As published in Public Relations Tactics

Wish You Could Clone Yourself? All About Outsourcing

By Jennifer Bisbee, APR

Dolly, the Scottish sheep, did it. Michael Keaton's character in the feature film "Multiplicity" did it. If you're like most public relations professionals, there are undoubtedly times in your hectic work day when you wish you could do it, too: clone yourself - maybe more than once.

Believe it or not, cloning has arrived to the public relations field, but you won't find it in a petrie dish. Call it by another name: outsourcing. According to a national survey of public relations professionals, the practice of outsourcing activities to agencies or individual practitioners is on the rise.
Outsourcing is rapidly gaining favor in corporate America as a useful management tool to complement internal resources, improve productivity and stretch budgets. "We have found outsourcing to be a cost-effective way to match manpower with opportunity," said Ralph Kline, APR, manager of media relations for Walt Disney Imagineering.

In this age of rampant communication, combined with continued corporate downsizing and restructuring, and easy access via telecommunications, there has never been a larger supply of both "buyers" and "sellers" of outsourcing. How can managers make the right outsourcing decision? How should vendors proceed with clients new to outsourcing? What does this trend mean for your future career? Whether you're a client, a vendor or simply a cautious observer, here are some tips to help you successfully ride the outsourcing wave.

Clients: Outsource for the Right Reasons

Outsourcing is a decision that can have a long-term impact both on your public relations department and on your entire organization. Here are some key factors to consider to help you make the best outsourcing decision:

Understand your business' corporate culture. Outsourcing can be an effective management tool for companies that embrace the new business paradigm of combining a core staff with strategic vendor partners to become more efficient and deal with change more rapidly. If this doesn't sound like your corporate culture, you may have more work to do to gain senior management's support before making an outsourcing decision.

Understand which departmental functions are essential to your organization's core business. Some functions, such as crisis management or customer relations, may be better handled internally; others, such as newsletter production, may be conducted more efficiently by a vendor.

Be strategic about outsourcing. Deciding whether or not to outsource is a management decision about resource allocation. Are you simply looking for temporary help to support your staff during periods of peak demand or are you restructuring the department? Public relations visionary, the late Pat Jackson, APR, PRSA Fellow and senior counsel, Jackson, Jackson & Wagner, once said that the future of the profession lies in organizations retaining a core staff of strategists who counsel senior management and outsource communication "products" such as publicity and speech writing.* Look at outsourcing over the short- and long-term.

Short-term projects, like a special event, are ideally suited for a vendor to implement. Others, such as a proactive publicity program, will require a more long-term approach. A vendor can lay the groundwork, but ask yourself this question: can your organization devote the manpower to sustain the activity?

Consider the ramifications of outsourcing. If you plan to outsource for the long-term, be clear of the potential opportunity costs. What impact will outsourcing have on the professional development of staff members? Will outsourcing affect how your target audiences view the organization? Said Pat Jackson: "We need to answer the question, 'what relationships can we allow others to have for us, and what relationships do we need to keep for ourselves?'"

Set clear, realistic goals. Whether you want to save money, increase productivity, become more flexible or improve your organization's ability to react to opportunities faster, it's important to explicitly lay out your goals before making an outsourcing decision. Achieving those goals will help you sell senior management on more outsourcing in the future. To prevent problems, decide what you want from an outsourcing partnership ahead of time, and clearly state those expectations to the vendor. Include these in the contract, specify daily, weekly or monthly reporting times, and create benchmarks for evaluation to keep the relationship on track. Goal evaluation also helps you determine if the vendor is a good "fit."

Choose your vendor carefully. There are several ways to improve your chances for a good client/vendor "fit." What is the nature of your outsourcing and what expertise does the vendor need to bring to the table? Ask peers whose opinions you value to refer you to trusted vendors. Check the vendor's references. Spend time interviewing the vendor. Ask for and review samples that are akin to the project at hand. And listen to your intuition.

Stay involved and accessible. If your goal is to completely walk away from a PR function once you have outsourced it, think again. You will need to manage the vendor's work, coordinate it with internal functions, and keep senior management apprised of your department's progress. Also, stay accessible to vendor; a good one will be motivated and self-reliant, but will need ongoing input from you to help achieve the goals you have set forth.

Teamwork is the foundation of a successful outsourcing relationship. The more mutual sincerity, honesty and respect you have with your vendor, the more successful your combined efforts will be.

Vendors: Be A Team Player

The key to successful outsourcing is setting up a good working relationship from the beginning. An outsourcing vendor can and should take the lead on this effort with a client. Some brief tips for vendors:

Make sure your client's budget is in line with his goals and expectations.

Ask questions if you're not clear about the project at hand or the client's goals. "People use different measuring sticks, so it's vital for me to understand how my client will measure the success of a project," said Jay Porcher, APR, an Orlando-based marketing and public relations consultant. "We clarify expectations before work begins, then I put our understanding in writing and focus my efforts accordingly. When a project ends, we can compare results with expectations - it's my best client retention tool."

Take extra time to educate a client new to outsourcing and/or to public relations. And be patient. Most organizations tend to move slowly until systems to manage outsourcing are put into place.

Stay in constant communication with the client and report results on a frequent, timely basis.

Be a problem-solver.

Deliver on your promises.

Clients are people, too. Remember birthdays and employment anniversaries.

Remember to thank the client for her business.

PR Professionals: Assess Your Skills

What does the outsourcing trend mean for your future career? Here are two factors to keep in mind:

Don't try to swim upstream. If senior management has decided to embrace outsourcing, you're better off embracing it too - and, if possible, finding a role that involves managing the outsourcing function in one way or another.

Think of your career in terms of being a strategist or a tactician. Strategist and counselors will have a better survival rate in the corporate PR departments of the future. Fine-tune those skills if you want to stay put. If you see yourself more as a tactical expert, from event planning to brochure writing, a job as an individual consultant or within a public relations firm could be in your future.