Presentation summary from the PRSA Nebraska April luncheon.

Guest speakers: Kathryn Dittrick, Attorney at Law. FraserStryker and Melissa Farris, Marketing Specialist at Boystown.

Empower your employees with Social Media

By Kate O’Dell

Over 53% of corporation executives see social media use increasing with their employees both personally and professionally.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are just a few of the many growing social media sites that are used daily by millions.  News flies fastest through these networks.  The employee’s ability to communicate quickly with large masses of people can be both an asset and a risk for employers.

Melissa Farris, Marketing Specialist with Boystown and Kathryn Dittrick, Attorney at FraserStryker Law Firm, came to speak about the different considerations that should be taken when implementing a social media policy in your organization.

Employees can be your greatest advocates.  But without direction and guidance they are not empowered to be those valuable advocates.  This is a relevant topic that needs to be addressed directly with corporate policy.

How can you empower employees?

Be sure to keep your employees educated on exact social media policy.  Make sure expectations are clear regarding use of social media and what is acceptable. Whether the policy is completely strict and doesn’t allow use of social media at work, or if it is a more relaxed policy that allows limited access.  This needs to be outlined clearly in order to make sure expectations are clear.

Secondly, give employees the online tools they can easily use to share any possible information from your company.  These can be placed on a company website with different links to stories, photos and videos talking about what your company is doing.  This makes it easy for an employee to brag about your company’s accomplishments and often they are willing and proud to do so.  Consider keeping a Social Media Resource Center with links to recent media stories, cover page options, status updates, and also links to official pages.

Different Types of Digital Knowledge

Most important in the approach of social media utilization is the training necessary to make sure your employees know how to best apply their abilities to communicate online.  There are different types of individuals and skill levels when it comes to familiarity with these fairly new technological tools.  The different types of groups of people are described by Farris as five different training groups.

5 different training groups:

Digital Native: This person grew up in social media. They are very aware of how to use the tools. Their training should be more focused on the company’s social media goals and how they can help to achieve those goals.

Savvy Technologists: This person didn’t grow up on it, but they still understand the functions of it.  Their training should be focused on the big networks that the company is using and how they can utilize those as well.

Reluctant User: This person is aware of the big name networks, but social media is not a part of their daily lives.  Their training should focus on introducing the different sites available and also expanding their knowledge base about sites they may already use.

Digital Contrarian: This person believes that social media is just a passing trend and not worth being actively involved in.  Their training should include education on why it is beneficial for your business to be on social media.

Digital Newbie: This person typically doesn’t know much about social media, and just isn’t interested enough to look into it and experiment. They don’t necessarily think it is useless, but they don’t think it is useful either.

According to Farris, no matter what group an employee is in, it is important for your company to remember not to force any employee to become involved in social media if they are not interested.  It won’t result in quality upkeep and therefore won’t benefit your company.

Lastly, don’t forget to continually monitor your social media pages if your company has them.  It is important to have these under the same branding standards and the same portrayal of your company values and goals.

Legal Issues
Employees can be a company’s greatest advocates, but on the flip side they can also be the source of bad mouthing.  As a general rule, people are more likely to voice complaints than they are to talk about good experiences.  This is also true in the online world.  The most effective way to manage your company’s online image is through awareness of what is happening in the cyber world and how a company should form social media policies, and the possible legal ramifications that can arise.

Kathryn Dittrick, Attorney at FraserSnyder Law Firm, spoke about the different lawsuits to be aware of regarding social media policy.  Those included violation of a right to privacy, retaliation claims, and NLRA discrepancies.

A common misconception is that you can’t fire someone for saying something because it violates their 1^st amendment right to a freedom of speech.

“That’s not true,” said Dittrick.  “The first amendment only prohibits the government from limiting your speech.”

So if you are an employee of a public agency, then yes you may have a claim. But if you are an employee of a private company, you will not have any possible lawsuits based on this right.

There are important steps that should be followed when managing social media policy.

First, eliminate the employee’s possible expectations of privacy. State clearly that the employer has the right to monitor. Do not let employees be fooled by privacy settings, and such.  There should be no expectation of privacy at all for anything they post online.

