For PR execs who have decided to accept a new high-profile position either on the corporate or agency side, the first few months can make or break your reputation as a PR leader with strategic vision.
During this "honeymoon period," the new executive should take the opportunity to evaluate the specific communications needs of the company, become familiar with the internal "personality" of the organization and set immediate goals on achieving project success, according to executive recruiters and recently hired PR execs.
Although making a VP leap to another company might hold some key career advancement opportunities, Kathy Noyes, managing director with the New York-based Russell Reynold Associates executive recruiting firm, stresses looking before you leap (both during the interviewing process as well as during the first few months on the job). Doing extensive homework on the new company not only makes the transition smooth but allows the candidate to frame a well-educated strategy on immediate plans of action. Her advice:
- Develop an understanding of the industry, the company and its competitors
- Learn about the CEO's strategy and how it has been communicated to the public and the company's internal audience.
- Get a handle on the level of talent in your staff (there may be a so-so staff person but he or she may be invaluable to cluing you in on the corporate culture of the new company).
And William Weed, a partner with Ray & Berndtson in New York, adds that reading the company's publications and recent CEO speeches will also give you a heads up on the organization's corporate image and business approaches. And it allows you an opportunity to generate some ideas on enhancing the company's corporate image.
New Kid On The Block
Although Don Spetner earned his stripes as VP of corporate communications at Nissan North America, when he joined a retirement savings products and services company as VP of corporate communications in June, he courageously admits he should have been more prepared for the challenges.
"When I came to Sun America I was unprepared for the amount of difficulty involved with learning about a new company and industry for the first two months. I went from being the master of my universe to not knowing where the paper clips are."
Going from Nissan to Sun America meant a dramatic change in corporate culture that Spetner has found exhilarating in spite of his steep learning curve.
Soon after he came on board, he set up meetings with every member of senior management to get their perspective of the company and how they perceived the corporate communications department.
He also met with his staff of three to get their communications feedback and found that although they were looking for leadership and guidance, he still had to win their respect.
And, since Sun's chairman is a lot more hands-on than the CEO at Nissan he reported to, he meets with him two to four times a week.
In the few short months that Spetner has been with Sun, he's found the company to be very "no nonsense and candid with few games played." His tips to those looking to not only change jobs, but industries are:
- Try to achieve quick and early successes (by second or third month you should have made some minor or major achievement that proves your worth to the company).
- By six months, if you haven't achieved some degree of project success, you begin to stink (both staffers and management are looking to see what you're made of).
- Quickly figure out power structure, what's respected and what's not. A big no-no is saying "When I was at XYZ job we did this..." because it's annoying and obnoxious. Spetner likened such statements to "My old wife use to make spaghetti..."
On the agency side, many PR execs underestimate the time it will take them to get up to speed on how the new agency operates and develop strong client relationships. Bruce Hokanson, new associate director at the Loomis Group, a PR firm in San Francisco, echoed this point. "I had to dive right in to my new job, tackling four clients at a time as opposed to the one client I handled at my other agency." Hokanson says his biggest challenges are demonstrating his ability to think strategically outside of his traditional PR comfort zone and work on multimedia projects that involve Web site projects and other collateral concepts.
For agency execs looking to make a change, Larry Marshall, of Marshall Consultants Inc. (New York and Malibu, Calif.) who specializes in PR and marketing executive placements, offers these tips:
- Don't make a quick decision to reorganize your department until you've assessed your clients' needs.
- Become familiar with the new agency's billing procedures (since billing is becoming more complex).
- Have meetings with clients immediately to assess their agency needs.
(Russell Reynolds, 212/351-2000; Ray & Berndtson, 212/370-1316; Sun America, 310/772-6000; The Loomis Group, 415/882-9494; Marshall Consultants, 310/456-0666)