PR can be a strategic business function by informing strategy through research, influencing strategy delivery through information, and facilitating communication of business deliverables. As a strategic function, PR plays a key role in boardroom discussions around strategy, performance, return on investment, governance, risk management, innovation, and people. PR supports business goals by influencing organizational culture, monitoring the operating environment, facilitating growth through reputation, building stakeholder relationships, and promoting performance. For PR to add value, it must be integrated into the business, drive performance beyond just the function, and provide measurable impacts and information to the business.

1. Business Acumen – PR as a Strategic
Business Function
18 August 2016
Thabisile Phumo, APR

2. The Business landscape

3. A changing business landscape
3
Dynamic operating environment (VUCA)
Convergence of technology with business practices
Relationships a competitive advantage for business
Discerning internal and external stakeholders

4. Business environment
World
Community
Business
Country
Integration of
the different
levels, the
context and
stakeholders

5. What a business needs to succeed
5
Good reputation
Operating credibility
Strong balance sheet
Understanding of systems and processes
Clarity of intention and outcome
Relationships with stakeholders
Influential leaders with motivated followers

6. What takes place around the boardroom table?

7. Boardroom talk….
Strategy
Performance
Return on investment
Governance/Compliance
Risk management
Innovation
People
Operating environment

8. Role of PR in Boardroom talk….
Strategy
― Inform strategy (research)
― Influence delivery of strategy (information)
Performance
―Facilitate the communication business deliverables
―Educate relevant stakeholders to drive performance
Return on investment
―Stakeholder goodwill
―Good reputation

9. Role of PR in Boardroom talk….
Governance/Compliance
―Reporting (King III, annual reports, global reporting benchmarks)
Risk management
―Issues tracking and management
―Stakeholder management
Innovation
―Influence and drive innovation

10. Role of PR in Boardroom talk….
People
―Provide critical fit for purpose information
―Motivate people
Operating environment
―Create understanding of operating environment
―Organisational culture

11. Elevating the image of the industry

12. Business needs PR….. What some CEOs
say
“Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to
effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas
to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader cant get
a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a
message doesn’t even matter.” Gilbert Amelio, CEO, National
Semiconductor Corporation
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think
about that, you will do things differently.” Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire
Hathaway
“Like a human being, a company has to have an internal communication
mechanism, a ‘nervous system’, to co-ordinate its actions.” Bill Gates,
Founder, Microsoft

13. Value of PR
Support delivery of strategy and business goals (business
direction)
Influence organisational culture (alignment and cohesion)
Monitor operating environment (trends)
Facilitate growth (brand equity – reputation)
Build relationships with stakeholders
Promote organisational performance and impact on its
environment
Identify and manage reputational risks
13

14. Value adding PR Score Card
14
Strategic level
― Integrated into the business – flows out of the scorecard of the
Executive
― drives performance beyond the function - makes a difference to the
business
Operational level
― Systems and process that enable the business to use communication
to achieve business results
― Measures impact and provides required information for the business to
make informed decisions

15. Restoring image of industry
15
Go back to basics
Add value as a function (deliver on the business KPIs)
Demonstrate value add (ROI in business language)
Demonstrate leadership and foresight
Technical competence premised on a solid body of knowledge (PR is
a science!)
Innovative, relevant and progressive

16. Leverage your role as PR professional

17. Business needs credible PR professionals
17
Integrity (transparent and credible)
Respect the ‘trade’ (technically competent)
Operate at a strategic level (information is an asset)
Responsive to business needs (pro-active and appropriately reactive)
Return on investment (role/programmes deliver returns)
Operate according to the same business principles (measurable
outcomes)

18. Business needs credible PR professionals
18
Research (information is power)
Understanding of business (integrate communication into the industry)
Understanding of the business environment and inputs (provide the
organisation with the view of its world regularly)
A leading voice (influence is not positional)
Facilitate communication (enable leaders to communicate)
Presence (intellectually and emotionally)

19. Conclusion
19
PR has the potential to create and unlock meaning value for the
business…and can, if the function supports the delivery of the business
strategy, is integrated into business processes and its outcomes are
tangible/measurable.