Second, stay current on the law.  There are a lot of states that are coming up with new laws regarding social media and being up to date is critical in adjusting your policies if necessary.

Third, set expectations of when employees, if they can, get online at the work place.

Fourth, you can prohibit unlawful speech but you can’t prohibit all negative speech.  There are laws that protect employees’ rights to voice their concerns regarding wages and terms of employment.

Most important to remember when creating social media policy is to be as specific as you can.  “Make sure your social media policy is drafted in a very precise way,” says Dittrick,  “So that it doesn’t infringe on the employees rights, but it also protects the interest of the company.”

For more information on different legal topics regarding social media you can check out the U.S. Department of Labor website or you can access national law firm newsletters that often contain articles that address social media.

April is APR month. If you haven’t earned your accreditation in public relations (APR), this is a good month to get started.

I have found the APR is a differentiator. It shows you have put your education and training to the test and succeeded. It makes you stand out. I think it also brings respect, especially from professionals in other fields who have had to show others they can meet high standards. At least it has worked for me with law enforcement officers and engineers.

Is it easy to attain? No. But few things worth having are. PRSA has made it is easy to get started, however, and provide help along the way. Log into your PRSA account and go to the accreditation page (http://www.prsa.org/Learning/Accreditation/). It will walk you through the process. The page also contains testimonials from accredited professionals on what APR means to them. One in particular points out that going through the process boosted her self-confidence and ability to compete for positions.

Many of us find ourselves doing a limited number of PR functions in our jobs. By the time you earn your APR, you will have sharpened your knowledge of a wide range of PR practices and fundamentals. That brings self-confidence.

There’s also help locally. Those of us who have earned our APR are willing to provide advice and encouragement. We are here to help. Feel free to contact me. Let’s get started turning the first three letters in April into the first three letters after your name.

Jeff Hanson, APR
Accreditation Chair

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                      Contact:  Keith Trivitt
PRSA
(212) 460-1495
keith.trivitt@prsa.org

 PRSA Urges U.S. Senate to Avoid Restricting Government Use of Public Relations Firms

NEW YORK (March 15, 2012) — In an op-ed published today in Roll Call, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) urges Senator Claire McCaskill (D–Mo.) and Senator Rob Portman (R–Ohio) to avoid actions that might diminish or severely restrict the United States government’s use of approved public relations and public affairs contractors. The Senators are leading an investigation of the federal government’s use of public relations and advertising contracts.

“We believe that all stakeholders in society — including governments themselves — must participate in vigorously communicating their goals, programs, objectives, and knowledge to the public at large,” PRSA Chair and CEO Gerard F. Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA, writes in Roll Call. “Whether educating the public about government services, providing information on public health and safety, explaining the tax code, attracting businesses to an economic enterprise zone, or any of dozens of other areas, governments have a clear role in communicating effectively and efficiently to the public.”

To accompany the published opinion piece, PRSA sent letters this week to Sens. McCaskill and Portman expressing its concerns with the investigation. Corbett states in those letters and the Roll Call op-ed that PRSA’s primary concern with the investigation is that “the Subcommittee is disregarding public relations’ central value to government: its ability to engender a more informed society through ethical, transparent and honest communications between the Government and its citizens, and its role as an economic contributor to the economy of today and tomorrow.”

Corbett asks Sens. McCaskill and Portman to thoroughly consider the substantial public interest served by public relations and public affairs on behalf of the federal government, and to use discretion when attempting to characterize the federal government’s use of those services and related firms.

Corbett also says that “any investigation into the Government’s use of PR firms should not be undertaken unilaterally. It must be met by an equally robust examination of how the Government communicates with the public and how it can better utilize the many innovative PR firms and professionals throughout the U.S. to best reach and inform citizens.”

Sen. McCaskill chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, and Sen. Portman serves as its ranking member. It is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Full text of PRSA’s letter to the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight is available for download.

