28 abril, 2010
Recientemente el sitio PR News publicó los resultados de un informe que dan cuenta de los recortes que han sufrido los salarios de los comunicadores estadounidenses, tanto dentro de las empresas como consultoras externas.
El artículo reúne la visión de reconocidos especialistas en la materia, aunque fue Steve Cody (foto) quien ha llegado al nervio de esta dolencia.
Steve Cody, Co-Fundador y Director de Peppercom, una agencia especializada en la implementación de estrategias de comunicaciones creativas, explicó claramente: “I’m a little surprised at the severity of the cuts, but, I’m not surprised. While we may claim to have gained a seat at the table, PR is still seen as an overhead expense”. Algo así como: “Estoy un tanto sorprendido por la severidad de los cortes pero para nada sorprendido. Cuando nosotros –los comunicadores- afirmamos haber ganado un lugar en la mesa, lo cierto es que las Relaciones Públicas son aún vistas como un costo elevado y prescindible”.
Entendiendo que algo similar ocurre en estas latitudes, me entrevisté con Cody. Lo que sigue es un resumen de una charla sin desperdicios:
What things you think we (as PR professionals) should do or actions to take in order to stop our career from being seen as an “overhead expense”? What´s also the management´s responsibility in preventing this?
PR professionals need to think big picture. We need to understand PR’s role not only within the marketing mix, but it’s role within the larger business. We have to understand the business of the businesses for whom we work. That means going on sales calls, listening to what customers have to say and understanding the finances of the organizations. In publicly-traded corporations, it means we need to understand how to read annual reports and balance sheets and be able to explain both with the CEO.
Management should encourage a culture in which PR professionals are encourage to continuously learn and new different things about economics, finance and business in general. They can do this by underwriting the costs for executive education classes or courses on the subject.
Do you think this scenario is just local or an international context without boundaries?
It’s an international challenge. PR professionals throughout the world face more or less the same image and reputation challenges.
How specialization may help?
The deeper and more extensive one’s knowledge in a particular field, the more valuable he or she becomes to an organization or client. It’s no longer enough to be mere generalist. Today, and in the future, specialization will trump generalization. That means PR professionals need to become experts in a given sector, field or industry (i.e. health care, finance, manufacturing, etc.) or become experts in terms of understanding a particular demographic (i.e. senior citizens, “moms”, teens, etc.).
En el foro “¿Cuál es tu frase motivadora favorita?” de Linkedin, alguien escribió: Cuando la marcha se pone dura, los duros se ponen en marcha. Será cuestión de seguir tomando desafíos y sortear los obstáculos que se presenten para tornarnos “imprescindibles”.
Aprovecho la ocasión de agradecer inmensamente a Steve Cody por una muy rica conversación y a su colaborador Dandy Stevenson, quien ha ofrecido toda la asistencia y más.
El artículo reúne la visión de reconocidos especialistas en la materia, aunque fue Steve Cody (foto) quien ha llegado al nervio de esta dolencia.
Steve Cody, Co-Fundador y Director de Peppercom, una agencia especializada en la implementación de estrategias de comunicaciones creativas, explicó claramente: “I’m a little surprised at the severity of the cuts, but, I’m not surprised. While we may claim to have gained a seat at the table, PR is still seen as an overhead expense”. Algo así como: “Estoy un tanto sorprendido por la severidad de los cortes pero para nada sorprendido. Cuando nosotros –los comunicadores- afirmamos haber ganado un lugar en la mesa, lo cierto es que las Relaciones Públicas son aún vistas como un costo elevado y prescindible”.
Entendiendo que algo similar ocurre en estas latitudes, me entrevisté con Cody. Lo que sigue es un resumen de una charla sin desperdicios:
What things you think we (as PR professionals) should do or actions to take in order to stop our career from being seen as an “overhead expense”? What´s also the management´s responsibility in preventing this?
PR professionals need to think big picture. We need to understand PR’s role not only within the marketing mix, but it’s role within the larger business. We have to understand the business of the businesses for whom we work. That means going on sales calls, listening to what customers have to say and understanding the finances of the organizations. In publicly-traded corporations, it means we need to understand how to read annual reports and balance sheets and be able to explain both with the CEO.
Management should encourage a culture in which PR professionals are encourage to continuously learn and new different things about economics, finance and business in general. They can do this by underwriting the costs for executive education classes or courses on the subject.
Do you think this scenario is just local or an international context without boundaries?
It’s an international challenge. PR professionals throughout the world face more or less the same image and reputation challenges.
How specialization may help?
The deeper and more extensive one’s knowledge in a particular field, the more valuable he or she becomes to an organization or client. It’s no longer enough to be mere generalist. Today, and in the future, specialization will trump generalization. That means PR professionals need to become experts in a given sector, field or industry (i.e. health care, finance, manufacturing, etc.) or become experts in terms of understanding a particular demographic (i.e. senior citizens, “moms”, teens, etc.).
En el foro “¿Cuál es tu frase motivadora favorita?” de Linkedin, alguien escribió: Cuando la marcha se pone dura, los duros se ponen en marcha. Será cuestión de seguir tomando desafíos y sortear los obstáculos que se presenten para tornarnos “imprescindibles”.
Aprovecho la ocasión de agradecer inmensamente a Steve Cody por una muy rica conversación y a su colaborador Dandy Stevenson, quien ha ofrecido toda la asistencia y más.
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