Nexnet

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – This relatively new and increasingly adopted term sums up very succinctly what has always been one of the core principles behind corporate PR. It is now more widely accepted that business entities are expected to behave, and be seen to behave like good citizens in all aspects of their operation, and so the CSR brief has developed a much greater importance, which is why it now has a name.

Enlightened business leaders recognise that being good at CSR can be very good for business. There is extra profit to be made from attitudes like caring for and investing in people, being a good neighbour, always behaving with integrity, and trying to minimise your negative impact on the environment.

For some businesses, reaping the financial benefits of CSR requires quite a challenging change of culture, which might require outside help to bring about. Ask your PR agency what expertise they can offer to help you manage this kind of change, and how they would help with communicating your CSR achievements to key audiences.

Issues management – Allied to CSR, issues management is about identifying and taking a position on any public issues on which your business has an impact, so that you can promote the positives and be well prepared to defend yourself against any anticipated criticism, whether reasonable or not. This is especially important if there are lobby groups interested in aspects of your operation. You can be great at CSR and still find your reputation under threat from a powerful lobby group that just doesn’t see it your way.

Team-building communications – The most powerful ambassadors of any organisation are its employees, so investing in internal communications with the aim of building team spirit will pay dividends, provided it is part of a genuine culture of seeking to advance personal development. There are many strands in a balanced and effective programme of team-building communications. To work effectively, the impetus has to come from, and be seen to come from senior management, not from an outside agency. But you might need external advice on how to set everything up so that it runs smoothly and delivers the results you want. Ask you PR agency what help and advice they can give.