For many at the senior level of an organisation, public affairs is just about politics. Sadly they do not recognise its many strengths and the positive contribution it can make to the future of their organisation. But continued scandals, misdemeanours and poor behaviour, across sectors, will cause a reassessment. That has to start sooner rather than later.
Sometimes public affairs sits on its own in an organisation. Sometimes it sits within a larger communications directorate. It may even come under the remit of the General Counsel, often for those operating in a heavily regulated environment. Other bodies have little or no in-house capacity and instead rely on a fully outsourced operation. Organisations will come up with a model that works best for them, often based on resources but also resource allocation. That comes back to the Board and the CEO. Politics, the media and stakeholders feed off each other in a way that can build or destroy reputations. This should be factored in when making decisions about public affairs.
It can be suggested that public affairs needs to sell itself to CEOs. That is entirely right. But even with the best case studies and examples in the world, an open mind is needed and a realisation on the part of the CEOs that they need to listen to others.
That lack of understanding can come, ironically, from a lot of political engagement but only at a senior level. That can lead to a distorted view about the way that government’s work and the importance of politicians. This obsession with aiming high can lead to perverse results and does not mean that anything will be achieved.
Public affairs is not helped by the lack of board positions held with people from anything but a financial, legal or maybe HR background. There are a few marketeers around but not many! So public affairs needs to show what it is about.
For CEOs, here are five things that you should expect from your public affairs people:
- An early warning system – public affairs are your eyes and ears across Parliament, politics and the media. Spotting opportunities for useful engagement and seeing off potential negative impacts.
- Developing connections – bringing your organisation together with those most relevant to your issues across the civil service, Parliament, government advisers, industry specific stakeholders etc.
- Pro-active engagement – working to engage with policy-making so that your voice is heard throughout the process.
- Building alliances – thinking about those who might work with you but also seeking to reassure those who could work against you.
- Developing your market – the type of ‘market’ that you operate in will vary. Some will literally be a market to sell things, others will seek to develop other types of contractual relationships, they may be seeking to attract grants or funds. Whatever the ‘market’, public affairs should strengthen your reputation with your audience to increase your opportunities for success.
But, by way of reciprocity, here are 5 things that good CEOs should do for their public affairs team as well.
- Listen – sometimes despite a CEO’s undoubted political acumen, someone who spends all their time engaging with politics and the media does have a useful perspective.
- Be prepared to use their expertise – engage the team in areas such as risk analysis. Their fresh ideas can show up issues that may not otherwise be thought of.
- Give them your time – sometimes they need you to attend a meeting or an event. That request needs to be taken seriously. A good team will not bombard you constantly so when they do ask, give them the time of day.
- Don’t put them at the bottom of the pile of advisers – often there can be a hierarchy of advisers and public affairs does not always feature near the top. But if a moment was given, for instance, on how the media can portray a matter or how political an issue could become then the public affairs advice can be critical.
- Tell others – if other people, especially at a senior level, in the organisation know that public affairs has a champion then they will listen as well. This spread of political knowledge and ideas of reputation management can only be beneficial.
As recent examples have shown, organisations should not be making decisions without thinking through the political, media and reputational consequences. Planning ahead is all very well but only if these matters are considered – and that is why public affairs should have a role at the top table.