From Eric’s Diary:  Board decisions – Public Relations input = stakeholder backlash

The Institute of Public Relations (IPR) Ghana is 51 years old this year, hurray!!!

For good reason, the golden jubilee anniversary which should have taken place last year is being marked this year with the launch on Tuesday July 16. At this same event, to be held at the Accra City Hotel, the swearing-in of the recently elected Executive Committee (EXCO) will be done.

The date for the belated 50^th anniversary launch was strategically chosen to coincide with the World Public Relations Day. The activity-full celebrations are being held within the Institute’s Annual Public Relations (PR) Week- 15^th to 19^th July, 2024 and beyond.

These activities include; Community engagement on environmental conservation, time with PR students, IPR Community Gathering, where all members will wear IPR T-Shirts and enjoy knowledge enhancement through humor- a fun filled activity, titled, “Ooops! What Happened?

From the information I have read so far, the occasion is “designed to enable members share the joy of our profession, network, build and deepen professional and social bonds while sharing knowledge and enhancing the reputation of the profession.”

I have also gleaned from reading materials put out by the hard-working new EXCO that “the week also provides an opportunity to educate the general public about the Public Relations profession and its relevance and value to them.”

The overarching theme, according to the brief I sighted is “Public Relations for Value Creation.” Cognisant of the fact that Ghana’s political season is here, a key focus with respect to value creation is promoting ethical communication for peaceful elections.

I cut my Public Relations teeth at the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana (NMCG) and honed my skills at THE communications consultancy- Stratcomm Africa. If per chance, you have credited me with some level of creativity in your thoughts, Madam Esther Cobbah, the President of IPR Ghana, is responsible for that. She demanded it from me.

As someone who practiced the profession for close to two decades, I consider this an opportunity to drum home the value of Public Relations to those who genuinely seek and use our services.

Value Creation explained

Like every discipline or subject, the phrase ‘Value Creation’ has varied explanations depending on who is explaining. One that I liked in my quest to write this piece is “the act of putting something out in the world that has some level of usefulness for other people.”

This definition took my mind to the biblical “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”- Matthew 5:15.

Unfortunately, the above biblical prohibition seems to be the norm in Ghana. We hire PR professionals (Light the candle) and place them under direct reporting lines to Human Resource, Administrative or Marketing Managers and in some cases, lawyers. By so doing, the light does not get to shine to all that are in the house.

In other words, the value (usefulness) of the profession is lost, not only on those who hire the services of PR officers, but also those who should benefit.

 

What is Public Relations? 

Similar to Value Creation, Public Relations has been defined variously. While I like IPR Ghana’s definition due to the emphasis it places on it being a ‘Management function’, I love that of the American Public Relations Association (APRA).

They define it as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

The key elements in this definition are Strategic Communication, Mutually Beneficial, and Publics.

Strategic Communication describes the communication principles, strategies, and initiatives used to further an organization’s goals, mission, or values.

Mutually beneficial relationship refers to a situation where each party in the relationship shares something of value in return for something of equal and comparable value.

Publics are audiences that are important to an organisation. They include customers – existing and potential; employees and management, investors, media, government, suppliers, opinion-formers etc.

Obviously, any employee tasked with the above scope of work should not be made to play second fiddle. That is why the designation of Public Relations as a Management Function by IPR Ghana is apt.

That is to say, the place of the Public Relations, Public Affairs, Corporate Communication or Reputation Manager is in the Executive Management Team and by extension, a seat at the Board meeting in advisory capacity.

This is critical because if he or she is present in a Board meeting, while the Finance Manager is presenting his case for increase in fees and charges or prices, or the Marketing Manager is proposing what may be deemed innovative ideas about touchpoints in order to increase sales, he or she will, as a duty for which his or her salary is paid, avert everybody’s mind to the possible adverse impact of those decisions on the customers- existing and potential.

If this input is acknowledged and mandated, he or she will then use the strategic communication principles aforementioned to ensure that the relationship with the publics remains mutually beneficial even if the proposals are implemented.

For example, by falling on the logic in the inoculation theory, the PR Manager could suggest that instead of a big increment in price of say 5%, a graduated approach of 2, 2, 1 percentage increases over the intended period may be more acceptable to the customers than the one-off raise. By this advice, a public backlash will definitely be avoided.

And if the ‘innovative’ touchpoint proposed by the Marketing Manager of an alcoholic beverage manufacturing firm is a marketing activation at church picnics, the PR Manager could use stakeholder analysis to advise that such a tactic could be deployed in orthodox churches, but not the charismatic ones. That’s because the audience analysis will reveal that some members of Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist congregations drink alcohol during such social events.

Clearly, the reputational damage that would have been caused by making such a proposal to the leadership of the Church of Pentecost, Action Faith Chapel or Perez Chapel would be averted. The stakeholder analysis would also disclose that for members of these religious groupings, non-alcoholic drinks are more suitable. A strategic decision could thus be taken at the Board level to cater to this need by venturing into manufacturing what we refer to in Ghana as ‘soft drinks.’

Likewise, if Public Affairs Managers at the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are given a seat in the Board room, they will bring their publics-centred perspectives to bear on the formulation and implementation of the numerous policies and programmes in order to make them more acceptable to the intended audience.

Therefore, in mathematical terms, Board decisions – Public Relations input = stakeholder backlash. Recent examples abound in Ghana. However, today is a happy day, so I keep the joyous mood.

It’s time to go

From the foregoing, it goes without saying that it is organisations whose managers recognize the importance of their publics- clients, customers or stakeholders to their survival, which reap the value that Public Relations creates. Moreso, when Public Relations is given a voice during Board meetings.

It is true that Public Relations costs money, but brings in none directly. However, if ‘Image Is Everything’, as touted by the Institute of Public Relations Ghana is anything to go by, then ‘Everything’ could include the fact that the mutually beneficial relationship fostered by the Public Relations professional engenders a positive image for the company, which makes existing customers continue to patronize and potential ones get attracted to its products or services for sustained custom, hence enhanced bottom-line.

Typical of Public Relations practitioners, an environmental scan has been conducted in celebrating the 50^th anniversary. Thus, recognizing that this is an election year, characterized by potential for destructive communications by political communicators and the general public, the EXCO of IPR intends to dedicate some attention to ethical communication during the celebrations.

To this end, the focus is on projecting the value of effective Public Relations as a means of ensuring violence -free elections.

As the week-long activities get rolled out, one cannot help but commend the efforts of the forebears of IPR Ghana- those who established, those who continued and those who sustained it till today.

Fifty years, nay 51 years of any organization is worth celebrating. So, from now until the last activity is over, we the members of IPR Ghana shall make merry even as we ponder over how best to improve our Value Creation prowess.

Shalom – That’s goodbye in Hebrew

Let God Lead! Follow Him directly, not through any human.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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