ethics

Setting the Foundation for Ethics in PR

Ashleigh Mavros Leave a comment

Setting the foundation for ethics in pr“Don’t make s*!& up.”

That sentence, uttered in one of the first classes of the year by my favorite journalism professor, is one of the ethical guides I follow through my career. The other is the PRSA Code of Ethics.

As new professionals, navigating the working world is complicated. PR professionals, new and old, are also responsible for maintaining a certain level of ethical behavior while in the public eye. Professionals across most industries are also expected to be honest and to observe ethical practices, but not many other industries are active in the public eye more often than they’re not.

Instead of the traditional methods of relaying messages through media, PR pros use more direct methods like social media, blogging, guest and sponsored posts, and other self-publishing options. Each method has pros and cons, but the ethics of how we present information and interact with our audiences are things we should also to factor into daily decisions.

Every year, PRSA celebrates Ethics Month in September and this year’s theme was “Ethics Every Day,” making the point that ethics are part of even the most routine, mundane decisions.

According to Kirk Hazlett, member of PRSA’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards, in his piece in September’s issue of “Public Relations Tactics,” “Ethics should be an everyday reality for all of us. It should be intuitive, not haphazard and reactive.”

Too often, we look at decisions through an ethical lens only after damage has already been done. Companies, like Volkswagen, for a current example, only seem to think about the repercussions of the decisions, usually made by executives, after the shady practices are uncovered and made public. But those are only things that happen to big companies and famous people – unknown PR pros don’t have these sort of far-reaching important ethical dilemmas come across their desks, right?

Wrong. Everyone encounters decisions with ethical complications every day. Most of them are pretty simple decisions, like misrepresenting yourself, your company or your client, adding undisclosed fees to a contract, breaching client confidentiality or concealing information, that we might make without even thinking about the unethical alternative.

“It is part of everything you do as a public relations professional,” Hazlett said. “You can’t forget that people are looking to you for the truth…[Being an ethical practitioner] is not something you take off at night.”

The Code of Ethics lays out 12 ethical elements that decisions fall into and that are important to public relations. These include six values: advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, fairness, and six core principles: free flow of information, competition, disclosure of information, safeguard confidences, conflicts of interest and enhancing the profession. According to PRSA, “these values are the fundamental beliefs that guide our behaviors and decision-making process. We believe our professional values are vital to the integrity of the profession as a whole.”

A good tool to use to understand how these ethical elements fit into our everyday professional lives is the matrix of ethical dilemmas. The matrix outlines common dilemmas that occur within business conduct, general management, products, process, and client, competitor, government, employee, outsider and vendor relations, and matches them to the corresponding ethical category(ies).

Understanding ethical dilemmas is only part of our responsibility, though. Once we understand that these commonplace decisions do have ethical consequences, we have to know why these ethics are important and how to handle it when they are challenged in the workplace. As PR practitioners, the public depends on us to provide them with information and to be honest and truthful in our actions. Hazlett believes that the more honest a PR pro is, the more effective their organization’s methods and messages will be.

“[Being honest] is the one thing that opens the conversation and lends credibility to what we’re saying,” Hazlett said. “If I’m viewed as being an ethical person…it makes it easier for us to get our messages out. Ethics has to be there. You can’t be viewed as someone who will only tell the truth when it’s convenient.”

According to Jason Mollica, president of JRMComm and member of PRSA, pressure from a supervisor is a common dilemma faced by professionals of all levels.

“I think one of the most common struggles is feeling as if you HAVE TO follow the directive, even if it is something that is not right,” he said in an email interview. “New pros (or pros in general) should never be put in a position where they need to bypass their ethics to satisfy a superior or client.”

Mollica added that whenever practitioners are struggling with a decision or need a bit of guidance, there are plenty of resources for them to seek out. Professionals should always take the time to step back and really think about their decisions before making them. Consulting the Code of Ethics can help us to remember the importance of being an ethical practitioner and reaching out to colleagues, mentors or members of the Board of Ethics and Professional Standards can also be helpful in resolving difficult situations.

The most important thing we can do, though, is to simply commit to being an ethical practitioner and speak up against the things we feel are unethical practices.

