2. โ Chartered Institute of Public Relations: Fellowsโ Engagement Survey Paper 2
OUTLINE
In May 2014, Fellows were asked for their views on the CIPRโs emerging policy on professionalism in public relations. A survey gained 130
responses (43 per cent), from a possible total number of 297 Fellows, and was followed by a roundtable discussion about the results. Thank
you to everyone that participated in the project, particularly Kevin Taylor for leading the roundtable session, and Kevin, Chris Genasi, Sally
Sykes, Flora Martin, and Philip Dewhurst, for their support in developing the survey.
PROFESSIONALISM POLICY AGENDA
The CIPR was founded, as the Institute of Public Relations, in 1948
with the aim of developing professional standards, education and
training for the small but growing group of people who worked in
public relations.
A Royal Charter was granted in 2005, which codified the primary
objective as the development of professional standards in the
public interest.
In the past 12-months, the CIPRโs direction of thinking has focused on
delivering clear and enforceable professional standards in line with
the organisationโs original vision and purpose.
In our view, to claim to be a professional in any of the range of
disciplines within public relations, a person must be:
โขโAccountable to a Code of Conduct with meaningful and enforceable
structures.
โขโSkilled or qualified to provide the service for which they are paid.
โขโCommitted to Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
This should be validated by an organisation such as the CIPR in a
manner that is meaningful and accessible to the general public.
The CIPR believes that wider adherence to these basic professional
standards will bring better results for clients, employers and the
general public. It could also address the possible future regulation of
lobbying conduct by government.
โEvery member of our Institute, however experienced,
realises that there is always something yet to be
learned in pursuit of our many sided calling.โ
Sir Stephen Tallents KCMG CB CBE FIPR,
1949, First President of the Institute of Public Relations
3. โ Chartered Institute of Public Relations: Fellowsโ Engagement Survey Paper 3
ANALYSIS OF FELLOWSโ SURVEY
01โPROFESSIONALISM
Should a PR professional be ethically competent and accountable to
a Code of Conduct which is enforced by a third party (i.e. a professional institution)
and open to the general public?
Do you agree that a practicing PR professional should sign-up to
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements, on an annual basis?
Do you agree that a PR professional should be appropriately skilled,
or qualified, for the job they do?
Should a PR professional be validated in terms of experience, qualification and professional
standards in a manner accessible to the public, as well as the profession, such as
Accredited and Chartered PR Practitioner?
There is overwhelming support for the proposal that to be considered professional, a
practitioner must be accountable to a code of conduct and skilled or qualified to a level
appropriate to their role, and that its validation should be more clearly expressed.
That all practitioners should be committed to continuing professional development
(CPD) received the support of more than half of the 130 Fellows who responded to the
survey, however, a significant minority (26%) said no. More than one in ten are unsure.
4. โ Chartered Institute of Public Relations: Fellowsโ Engagement Survey Paper 4
ANALYSIS OF FELLOWSโ SURVEY
02โCPD
A minority of Fellows are actively registering their CPD.
Are you currently logging activity using the online CIPR CPD system?
However, attitudes were more nuanced and, in places, positive than the initial questions
revealed:
I believe CPD in PR is: (please select all that apply)
03โ THE MARCH TO PROFESSIONALISM
Fellows were strongly divided on the question of professionalism in public relations, with a
significant minority supporting the proposition, but a marginally smaller minority against.
Do you regard PR, as it is currently practiced in the UK, to be a profession?
5. โ Chartered Institute of Public Relations: Fellowsโ Engagement Survey Paper 5
ANALYSIS OF FELLOWSโ SURVEY
Views were also mixed on the attributes of professionals in general, with earlier strong
support for accountability and qualification echoed by respondents.
Which of the following characteristics of professionalism do you consider to be most
important in any context, i.e. not only PR? (Please select all that apply)
However, the expectations that Fellows have of members of their own profession are
subtly different in some areas. They expected a stronger strategic business outlook and
placed greater emphasis on providing objective advice.
Which of the following characteristics of professionalism are specifically important to
public relations? (Please select all that apply)
6. โ Chartered Institute of Public Relations: Fellowsโ Engagement Survey Paper 6
ANALYSIS OF FELLOWSโ SURVEY
04โADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON THE FELLOWSโ ENGAGEMENT SURVEY
Aside from the questions above, Fellows were asked to comment on whether they regarded Public Relations as a profession and if they had any further, more general comments.
