Public relations; a way to build organisational resilience says IoD and CIPR

I’ve spent much of the last decade evangelising about the benefits of public relations to organisations. Now a new joint report from the Institute of Directors (IoD) and Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) showcases its value.

Over the last ten years, much of my career has been focused on public relations as a management function; engaging with organisations to demonstrate how they can use it strategically, and promoting the skills practitioners need to in order to engage at board level.

It’s therefore been a privilege to lead and edit a new report from the IoD and CIPR into the ways businesses can best employ PR to ride market turbulence and ensure their fitness for the future, something that’s needed more than ever with the UK’s current economic instability.

The report provides an analysis of how the SME marketplace currently understands and uses PR and also provides practical guidance on how to use it in:

• Strategic planning

• Stakeholder mapping and engagement

• Risk assessment, crisis preparedness and management

• Internal communication

• Public affairs and lobbying

• Horizon scanning

• Board measurement and reporting.

You can access and download the report here.

As IoD Director General Jon Geldart says

“Public relations has a significant role to play in organisational decision-making, promoting awareness and protecting reputation. I would encourage all boardrooms to consider how best to invest in this important management function.”

My thanks go to the IoD and CIPR for commissioning the report and to all the contributors, who are leading experts in their fields.