Public Relations Institute of Ireland: Professional PR

•More 10,000 members, from all sectors•Member led organisation with a small supporting secretariat•Stephen Waddington President, Sarah Pinch President Elect•Focus on: Professionalism,

Sarah Pinch FCIPR MIoD• 11 years at the BBC• 13 years in corporate comms• Tricky sectors:• International development• Public transport• Health• Passion for behavioural change in organisations• Experience of placing communications as important

as finance/HR• Professional standards & compliance• New teams in every role since 2000

The Board• provides direction for management; • demonstrates ethical leadership, displaying & promoting throughout

the company behaviours consistent with the culture & values it has defined for the organisation;

• creates a performance culture that drives value creation without exposing the company to excessive risk of value destruction;

• makes well informed‐ and high‐quality decisions based on a clear line of sight into the business;

• creates the right framework, helping directors meet their statutory duties (Companies Act 2006) and/or other relevant statutory & regulatory regimes;

• is accountable, esp. to those that provide the companyʹs capital; • thinks carefully about its governance arrangements and embraces

evaluation of their effectiveness

CIPR State of the Profession 2013• Views of CIPR members (75%) and non-

members (25%) 2,531 respondents, provided a comprehensive overview

• Half (46%) of practitioners brief board members and senior staff

• Third (35%) contribute to organisational strategy

• More than nine out of ten of respondents to the State of the Profession said that being considered a professional is important.

• PR must no longer defined by media relations. • It’s a strategic management discipline focused

on building reputation by promoting mutual understanding.

• This is an industry wide opportunity.

What are our challenges?Boardroom

• 37% are on the board - 63% are not

• One in eight say boards don’t value PR

• 41-48% have no PR in the boardroom

Gender• 56% with PR board

responsibility are men• 61% public sector in-house• average gender pay gap

£12,000 in favour of men. • From Account Manager/Press

Officer & above – men are paid more than women, for doing the same job.

Budget• 15 - 49% media relations spend• 4 - 8% social media management• 4 - 12% event management• 2 - 15% consumer/public campaigning• 4 - 5% research, planning and measurement

So what?• How serious are we about putting this

ambition into practice?

• Other professions succeed by reputation and ‘speaking the language of the board’

• Ethics must be centre stage• Engagement with employers and

commissioners of PR services• Campaigning• Clarity on the route map • Continuous Professional Development

Five goals for professionalism

1. Meaningful membership2. Confidence3. Demonstrating Value4. Trust – and confidence5. Telling our story

Professional Positioning

• Accountable to an external code

• Appropriately skilled and qualified

• Engaged in a process of renewal for ethics and competency

• Validated in a way the public understand

• Leadership• Articulation• Connectivity• Significance• Reputation

Going forward• In 1960s, no one understood management

as a professional discipline• Occupy the land• Clarity of contribution and value• Confidence• Passion, engagement, understanding• Professional standards• Leave

QuestionsEmail: [email protected]@ms_organised0780 858 0752