About the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)

With more than 31,000 members, PRSA is the largest organization of public relations professionals and students. PRSA is comprised of 111 local Chapters organized into 10 geographic Districts; 16 Professional Interest Sections that focus on issues, trends and research relevant to specialized practice areas, such as technology, health care, financial communications, entertainment and sports, and travel tourism; and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), which has more than 300 Chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. PRSA is headquartered in New York.

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Managing a flood of questions and rumors:

Jeff Hanson and Monique Farmer talk about the Fort Calhoun Power Plant nuclear crisis

By Kate O’Dell

When the Missouri River flooded last summer, the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant was under water.  To make matters worse, a nuclear disaster left Japan still reeling.  The crisis in Omaha could have easily spread panic across the Midwest and even the entire nation.

At the front lines of crisis management were Jeff Hanson APR, manager of communications strategy and technology and Monique Farmer, senior public affairs specialist for the Army Corp of Engineers.  The two shared the lessons they learned at the March 13 PRSA Nebraska luncheon.

Hanson and Farmer used their experience in communication to manage the crisis. A former broadcast journalist, Hanson has built a 22- year career in public affairs at the Nebraska State Patrol and OPPD. Farmer’s background in public affairs also helped her lead the media relations team at the Missouri River Joint Information Center.

Be Prepared

The two stressed the importance of building a relationship with the media before a crisis situation.  “Those relationships that you build early,” Farmer says. “You can put to use during a crisis.”

Before the flooding, OPPD held a news conference in response to the nuclear threats in Japan, to discuss what would happen if Omaha were to be faced with a similar threat.  This helped to keep ahead of any growing unease regarding nuclear safety.

Each stage of crisis communication should be planned and anticipated. Farmer says in order to successfully create a strategy it is vital to understand the phases that will progress during a disaster.

The Internet never sleeps

Hanson says continually updating the website is crucial.  OPPD turned its website into a flood site and directed both their customers and the media to that site for up to date information.  OPPD also kept a separate storm blog where people could get information quickly.  This was an easier forum for anyone to ask questions and keep in touch on updates.  This BlogSpot site was, “very simple, very easy for anyone in our division to update,” he says, adding the website proved “invaluable” to controlling rumors.

The Internet puts the company on an international stage.  OPPD’s biggest Twitter following came from Germany with 48.2 percent following. Hanson says recognizing and responding to a globally watched crisis makes it essential to keep all Internet sites mediated 24 hours a day. The Army Corp of Engineers set up social media presence in November of 2010.  “We had like 300 people [following] after three months,” Farmer says. “When the water came, boy, did that change.”  At the peak of the flood, the Army Corps of Engineers had 8,000 people following Facebook page, and that number remains the same today.

Rumor has it…

To help with rumor control, Farmer’s office held a nightly “hot wash” meeting.  The team researched the different rumors that came up during the day and then addressed them with local authorities in a nightly phone call.  “Every two weeks, we have a Missouri River basin water management call,” Farmer says. “It was a great asset to media and public figures on exactly what was really happening during the crisis.”

Employees are spokespersons

Hanson spoke about the importance of keeping employees within the company informed and ready for any possible questions they may face.  He says it plainly when he pointed out that every one of OPPD’s employees is a potential spokesperson.

“I may have it [public relations] in my job title, but if you live next door to an OPPD employee, you are not going to call me up,” Hanson says. “You are going to walk next door and say, ‘Hey, what’s going on in the flood? What’s going on at the plant? What’s going on in OPPD.’ ”

OPPD distributed a daily newspaper to let everyone know what everyone else in the company was working on during the crisis.  This same newspaper was eventually useful in communicating externally with emergency planners, mayors, government employees and other outside stake holders.

Transparency is key

An important aspect of crisis management is transparency.  “When people are really emotional it is hard to give people information,” Farmer says.  “When people are in this state, they are skeptical and question all facts that you give them.”

It is vital to be as accessible as possible to the public and to the media.  OPPD was in a bind when the company denied access to media because of safety regulations.  When it came to safety, Hanson explains OPPD had to keep that boundary.  This made it imperative for OPPD to quickly post videos for the public to view.  People want video during these crisis situations.  Despite the amount of information in stories, people are more likely to watch video to get their news.  “You have to be where they communicate,” Hanson says. “You have to use that channel.”

