How to Ensure Ethical and Professional Business Practices with Your PR Firm

In grant of Ethics Month for the nationalist relations industry, which is observed successful September each year, it's an opportune clip to analyse not conscionable the ethical standards your PR patient implements connected your behalf pinch the nationalist but besides the morals and values your patient practices successful its one-on-one business dealings pinch you.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has respective resources successful spot dedicated to champion practices — its Board of Ethics and Professional Values, Statement of Professional Values, and Code of Ethics, among them — each of which guideline the behaviour and expected standards of nationalist relations professionals successful specified areas arsenic advocacy, loyalty, fairness, and conflicts of interest.

But what astir your broadside of the equation? What should business owners cognize astir the PR master aliases institution they take to correspond them?

Here are immoderate elements to see and questions to research erstwhile deciding who to partner pinch truthful that you're alert of their foundational principles and sufficiently informed astir their approaches and methodologies to consciousness assured astir your relationship.

Vetting the firm

The first point I'd counsel erstwhile you're reasoning of hiring a nationalist relations institution is to vet the firm. Research lays the groundwork for ensuring a bully fresh betwixt you and the patient representing you, truthful commencement by calling up a database of firms that meet your preferences (location, size, work offerings, areas of expertise) and past spot really they correspond themselves on their website.

Do you get a consciousness of the firm's "personality" from its online content? Are you looking for a one-person show aliases a larger squad connected your broadside (both travel pinch advantages)? Is their online messaging clear (if not, really will they make your messaging clear)? Consider the aesthetics of really they marque themselves — if you're drawn to the "look" and "feel" of their website, there's a bully chance you'll for illustration what they nutrient for you, too!

Check retired the LinkedIn pages and online bios of the firm's squad members. If you're successful the marketplace for mostly social media management, constrictive down your database to firms that specialize successful that; if you're aft property coverage, place firms beardown successful media relations — the aforesaid applies to immoderate different limb of PR: trading strategy, situation communications, branding, etc. Accessing the company's customer database is simply a shortcut to determining if they cognize your circumstantial market.

Lastly, erstwhile doing your "background check" connected suitable candidates, hunt down immoderate and each reviews you can. Nothing speaks louder than customer testimonials, truthful earnestly see what's been said astir the firm's performance, not conscionable connected their ain websites (which will only incorporate affirmative reviews) but connected platforms specified arsenic Glassdoor.

Related: Public Relations Bring Ethics Under the Spotlight

Is the PR patient accredited?

Now, earlier I spell immoderate further connected this point, fto maine make clear that accreditation done PRSA is not astatine each mandatory, fto unsocial needed. Still, if you cognize your PR rep is accredited, it's conscionable icing connected the cake, for legalization translates to specified bonuses arsenic a level of certification supra the norm and grounds of the firm's leadership, accountability, and ambition. You tin spot an accredited master by the "APR" credential aft their name.

Conduct an interview

Scheduling a telephone aliases video telephone pinch a prospective PR patient is simply a awesome measurement to stitchery accusation connected aspects of professionalism for illustration punctuality, preparedness, and presentation. Some group for illustration warm, personable interactions, and others want a business-like consecutive shooter, truthful gathering personification face-to-face should springiness you a coagulated impression.

Come fresh pinch a database of questions to ask, for illustration prices, statement requirements, and links to "success stories" for existing clients. Transparency successful each processes and procedures is simply a cardinal norm for me, truthful erstwhile firms don't readily divulge things for illustration their interest building aliases expected turnaround times, it mightiness raise a emblem astir what other they don't uncover astir their practices.

Does the patient person a thorough onboarding strategy successful place?

This is thing I had to study the difficult measurement erstwhile upping my professionalism and work crippled during the early years of shaping my ain firm. It's highly important that you'll beryllium formally introduced to the institution — its resources, intends and modes of operation, forms of transportation and deliverables (both theirs and yours), scheduling framework, and statement parameters.

Your expectations of the patient you prosecute tin only beryllium met if they intelligibly understand your needs and wants and tin explicate why they're equipped to fulfill them. If the patient builds successful a comprehensive first orientation to pass precisely really and really often you'll beryllium collaborating connected achieving your publicity goals, it's a bully motion that they person an established scheme successful spot to professionally and ethically guideline you done the full PR process.

Related: The Skills That Make You an Ethical Leader

List of do's and don'ts to look for

There's truthful overmuch much to see erstwhile it comes to the guiding principles and values of a nationalist relations company, but present are a fewer much standards that high-caliber, highly skilled PR professionals are expected to uphold:

• Create campaigns based connected affirmative messaging that build the customer up without bringing down their competitors.
• Don't prioritize your company's goals and advancement complete the client's; a PR patient only shines erstwhile its clients win and are satisfied.
• Maintain honesty astatine each turn; if you messiness up, fess up. You'll only build spot and rapport pinch the customer erstwhile you let yourself to beryllium genuine.
• Don't beryllium subjective successful your counsel; objectivity is vital. If you get excessively emotionally attached to a client, you'll beryllium tempted to show them what they want to perceive alternatively of what they request to hear.
• Protect your clients' privateness astatine each costs. Maintain their confidentiality, confidence, and waste and acquisition secrets. Your full estimation depends connected it.
• Don't beryllium led astray by the tie toward sensationalism, the powerfulness of daze value, aliases the short-term gratification of mudslinging. Everything a PR master undertakes should heighten the profession, not mar its status.

Public relations has go a cosmopolitan manufacture that almost each business, sector, and marketplace needs. So if you request a patient successful your area — and chances are, you yet will — hole yourself and protect yourself by making the champion prime erstwhile deciding who to trust. PR is simply a two-way street: If you prosecute a patient that's proven to beryllium wholly connected the up-and-up, it's a bully stake that they'll lead your trading and branding efforts up and up and up!