Public Relations, an essential responsibility of top management
Public Relations are an essential responsibility of top management, in my opinion – not an optional one or a function that can be delegated. The policy must be decided – and sustained – from the top.
Good Public Relations need thinking, planning and organization. No manager can claim that he has “natural” Public Relations abilities as he doesn’t have natural talent for law, staff and finances. A good professional in Public Relations has no satisfaction when it is proved he was right in his recommendations, recommendations that were ignored and that’s why everything went wrong. Too little bosses say:
- “Everything is so good that the last thing we should worry about is that nonsense of good relations;”
- “I think we can approach to this as we go on, without spending money or time on any complex and boring plan;”
- “Believe me, I am a natural communication man. I don’t need advice from any Public Relations person;”
- “Let me play this card. We don’t want to ruin spontaneity with a summery or a rehearsal”, etc.
The colleagues in an organization / institution often don’t understand the importance and aim of Public Relations, because the experts in Public Relations are considered to be the key. So that many experts in this field go towards marketing, which has more credibility and it is more measurable.
Consequently, there is no confidence from the organization. Sometimes the lack of confidence is accompanied by the physical isolation of the office of Public Relations.
Speaking about strategies and policies in Public Administration … a department of Public Relations in such an institution should have a strategy. It is like a publicity campaign, thought of in the smallest detail – only that in Public Administration there is no beginning and no ending (especially it doesn’t have an ending), being always in the public’s eye.