Man the gates!

Hanson also spoke on the need to be open and “man up” to help manage communications.  Some days he did nothing but talk to the media all day. Employees had to be flexible and pitch in where ever needed.

“We took people from all around the company,” he says.  Employees from other departments helped manage the media and directed traffic.

“They may not be crucial jobs as far as communicating,” he says. “But they are crucial jobs as far as accommodating.”

Communicating clearly and accurately remains paramount because the issues are still at the forefront. The flood water may have receded but the crisis is not over. Officials continue to assess damage and determine necessary repairs to protect OPPD’s $1 billion dollar assets.

“It was a lot of work,” Hanson says, “a lot of long days, and a lot of long weekends.”

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Building pride and brand loyalty produce award winning results

By Cristina Sanchez

Every professional in the public relations industry would love to learn the secrets to creating a successful PR campaign that helps a client stand out from its competitors.

For Erica Wassinger and Annie Grace, account executives at Bailey Lauerman, creativity and originality are essential to creating a successful PR campaign that stands out among competitors.  The two used these essentials in their social marketing campaign for Exmark.  They won “Best of Show” at the 2011 Nebraska PRSA Paper Anvils for their “Pride, Multiplied” campaign and shared their best practices at the February monthly luncheon.

The company’s core values guided Wassinger, Grace and the rest of the team to creating one of the most original PR campaigns in the manufacturing industry.

Exmark, one of the nation’s largest commercial-grade lawn mowing manufacturers, prides itself on its strong reputation and core brand promises, such as dependability, but lacks innovativeness in the industry. The company hired Bailey Lauerman to assist in setting Exmark apart from its competitors. Wassinger and Grace did so through the creation of a social marketing campaign, as well as the creation of several ads and events.

The Bailey Lauerman team members made it their mission to create more of an interest in Exmark’s brands and products, with their overall goal being to increase revenue by 15 percent in 2011.

“It’s harder to attract a new customer than to keep a current one happy,” Wassinger says. “Communications are shifting; you must stand out.” That is exactly what the campaign did – stood out. The team began by finding what distinguished Exmark from its competitors – pride. In fact, they built their entire campaign around this word. “Multiply pride,” became the guiding slogan. They then capitalized on the letter “X” in Exmark because “X” multiplies.

The team’s presentation, titled “Increasing Loyalty in a Sluggish Economy,” highlighted how communications are shifting. Marketers now view everything as a communication channel and the industry is constantly evolving. Therefore, the team had no choice but to avoid the conventional approach and think “bigger.”

Wassinger and Grace say looking outside the box led to “amazing results.” Exmark’s number of Twitter followers increased, its Facebook likes increased, and its YouTube videos garnered more than 400 hits. But most importantly, Exmark’s sales increased by 39 percent, which was 24 percent more than its original goal.

“Lucky for us, Exmark built a strong reputation early on,” Grace says, “and we had our goals clearly in mind.”

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11 New Year’s Resolutions for PR and Marketing Professionals

As we prepare to ring in the new year, let’s take a few minutes to reflect on what’s most important as a marketer or PR practitioner, particularly as the media landscape continues to evolve.

Below are some reminders and/or resolutions related to our practice. These are simple rules. And the best part: they’re fairly easy to incorporate into working life, yet as guiding principals can make a big difference.

Resolve to be a better writer—in 140 characters or less. In an age of tweeting, being succinct is key and helps in making your content viral.

Resolve to think outside the confines of “traditional” PR. Instead of relying on an age-old press release, ask if a topic is better suited to a blog or social media post.

Resolve to know your audience. “Beats” are fluid in these days of the continuous news cycle. Know your audience and their of-the-moment interests. Resolve to check your contacts’ latest posts and tweets before reaching out with an idea or topic.

Resolve to be a storyteller. Some media deal in straight facts and figures; others paint with a different brush. Don’t bore with market potential for a new widget if that’s not their bag; instead tell them what they want to hear, which typically boils down to how it will impact their reader’s life.

