Sarah Hall is a public relations practitioner who authored the #FuturePRoof handbook on the changing face of the PR industry. The handbook argues that PR needs to be viewed as a management discipline in order to assert its strategic value to organizations. Hall discusses how PR professionals must shift away from tactics, think holistically about business benefits, and reframe their approach in order to improve their value. She also emphasizes the need for PR to have strategic, leadership and ethical capabilities in order to earn a place at the management table when organizations make critical decisions.

1. #FuturePRoofing
public relations
Sarah Hall
16 June 2016

2. About me

3. About me
First North East public relations practitioner to get Chartered
Editor of the industry-wide, global community project #FuturePRoof aimed at
asserting PR's value as a management discipline and the role it plays in
achieving organisational success
Policy director for the PRCA and global body ICCO
In 2014 awarded the Sir Stephen Tallent’s medal by the CIPR for exceptional
achievement in PR practice
Digital marketing certificate from Google, MA in Marketing from Northumbria
University’s Newcastle Business School and BA (Hons) in French and Media
from Leeds University

4. Today’s agenda

5. About #FuturePRoof

6. About #FuturePRoof
A handbook for senior practitioners
looking at the changing face of the
industry
The story of public relations as a
management discipline
www.futureproofingcomms.co.uk
@WeArePRoofed

7. About #FuturePRoof
Since launching, over 2000 combined
downloads and book sales
Policy director for PRCA and ICCO – current
project on mental health
Speaking gigs in NE, NW, heading to South
West and Channel Islands
Regular podcast
#FuturePRoof 2 spec underway

8. Back to the future
In 1999, Dr Jon White presented a paper to the Swiss Public Relations
Society that stated the future was bright for PR practitioners.
This was dependant on practitioners recognising ‘the opportunities
presented by the environment and management needs’ and ‘taking
steps to educate and train themselves’, as well as making ‘full use of
communication technology, to provide reliable, if not indispensable,
services to managers as they seek to deal with complexity and manage
successful businesses.’

10. The challenge today
No need to redefine public relations – we need to reframe our approach
The role of public relations professionals is to find organisational purpose,
agree and test company principles and keep the publics that the business is
there to serve front of mind

11. A public relations role
“<Organisations> are being forced to re-think
their purpose and how they gain and maintain
their legitimacy not only with their immediate
stakeholders, but to society more widely.”
Professor Anne Gregory

12. We need to #FuturePRoof PR
Public relations is a powerful management tool and the department that
organisations should appoint to lead the wider marketing function
But this still isn’t happening
According to a report called Exploring Strategic Risks by Deloitte and Forbes
Insight, 40 % of executives cite reputation as the number one boardroom risk
Why not? We are stuck in a loop

16. The challenge today
To improve our value as practitioners, we need to shift away from tactics and
outputs and think holistically about the business benefits that public relations
can bring
How does our work help an organisation achieve its objectives? How can we
report our results in Board speak?
Talking about public relations as a management discipline changes what we
do, how we talk about it and the approach we take to our continuous
professional development
It changes how employers see us and the worth they accord to our work

17. The challenge today
“PR’s place should always be in the room
if not at the table when organisations are
making critical choices. That place, recognised,
consulted and included as a business discipline,
has to be earned but it is essential to have for
PR to fulfil its purpose.”
Mike Love

18. Are you any good?
Good public relations consultants need to have strategic, leadership and
ethical capabilities
We need to understand how organisations work and hold management and
financial qualifications or have completed non-executive director programmes

19. Are you any good?
“There are very few standards in public
relations. It’s surprising for a business
that is tasked with the critical role of
managing the reputation of an organisation.”
Stephen Waddington

20. Are you any good?
There’s no excuse for us not to be delivering at the top of our game
The Global Alliance Global Body of Knowledge (GBOK) project continues to
move forward with the establishment of a competency framework which maps
from entry level upwards
Individuals need to take personal responsibility and not rely on their
employers to set their training needs, equally employers need to invest
appropriately in staff training and development

21. Your call to action
Reframe public relations as management discipline in your own head
Read #FuturePRoof – www.futureproofingcomms.co.uk
Check out www.globalalliancepr.org and ensure you have the skillset to
deliver at the highest level
Tell everyone who will listen why PR should form part of the strategic
management function and its importance to organisational success
That’s how the future will remain bright for public relations practitioners

22. Thank you – any questions?
Sarah Hall
sarah@sarahhallconsulting.co.uk
www.sarahhallconsulting.co.uk
07702 162 704

23. Join the #FuturePRoof community
www.futureproofingcomms.co
.uk
@WeArePRoofed
Look up the Facebook group