is that they can deal with peak periods or special projects by simply allocating additional staff - a luxury not available to the internal department. I don’t want to invest in internal PR staff - although we have reached the stage where I believe we need PR, I only want to use an external agency. This is not uncommon - especially for growing organisations. Many rely almost exclusively on external agency support. Often there is no formal internal PR management position with the agency simply reporting to a CEO, marketing manager, company secretary or HR manager. An internal PR position may not follow until the PR budget and effort demands it. I need additional senior counsel and expertise. Usually it’s relatively easy to get the ‘arms and legs’. But as PR plays an increasingly important corporate role there’s often the need for that outside perspective and the ‘wise heads’ to support you. Whether it simply senior advice or someone to play a mentor role, an external source has to be found. Five questions to ask about your existing external PR agency resources: Am I getting the right mix of experience and skills? Do you simply need ‘arms and legs’ or do you also need real strategic ability? Agencies are good at selling the former; however sometimes (especially in the larger agencies) they promise the latter but as time goes on this aspect ‘slips’ (often the fault is shared between agency and client). If you’ve been with the one agency for some time the chances are you may not be getting the right mix - or the one you originally set out to obtain. Ask yourself if you’ve drifted into their comfort zone. Are they genuinely adding value to the organisation? If the agency you use went out of business tomorrow what would you lose? Would you lose a whole lot of pro-activity, fresh ideas and creativeness? Also, think about how they relate to your staff and management and how they are regarded. Are they seen as genuine business partners or are they simply implementers who could be replaced by another team within a month or so? Are they keeping up with today’s environment and ‘future thinking’? If you use a PR agency on an ongoing basis its people should know as much about your business environment as you do (in a general sense). They should know the industry in which you operate, the landscape and the challenges. The sign of a good agency is one that is constantly pushing you to do things that are on the edge of where you want to be, and is not ‘fazed’ by new directions and strategies from your management. Is there stability in their team, are their costs still reasonable, and what is their financial management like? Don’t be unreasonable - staff changes are inevitable. But look at your agency and make an assessment - especially among senior staff. Is there reasonable continuity and when staff have left have they coped with it and has service been maintained? And with regard to costs and budgets, have their increases been modest? Finally, how often do you have to reject project costs or query invoices? Are they helping me in my job? There’s no point having a PR agency if it doesn’t help you achieve your business objectives and help you present well to your colleagues and peers. But to achieve this involves a host of items - it’s about the agency managing your account well, providing the reports required in the form you want them and when you want them, getting their invoices to you on time, being able to ‘front’ with you to management (if that’s your style) and doing all the ‘housekeeping’ well. Overall are they ‘business-like’ in how they work with you and your organisation? Note: If you want to make your review of existing agency resources a little more formal, take each of the above 5 questions and do an assessment on a 1-5 scale (1 poor, 2 patchy, 3 average, 4 good, 5 excellent). If you score 12 or under then its probably time you looked for another agency. If you score 13 - 19 then you have a relationship that is pretty sound and worth preserving (perhaps after a formal re-assessment from both sides) If you score 20+ then you have an excellent agency that’s worth hanging onto. Related articles that may be relevant or of interest: What does 2003 have in store for your communication function? Issues and challenges and priorities for corporate communicators. Using specialist external PR. Can you afford to or not? An outline of the costs of using PR agencies.

PR Influences Australian Public Relations Newsletter. Article: Public relations consultants: Five reasons for using them.Information Content: Managing PR