Audit of the business PR team: an outside perspective for perfect communications

We all sometimes get so caught up in our current work that we stop seeing the big picture. Therefore, press services, as a rule, are in constant motion between media campaigns, crises, and tasks from top management, rarely having the time and resources for a helicopter view. What can this lead to? An imbalance in communication directions, ineffective manifestations, and unnecessary expenses, a lack of clear understanding of whether communications are working at all. It is difficult to see the reasons for this if you are stuck in operational routine. I propose an outside perspective – an audit of the press service’s work. So where do we look for both mistakes and opportunities for team development?

Media presence over the past year

Are you talking enough about CSR and ecology? Are you not forgetting about occupational safety and production? It is impossible to assess the proportionality of work across all strategic communication directions in a short period. I suggest taking a segment of 12 months for this. An annual analysis will show which directions are overloaded and which are gathering dust. I started doing such reviews back in 2011 when it was necessary to evaluate the previous work of the communications team. Initially, these were quarterly summaries, later – full annual reports, where I noted for myself what, when, to whom, and where we communicated. Such an annual snapshot helps to understand how much the actual media presence corresponds to the plans of the company and the press service, as well as provides a “top view” that allows structuring and balancing communications.

Effectiveness of material placement in the media

Often in PR, you need to act here and now, especially during an information crisis or a large media campaign. And at the same time, PR professionals sometimes do not take resources into account very well. But does every media manifestation really work for the business’s reputation? Once, with a cool head, I analyzed one of my large campaigns and found that 25-30% of placements were ineffective. At that moment, we needed to run everywhere at once. But when you exhale and think rationally, you realize that some communication channels and some messages did not work as desired. Therefore, during the audit of press services, our team helps to filter out PR manifestations that will not be worth the effort and funds spent. Saving your business’s budget is an important “bonus” of placement effectiveness analysis.

The necessity of social research

and assistance with their preparation and conduct. Only and exclusively social research will give you grounds to say whether your communications have influenced stakeholder behavior, whether they have worked to increase loyalty, recognition, or any other metric you measure. Yes, this is a large and labor-intensive topic, but, in my opinion, it is necessary quarterly. If it is about a regional PR campaign, the task is simpler: it is enough to find out the opinions of local stakeholders or the community. But if the campaign is at the national level, research needs to be conducted across the country. It is advisable to conduct both quantitative and qualitative research. The former will give you a general overview of the problem, while the latter shows how deeply communications penetrate the necessary environment and influence its resolution.

Effectiveness of internal policies and rules of the press service

They regulate the interaction of the press service with other departments of the company. If you ignore the creation of such rules – expect confusion and blurred responsibility for providing or not providing information. And for the press service, receiving approved data promptly is critical.

The policy can define:

• Response speed;
• Format of interaction within the business;
• Key speakers authorized to communicate on behalf of the company.

After all, today, a reputation can be strengthened or destroyed even by a post on social media from a hypothetical employee expressing a personal opinion while wearing your company’s uniform. People will take it as an official position. Therefore, internal policies structure and facilitate the company’s interaction with the outside world, and they should be written simply, without excessive legal jargon.

I will provide a comprehensive approach: from preparing the structure of internal communications to training on their effective application. There are templates I have developed myself that have been tested in both large corporations and medium-sized businesses. They will help organize processes, make the press service’s work more structured and understandable, and communications more consistent and effective.

Reputational attractiveness of the business for investors

Classic due diligence is a mandatory check before purchasing any asset, where investors carefully study the finances, legal aspects, and operational activities of the company. But it often also involves checking reputation. In the end, we get a document that shows how the company is perceived in the public space. Additionally, it outlines what needs to be corrected and which “tails” to clean up.

Audit is not about finding mistakes. It is about finding solutions that will make the press service stronger

In my years in PR, I have seen various working models, different situations, different scales. Each team is unique and special, so auditing its work is an individual process that should be as comfortable as possible. After all, we have a common goal – to make the business communication team more resilient and effective. And a professional analysis “from the outside” will help find growth points and options for solving current problems.