Robyn Rudish-Laning (1)Robyn Rudish-Laning is a member of PRSA SC and communications coordinator for the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness. She is a graduate of Duquesne University and is currently located in Columbia, SC. Find her on LinkedIn or Twitter or read her PR-focused blog.

If You Don’t Tell Your Organization’s Story, Someone Else Will

Heather Sliwinski Leave a comment

Typewriter with Once Upon a TimeIn an age when practically everyone carries the latest model of a mobile device, when breaking news is always a glance away and one company’s misstep can spread like wildfire across the country in a matter of only minutes, it is essential that organizations can effectively communicate their stories, before someone else does for them.

Find Real Stories

The foundation of telling your organization’s story well is to start with finding a story: a real story. Every organization has a story to tell. Even the smallest or seemingly mundane organization has some unique attribute hidden in its history, conception, product, obstacles or successes. As public relations professionals, our job is to unearth these stories and nuances that set organizations apart.

Often best captured by simple anecdotes that reflect organizational values, character and image, your story needs to emulate who you are and what sets you apart. If these stories do not automatically surface, it’s up to you to discover what those differentiations are and effectively communicate them to your audience through authentic communication.

It is important to note, that while a particular instance or fact may seem like an excellent beginning to your brand’s story, even the most interesting tale can stop you in your tracks if it is not consistent with your brand message or values. If you cannot directly link your story to your brand, the message will quickly become diluted and serve as a detriment because of inconsistencies and confusion about who you are and your values. If your story lacks brand consistency or clarity, it’s time to revisit the purpose of finding your story.

The most successful brand stories are not fabricated or over exaggerations of the truth. They are authentic, true and a direct reflection of what the brand values.

Use Real People

Perhaps the simplest way to find a good story that emanates your company’s core character is to find real people who have real stories to tell. Be authentic while creating and refining characters in your story whom your audience will champion. These stories could come from any of your stakeholders, including people from within your organization, one of your clients or even someone in your community. A plethora of compelling content is not necessary in order to communicate your story well. A few unique anecdotes can be more than enough to convey everything about your brand and company culture.

Once you have the story that captures the essence of who you are, what comes next? The mistake many organizations make is convoluting the clarity of their story by hiring an actor or appointing a spokesperson to tell it for them. Consider the purpose of why you originally chose to discover and tell your story; this solution produces the opposite effect.

Did your retired co-founder inherit the shop location of your now nationally recognized bakery chain from a famous pastry artist? Bring her back in for an interview. Make her and what her story means for your organization the focus of your next campaign.

People connect to real stories that evoke authentic emotion. The more willing you are to humanize your stories, the more you can relate to your audience and your audience can relate to you.

Be Authentic

Bottom line: there is trust in transparency.

In this day and age, nothing is hidden. No bad business decision, unethical practice or poor treatment of customers can be concealed. It is only a matter of time before the truth is revealed, and when it is, who would you rather have controlling the conversation: you, the public or even your competition? An honest apology or explanation of the truth can earn the respect of your audience and has the potential to deter ruthless scrutiny, even if that scrutiny is unfounded.

When crafting your story, be as open and honest with your audience as you can be, because openness is equal to trust. Actively disclosing information to your constituents about your company and its products or services is perhaps the most powerful means of establishing and building trust with your audience. Don’t forget to ask yourself the hard questions and answer them before others have the opportunity to answer them for you.

In the end, the key element to telling your organization’s story well is simple: the truth. The most powerful and meaningful brand stories are derived from honesty and openness. When you tell your story by using authenticity and real people to tell those stories, you will establish more than just trust with your stakeholders—you will create passionate brand advocates who believe in your brand and its mission.

 

Kristen SyndramKristen Syndram is a public relations graduate from Illinois State University and a public relations and communications professional in the central Illinois area. She has gained professional communications experience by working with both Fortune 50 companies as well as boutique agencies and specializes in public relations, media relations and social media. Connect with her on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter. 

September Twitter Chat Highlights: Modern PR Ethics

Heather Sliwinski Leave a comment

Twitter Chat Highlights: Modern PR EthicsWe’d like to thank everyone who participated in the September #NPPRSA Twitter chat as part of PRSA’s Ethics Month.

Specifically, we’d like to thank special guest for the month, PRSA’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards [BEPS].  Join us again on October 10 at 9 p.m. EST for the next #NPPRSA Twitter chat.

