"PR plays a key role in promoting innovation." "PR helps us put
our best foot forward." "PR complements other key initiatives."
The rallying cries of a mutual admiration society for PR
professionals? No, they're just a few of the comments corporate
chieftains made when asked in a recent survey, "What is the role of
the public relations function in helping you deal effectively with
[these] issues?"
The study, titled "What Keeps CEOs Awake at Night? And How We
Can Help Them Deal With Those Issues," was presented at the Arthur
W. Page Society's Spring Seminar in March. The "we" referred to in
the study are Arthur Page Society members, who in general run
corporate communication departments, and the "them" are the CEOs
who they seek to serve more closely.
The goal of the study was to give CEOs of Page Society companies
voice to their corporate concerns and illuminate the strategic role
PR executives should play within the organization. Companies that
participated in the survey run the industrial gamut, including CEOs
from Aetna, Electronic Data Systems, Dow Corning, ITT Industries,
Northwestern Mutual, Pepsi Bottling Group, PNC Financial Services
and Verizon.
While many CEOs still tend to keep their PR executives at arm's
length, the comments of 16 prominent CEOs suggest that PR people
are in some respects getting more access to the inner sanctum.
Among the CEOs surveyed, the study found an increasing openness
toward corporate communications executives and a willingness to
look to PR people for ideas, business plans and suggestions on how
the enterprise can function more effectively.
"The responses go far beyond the PR [executive] as being the
company's chief spokesperson," says Jeep Bryant, managing director
and global head of communications at the Bank of New York, who
helped put the study together. He added that the CEOs expressed a
variety of ways their corporate communication executives can help
overcome the challenges within the company and help contribute to
its success. (See charts).
Although the primary role of the PR executive is to be the "eyes
and ears" of an organization, many of them aspire to be part of a
company's vital organs: the brain and the heart. "That's the
potential for PR executives as we help address concerns of the
company and try to articulate solutions," Bryant says.
"We need to continue to work with our CEOs to define behaviors
and actions that will build confidence over time, in addition to
just focusing on the numbers and the words," Bryant adds. "A core
level of performance helps to provide some wind in the sales for PR
outreach."
Following is a breakdown of the study's contents and the
intersection between C-suite concerns and PR:
What is the most important business-related concern that is
likely to keep you awake at night?...
- Reputation
- Innovation
- Re-establishing trust and confidence
- Challenges of successful marketing
- Personnel issues
- Achieving growth in a declining economy
- Potential ethical issues
- Civil justice reform (tort reform)
- Potential ("What more must we do to become all we possibly can
be?") - Global business opportunities
...And What CEOs Said About These Concerns
- "The lousy environment - the economy, terrorism, war with Iraq,
global tensions, corporate misdeeds, credit defaults, stock market
in the dumps - it's dangerous out there." - "The biggest challenge I face is creating an organization that
is capable of learning and changing." - "Business issues over which we have little or no control, such
as rising health-care costs." - "Organic growth in a declining economy."
These concerns are more important than others...
- They all can have a significant impact on virtually every part
of a company's business. - Potential financial impact.
- Cost reductions can only go so far.
- Top line growth fuels interest in most companies from
customer/employee/investor standpoint. - Some concerns CEOs have are considered more manageable - these
are less controllable and less predictable and therefore carry more
risk. - These issues deal with the future viability of our business -
i.e., "Will we be around for generations to come?"
...And here's what CEOs said about dealing with these
problems
- "The fact that we have little ability to influence or manage
these issues forces us into a reactive mode." - "It's complicated, involving multi-faceted/inter-connected
matters because it's hard to influence the behavior of people you
can't control." - "You have to stay constantly vigilant to assure top performers
are properly recognized and rewarded for outstanding efforts." - "Keeping our people in touch with a complex, contemporary,
business environment."
Other opportunities and issues that concern CEOs...
- Pension liabilities
- Health insurance costs
- Changing political environment
- Changing regulatory environment
- Corporate governance issues
- Ethical standards
- Terrorism/War
- Wall Street's short-term focus
- Developing succession plans
- Low-cost offshore competition
- Geopolitical uncertainty
- Improving communication with sales forces
- Shareholder intentions
- Abusive litigation - costs to company, reputation and legal
system - Making the company attractive to investors and
shareholders
...And how PR execs can help with these issues and concerns
- "PR is vital to framing the issues, offering solutions, guiding
process and organization, measuring results." - "PR provides critical input into how we are perceived by
various constituencies." - "The public relations function promotes the contributions of
top talent inside and outside the company." - "PR drives sales."
- "PR helps us put our best foot forward."
- "PR helps people understand the challenges and opportunities
for change." - "PR helps us build our brand and our reputation."
- "PR plays a key role in promoting innovation."
- "PR complements other key line initiatives."
- "Communicating and listening."
- "PR helps us build our brand and our reputation."
- "Positioning the company strategy and our response to
challenges." - "PR serves as the eyes and ears of the company."
Contact: Gwen Spragg, 773.779.1622, [email protected]