The results are summarised below:
BARRIER TO ENTRY
Unlike other professions there is no barrier to entry in public relations. CIPR Fellows
identified this as a critical issue. Many felt that unless there were barriers to entry, it
would not meet the definition of a โprofessionโ.
SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Related to barriers to entry there is no formal requirement for a public relations
practitioner to develop skills or undertake qualifications during their career. Some
felt that the practice is now so demanding that professional qualifications should be
taken by everyone.
VALUE MISUNDERSTOOD
A critical challenge facing the profession is that the value of public relations is often
not understood by other professions, or the general public. There is much work to
do in this area.
BUILDING BLOCKS: WORK IN PROGRESS
The components of a profession are all in place in the public relations business but
there is work to do if we are to realise the goal. This was variously identified as body
of knowledge and defined skills, narrowing the scope of disciplines that are included
in public relations, greater emphasis on business outcomes, clearer ethical codes
PROFESSIONAL PEERS
Public relations practitioners donโt hold themselves accountable to the same
standards set by other management professions. Mirroring the professional
development path from other professions could be an opportunity. Particularly, the
rise of HR was identified.
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) AND THE CIPR
PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY
The CIPR Continuing Professional Development (CPD) system is well received but
needs development especially with respect to senior practitioners. Experiences have
been mixed. The professional journey for public relations practitioners is a work in
progress. It must be defined and effectively communicated.
DEFINING THE FUTURE OF THE PROFESSION
The opportunity for our profession is clearly recognised and is being actively
embraced by practitioners.
7. โ Chartered Institute of Public Relations: Fellowsโ Engagement Survey Paper 7
ANALYSIS OF FELLOWSโ SURVEY
05โROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
Kevin Taylor kindly hosted a roundtable discussion in early-
July to explore some of the issue raised in the survey in
more detail. Attendees included:
Kevin Taylor FCIPR, Chair
Peter L Walker Chartered Public Relations Practitioner, FCIPR
Pamela Mounter FCIPR
Sam Luckin FCIPR
Martin Langford FCIPR
Tony Halmos FCIPR
The discussion covered the broad issues raised in the
survey. A summary follows below.
The need to explain the value of public relations to
clients and employers was considered to be as important
as the need to explain the value of professionalism to
practitioners. The value of Chartered Practitioner Status to
employers (at the CV sift stage, for instance) currently was
seen as remote.
That Chartered Status is hard to achieve was part of its
value and made it aspirational, but that it was at the
moment very much thought of as a personal benefit.
Targeting eligible members to achieve Chartered Status
and targeting information about professional standards to
employers is a route the CIPR needs to consider.
Further routes for the CIPR to consider would include
a public relations campaign to establish the value of
professional public relations among the members of other
professional bodies and with Government.
A two-way dialogue with other professional bodies would
give the CIPR the chance to learn from their experiences,
especially those who are further ahead on the journeyย โ
such as the Chartered Institute for Personnel and
Development, which has been instrumental in establishing
the professional status of Human Resources.
Government, which, through the Privy Council, accorded
Chartered Status to public relations, could do more to
push professionalism but the CIPR needs to do more to
encourage this.
8. โ Chartered Institute of Public Relations: Fellowsโ Engagement Survey Paper 8
WHATโS NEXT?
The CIPR will continue to develop the specific policies that
will drive uptake up of professionalism.
President-Elect Sarah Pinch FCIPR has set out her ambitions for 2015 as being:
โขโto make membership more meaningful to clients and employers
โขโto stand up for a profession confident in its high standards and able to demonstrate its value
โขโfor the Code of Conduct and our CPD system to be positioned as assets that build trust in
our practice
โขโto reach audiences beyond the public relations industry.
We are also doubling our efforts to improve the relevance and promote uptake of CPD and
Chartered Practitioner Status. We will do more promote ethical competence, particularly
through CPD, but also through a greater degree of compliance training than we currently offer.
Ultimately, our ambition, which could be summarised as moving on from being a chartered
professional institution to becoming an Institution of Chartered Professionals, will likely take
a generation. However the steps outlined in this paper will take us in that direction and are, I
believe, consistent with the vision of the generation who founded the Institute of Public Relations.
Stephen Waddington, Chartered Public Relations Practitioner, MCIPR
President, CIPR
Phil Morgan, MCIPR
Deputy Chief Executive, CIPR
July, 2014
Sarah Pinch
Phil Morgan
Stephen Waddington