Review highlights of the chat below.

What did you learn from the September chat? How do you make sure your brand is remaining ethical despite the addition of paid placements in social and digital media? How do you confront situations where ethical values may be at risk?

Lauren RosenbaumLauren Rosenbaum is the public relations director at BrickPixel, a web design and marketing consultancy. She is the co-founder of Soversity, a public relations and digital marketing company. Rosenbaum is also one of the volunteer coordinators for PRSA Houston Chapter’s PR Day 2013. You can connect with her on Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Eight Questions to Ask Before Accepting an Internship

Heather Sliwinski Leave a comment

Once again internships are prominent in the news. Just last week, we learned from an article in the Atlantic that barely one-third of the U.S. Senate pay their interns. The White House also was recently chided about not paying interns.  Even the foundation of the COO of Facebook has finally and reluctantly relented and has announced that the foundation will begin paying interns.

I have written before about the internship on behalf of the Public Relations Society of America and have not changed my opinion one iota. Internships are legitimate work and should be compensated. PRSA is so adamant about the issue that it published an advisory nearly three years ago for its 30,000 members about internships. As noted in a past post  on internships, PRSA believes it is ethically improper to employ anyone who adds real value to a public relations agency or department without compensating them for their work – whether that compensation is monetary or in the form of educational credits. If billable work is being performed by an intern, he or she deserves some form of legal compensation.

There was a time many years ago when internships were employed by organizations to give back to society by offering summer employment to students in disciplines related to their academic studies. Later, the internship evolved to a way for organizations to solve interim staffing issues. On the candidate side, the internship was a way to get practical, real-world experience in the field that would supplement academic training. Somewhere along the way, internships started to be viewed as a volunteer function and organizations treated them as such.

Let’s be clear though what constitutes volunteerism. Helping a charitable organization tend to the needs of the underserved is volunteerism. Assisting an organization to sell books or some other product or service is not.

As young professionals, your goal is to secure a full-time professional position in public relations. Here are several metrics for evaluating the efficacy of internships after you have graduated.

  1. Is the internship a paid position? And is it well above minimum wage? This is a critical question for which the answer is simple. If it is not paid, steer clear.
  2. Is the compensation reasonable for the role? You should expect no less than $25 per hour, particularly if the job involves content creation, including writing releases, case studies, blogs, speeches, tweets, Facebook posts and yes, even questions for Quora or content for Pinterest.
  3. Is the internship/job a 40-hours-a-week gig and/or are you expected to put in inordinate time that is not compensated? Most jobs are reasonably 40 hours a week or at max 50 hours. Investigate if there is the opportunity for paid overtime or compensatory time.
  4. What is the probability that the internship will lead to a full-time position? Assuming you excel in the job, will the employer agree to put it in writing ahead of time? As Ronald Reagan once said, “trust but verify.” If a permanent position is not in the cards, make certain other conditions are sufficiently compelling to make the internship worth your time and labor.
  5. Is the organization a leader in its category, whether a non-profit, corporation, institution or agency? Your credibility, integrity and personal brand are all built on your associations. Make certain that the organization is a thought leader or at least “reputation safe.”
  6. Will the internship help to appreciably increase your skills, broaden your understanding of the field and augment your network and sphere of influence? These are all vital characteristics that should be inherent in your investment in the internship. If they don’t contribute, think hard and long before you accept.
  7. Can you use the content you create as part of your portfolio? Will you be able to take credit publicly for your intellectual labor and resulting product? It is wise to have some evidence that you can use to validate your accomplishments.
  8. Will your employer give you time for other pursuits, including volunteer work, professional affiliations and networking? Don’t be chained to your desk. Make sure there is adequate freedom to network, volunteer and attend to other professional endeavors.

If you decide to go the internship route while you job hunt, exercise caution in doing internships that do not help fulfill your career goals and strategy. What other red flags have you seen associated with internships? Have your internship experiences proved valuable in your professional growth?

 

Gerard CorbettGerard F. Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA, is 2013 immediate past chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America; chair and CEO of Redphlag LLC, a Silicon Valley Strategic Communications Firm; and the PR Job Coach.  He can be reached at gerard.corbett@redphlag.com.