How to find successors?

For a PR company to claim excellence, it needs its consultants, at all levels, to be able to give sound advice to clients. Its people have to be creative, hard working, sociable, with finger on the pulse of the business world as well as the community, strong networking ability, etc.

It was two decades ago that I joined the industry, which was a little different from what is it today. In learning to become an all-round practitioner, we worked in different servicing teams before one picked her specialty area. From giving advice on strategies to delivering the actual PR programme, we pretty much handled every thing.  Everything being liaison with the media and different stakeholders of the client, follow up on production jobs, burning the mid-night oil to ensure bulk printing, draft  press releases and translate them, work with hotels or event venue owners to make sure event take place as planned, monitor media coverage of the event for the client, and the list went on.  An all-round PR practitioner then needed to have everything under control.

However, reflecting changes in the commercial world, the PR industry has also been moving towards specialization and fine division of labour. Instead of "knowing everything", PR practitioners today often specialise in but one skill area and rely on other functions in a company or even contractors for support on other needs in the course of delivering services.

This mode of operation has obvious advantages, but at the same presents risks. Specialised in but one or two areas, would a practitioner be able to appreciate the efforts required in different parts of a project and eventually to lead a team or even the consultancy?

Another issue the boss of a PR company has to tackle is the "attitude" of its people, especially that of junior staff.  They tell us they pick the industry or the company because they wish to learn, however, they are often impatient and under-estimate the amount of work and time they need to invest in their chosen career. They do not realise the senior consultants or directors of their company literally do not stop working or sometimes work "in their sleep", waking up in the middle of the night with ideas to help a client.

Thus, while talents are important, it is those with them but also work extra hard who get to advance. A promotion is only due when are sure of a junior or mid-level consultant is able to give clients sound advice.

Keeping a stable workforce is yet another concern of a PR company today. However, the industry has but a relatively small pool of experienced talents.  Established PR companies often have director grade practitioners with them for easily 15, 20 years. In developing countries though, turnover rates can be so high that service quality is compromised. Money helps at times, but it all comes down to supply versus demand and the highest bidder gets the gem.

To groom and keep talents, I recommend a mentorship system - begin the hunt for potential leaders among junior staff and start instilling in the selected candidates the company's business and service philosophy and corporate culture.  We are using this system in the company top down at different levels with the directors mentoring managers and the managers coaching the executives.  The mentor system has been adopted by tertiary institutes for some time in which business leaders are invited to be mentors of students. As a mentor of six university students myself, I know very well the effectiveness of the system and how young talents and ultimately a company can benefit from it.

By helping young talents plan their career, we are grooming our successors and professionals essential to keep the industry growing. It is when these new potential leaders can appreciate the specialised skills and depth of knowledge of the industry and their clients expected of them that they will be able to carry the "all-round" consultant title with pride and meet the expectations of clients.

Richard Tsang

Chairman and Managing Director

Strategic Public Relations Group Limited