GolinHarris Kicks Off New Age of PR Specialists

GolinHarris has said goodbye to all of its VPs, SVPs, EVPs, account executives and account supervisors.

Actually, the PR agency dropped the job titles, not the people associated with them. The traditional organizational structure no longer fit the digital habits of audiences and, most likely, the changing demands of clients.

GolinHarris announced that it is reorganizing its staffing structure and was shifting to a new model called g4, the basis of which is four global teams of dedicated specialists, "in contrast to the traditional agency structure of communications generalists in a seniority-based hierarchy." Instead of accounts being delegated to specific people who may not have the digital savvy a particular client needs, a client will have a team of specialists, each of which will be designated either a strategist, creator, connector or catalyst. These four groupings will be global, and each will play a role in the work for each GolinHarris client, the result being a more holistic approach to engaging clients' audiences.

PR News wondered aloud on its Facebook page if this reorganization will resonate with clients, and one person wrote that it will resonate with PR professionals, who will be able to focus on their particular strengths instead of having to be generalists. If your talent lies in formulating expansive strategies and delving into a client's business, there's a bucket for you, and if you are an adept social media "connector," there's a bucket for you as well.

If GolinHarris can succeed in selling this reorganization internally—and who doesn't want to do the work they feel they're best suited to do?—the value proposition of all PR agencies can only get stronger.