Oh the ironies of being a communicator

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By Dean Askin

It’s our job as communicators to add value for, and whenever possible, be the drivers of change in the organizations that we work for. Providing strategic counsel that we know is right and a best practice, is part of this.

The non-profit group I’ve been working for this year has gone through four communicators in three years. There’s a pattern here. It quickly became apparent to me that the problem was, one person can’t do everything when there are mountains of communications to write, edit and manage, and there’s also a need to raise the organization’s profile. So much of a need that it requires a fulltime professional dedicated to the execution of PR and media strategies in a communications plan that you’ve spent days developing and writing.

The solid strategic recommendation: engage an independent PR professional to handle the execution of that aspect of the organization’s communications needs. Recommendation happily accepted by the CEO so the organization can keep its inhouse communicator "because we’ve got a good thing going here." Evaluate the strategy by the end of the year.

The PR result: Objective accomplished very successfully – a great increase in media exposure for 2011 Take Our Kids to Work day, while the internal person focused on major writing projects taking up all his time, including writing all the communications for Take Our Kids to Work day. Everybody gets kudos for the great exposure from the CEO.

The irony: the day after Take Our Kids to Work day, the senior inhouse communicator is declared too expensive to keep in addition to an external PR consultant and gets a termination letter to that effect. Existing position declared redundant, to be redefined and reposted (no doubt at a much lower salary). Nothing like having tons of experience to provide good strategic counsel that advises you right out of a job before you can plan to move on, on your own terms.

Hmmm…beware the communications advice you provide….

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