What’s Wrong With Some Traditional PR Agencies—And 4 Tips To Fix It

April coined the term “Trust Relations” to describe a new approach to public relations, then founded the virtual firm Trust Relations.

 

Young indian businesswoman looking stressed out while working alone on a laptop in an office. One female feeling worried and anxious about deadlines and getting frustrated with technology while dealing with workplace stress

I’ve never understood why some things are so backward and broken at some legacy PR firms. I’ve watched many of my friends and colleagues in the industry experience the same toxic themes over and over again. Mentorship and teamwork have been virtually nonexistent for them. And some agencies seem to have embraced a culture of competitiveness to the point where even pop culture depictions of PR agencies often place the most ruthless characters at the top.

When I’ve discussed these issues with my professional confidants, the story is often the same: Terrible managers rise through the ranks at these firms. Leadership teams often seem incompetent. Some bosses even downright weaponize their positions of power to terrorize those beneath them. Work is pushed down onto junior staff, who then push the work down onto even more junior staff, until the newbies are working 12-hour days, largely driven by fear.

We lament how, at some agencies, senior people handling new business pitches dream up impossible ideas to implement, promise instant media placements that are often a pipe dream for prospective clients, and assign retainer fees without much, if any, consideration of clearly defined deliverables. My colleagues then see these false promises become the problem of junior staff. After all, executives aren’t a central part of the day-to-day team at these agencies. This leaves inexperienced junior staff leading big accounts with big expectations, unable to deliver on the senior staff’s fantastical promises made during the client courting process. This inevitably leads to burnout and high turnover for junior staff members.

 

How Did This Happen?

At the end of the day, any service-based company is at the mercy of billable hours. When a firm pays for a fancy office space in Manhattan, Santa Monica or wherever, along with the steep salaries of executives, it becomes difficult to turn a profit (or just break even). And breaking even as a firm that’s part of a publicly traded company—or one that wants to grow—certainly isn’t an option. So, it must hire people as cheaply as possible and then make them work as many hours as possible.

I believe this is where the problem starts, and that everything rolls downhill from there: The senior staff members focus on business development to justify their expensive salaries, rather than doing the day-to-day work, which leaves them out of touch with the ever-changing media landscape and without time for mentorship; meanwhile, the junior staff members pick up the pieces for as long as they can, before leaving for a new job they hope is less … demanding.

 

How Can We Fix It?

Here are four tips for PR agency owners who want to change the industry for the better:

 

Keep Account Leads Involved In The Business Development Processes

Ensure the day-to-day account leads are looped in during the new business phase, so they have an opportunity to chime in on what will be possible to implement—and what assets, news or milestones the client would need to achieve meaningful results. It’s okay if super-seasoned professionals not destined to work on the account day to day are present. But prospective clients should meet the account lead, who will be their primary point of contact, so they don’t feel misled—or like they were corporate “catfished.”

 

Embrace A Culture Of Cooperation And Inclusivity, And Shun Anything Less

The “crabs in a bucket” mentality is the downfall of any office culture. (Think: employees looking to claw their way to the top, without any regard for those they climb over or knock down.) Hire new team members with this in mind, by asking questions that will suss out the candidate’s likelihood to work with the team, and institute a no-tolerance policy for gossip, backstabbing or infighting. Also, ensure your staff doesn’t look like they all showed up from the casting agency for the same role. Diversity is critical for diversity of thought, approaches and ideas—and helps ensure team members don’t feel as if they need to “look a certain part” to work there.

 

Cut Out Unnecessary Expenses—Maybe Even That Expensive Office Space

When you keep your overhead down, you can afford to have more senior team members doing the day-to-day work and leading accounts. This results in better client service and better mentorship. Junior staff can learn from seasoned professionals, who are present to guide them, and clients are more confident in the account lead’s counsel—which means they will follow the firm’s lead more eagerly. As the owner of a completely virtual PR agency, I can also speak firsthand about the benefits of ditching that fancy office space for a remote, work-from-home business model—and investing that money in benefits and perks that keep your current staff fulfilled and happy instead.

 

Ensure Client Fees Match Their Expectations

Every client’s retainer or project fee should match the expected deliverables and/or results. Overservicing accounts is a huge problem with many agencies, causing junior staff to work long hours—and then burn out and leave. Ensuring fees are transparently aligned with the work requested/required helps employees sustain a work-life balance and gives clients more insight into where their budget is going. It also gives the team a tangible way to push back on pushy clients.

The PR industry is challenging both for owners and employees. It’s not an easy job to run an agency and turn a profit, and it’s not an easy job for those in the trenches, managing the accounts and pitching the media. But we can make it better by working together as a team, appreciating how difficult every role at every level is and then doing our best to change what’s in our control.

 

Source: forbes.com