(The following provides insights on USC Annenberg’s fifth Gap Study, available free through a link below.)
In 2002 the head of global communications at a Fortune 50 company lamented to us, “I have no real idea of what my budget should be because there are no real benchmarks. That’s true of many other aspects of managing the communications function.”
Thus was born the Generally Accepted Practices or GAP Study.
We took a close look at the availability of operational data that could help senior communications executives manage their functions. What we found surprised us. While much had been written about the practice, very little was available about the management aspects of the job. That may be why brilliant communicators sometimes find themselves ill-equipped to step into senior management posts.
After gathering input from many veteran practitioners we fielded the first GAP Study in the fourth quarter of 2002. The results, and those of the subsequent four GAPs, are available to all free of charge at www.annenberg.usc.edu/sprc. We’ve undertaken this massive project thanks to the financial support of visionary communicators at Avery Dennison, The Council of PR Firms, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, Ketchum, Nike, Nissan, Raytheon, SC Johnson, Toyota, and Weber Shandwick.
In addition to extensive data on budgets, organization, functions, evaluation, perceptions of the profession, etc., the just published GAP V identifies 13 practices that we believe can be called “Best Practices.”
A total of 520 senior professionals participated in the 38-question survey, the largest number of respondents yet. Still, we did not have enough respondents from some types of organization, to some questions, to produce statistically reliable results in those cases. Our goal is to build the numbers over time so that more granular analysis becomes possible across more categories, including global practice.
From “Generally Accepted” to “Best” Practices
When naming the study we chose “Generally Accepted Practices” after a great deal of deliberation. The term “best practices” was considered but quickly discarded. The fact that many organizations do things in a certain way does not, in itself, make it a best practice.
And GAP is a better acronym than BP, unless you’re in the energy business.
Now, after five studies, we believe we’ve found a new way to think about best practices. By correlating the answers to specific questions with the answers to other questions, one can identify common patterns of behavior. In turn, when we focused on some of those patterns in their entirety (the “forests”) rather than the individual factors that made them up (the “trees”), they suggested very positive approaches to, environments for, and results from, the PR/communications practice.
The final step was to take a bit of a leap and deduce that, if one positive factor can consistently be associated with a positive pattern, then it is reasonable to dub that factor a Best Practice. Why? Because for a practice to be deemed “Best,” it must consistently be associated with beneficial (to the PR/communications function) outcomes. That’s exactly what we saw in the 13 Best Practices described in GAP V.
Some have asked why we haven’t taken this step before, given that we’ve seen similar patterns in the previous GAP studies. We weren’t comfortable doing more than reporting on them because the factors that made them up varied from study to study, and we wanted more input. Now, with five studies under our belts, we think the time has come to step up and share this insight, so that the discussion about best practices can be advanced beyond its current state.
We acknowledge that our approach is a bit subjective, in part because we cannot scientifically demonstrate causality. We don’t know for sure that Positive Factor A will definitely lead to Positive Factor B.
Also, some of our Best Practice factors don’t correlate with other important factors like “Have a good external reputation” or “Successful.” However, in those cases they did correlate with several other very positive factors, making it important to recognize them. (Also, as we know all too well, many non-PR factors contribute to issues like reputation and success.) But we can say this:
- The consistency of these patterns is unmistakable.
- The profession needs to get beyond speaking of Best Practices in a subjective way. Again, the fact that a practice is used commonly, or is used by organizations we respect, does not make it a Best Practice.
We invite reader comment on our approach but think it would be most helpful if the following proviso were honored: Our overall goal is to move the discussion in a positive direction, so criticism alone isn’t enough. If you have a criticism of our methodology, please include with it a fix, a work-around, or a viable alternative.
Unfortunately there isn’t nearly enough space in this format to explain the rationales behind each of the following 13 Best Practices, so we urge the reader to go to www.annenberg.usc.edu/sprc, click on the GAP V report, and download Section VII, which provides all the details.
Here, in a nutshell, is are the Best Practices that we found. While a few may seem self-evident it’s essential that each be seen in full context, in our full report.
- Maintain a higher than average ratio of PR budget to gross revenue (PR/GR Ratio).
- Report directly and exclusively to the C-Suite.
- Optimize the C-Suite’s understanding of PR’s current and potential contributions to the success of the organization as a whole.
- Establish an effective social responsibility strategy for your organization.
- Establish an effective digital-media strategy for your organization.
- Establish an effective issues-management strategy for your organization.
- Optimize integration and coordination within the PR/communications function, and between it and other organizational functions.
- Encourage highly ethical practices across the organization, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a long-term strategic point of view, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a proactive mindset, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a flexible mindset, beginning with communication.
- Optimize the integration of PR and reputational considerations into top-level organizational strategies.
- Measurably contribute to organizational success.
Jerry Swerling
Professor, Director of PR Studies and Strategic Public Relations Center
USC Annenberg School for Communication
Major Jim Gregory, US Army
M.A. Candidate, Project Manager, Strategic Public Relations Center
USC Annenberg School for Communication