Resolve to speak measurement upfront, not when asked by the client. What does the program, strategy or tactic you’re suggesting really do to impact the bottom line? If you can’t answer that question, both qualitatively and quantitatively, then perhaps it’s not the great idea you thought it was.

Resolve to be SEO friendly. Why make it hard to find the product or messages you’re trying to convey? Think of keywords that matter and use them in your blog, release and outreach so they can get crawled and drive traffic.

Resolve to be more visual. If a picture is worth 1,000 words then why not? Multimedia is the new text; incorporating photos and video makes a story more impactful.

Resolve to stay ahead of the game. This is one of the hardest challenges in PR. As fires, last-minute deadlines and “urgent” requests fly into the inbox hour by hour, it’s important to dedicate a portion of the day to ensure you’re staying ahead—or at a minimum on track—of your regularly scheduled program.

Resolve to slow it down and clean up your act. In this age of short, snippy emails and social media postings, it’s easy to post quantity over quality. Before you hit “send” take a second (or even third) look. It pays not to be sloppy.

Resolve to clear your head. When the going gets tough, the tough can get stressed. And what good does a foggy, frenetic brain do when push comes to shove? Little. There’s something to be said about the five-minute break. Try it. You’ll be better at your job because of it.

Resolve to give good counsel. Tell your boss or client(s) what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. This can sometimes be intimidating, but it’s important, and only right. We’ve all been there—there’s an expectation that PR will simply take orders—but you know in your gut the effort at hand will net nothing but peeved media and bloggers and worse, backlash that could damage several reputations, both the company and yours.

Here’s to a happy and healthy New Year to you all.

Carm Lyman is co-owner and president of Lyman PR, a consumer lifestyle communications agency. Based in Northern California, Lyman PR specializes in PR and marketing for consumer tech, mobile tech, music, b2b, hospitality and sports. She can be reached at carm@lymanpr.com, or follow her on Twitter @carmlyman or @lymanpr.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year—if the holiday rush hasn’t crushed you yet.

Whether you’re filled with the spirit of the season, or humbugging your way through December, there are a number of PR lessons you can learn from Santa Claus.

Make a list, and check it twice

Imagine if Santa gave a Barbie doll to a child asking for G.I. Joe? In PR, building lists is obviously a crucial and tedious task. How many PR pros have been outed by bloggers because of stray pitches arriving in their inboxes?

If the man in the red suit can do it, so can we. Make sure the elves helping build lists are all aware of this important task, but in the end, the sender is responsible for what gets sent. Check it twice, even thrice.

Plan, prepare, and deliver

To ensure he delivers every year, Santa gears up for the gift-giving season by planning and preparing months in advance.

In PR, we don’t have months to prepare. Many times, we don’t even have minutes to prepare, but if we have a basic plan for a crisis or media opportunity, we should be able to deliver.

Never promise anything to the media that you can’t deliver within their deadline. We can’t all be batting a thousand like St. Nick, but we should try our best.

Share everything

Have you ever received a cease-and-desist letter from the North Pole? Santa doesn’t trademark his likeness.

In the world of social media, it’s better to share images, logos, content, etc., with everyone and anyone who cares. I’m not saying don’t protect your brand image, but strike the right balance between sharing and being overprotective. I tell clients to make their images, logos, content, etc. available for users. It would help drive more awareness about their brand.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Probably the most recognizable syllables uttered in the world, but if we remove two of the three, it might get you a beating.

Santa’s tagline, for a lack of a better term, has become an integral part of his brand. So, don’t knock ad agencies if they come up with something witty that we, as PR pros, might find corny. We are all creative in our own way and have a way with words. Some that immediately come to mind are “Think Different,” “The Ultimate Driving Machine,” “Don’t Leave Home Without It,” and “Can You Hear Me Now?” I’m sure you can name the brands behind all these taglines without Googling them.

Big rep

When I say rep, I don’t mean PR rep. (To this day, I’m still trying to figure out who reps him and the North Pole.) What I mean is that his reputation is as wide as his red suit and as big as his black boots. He might be the most recognizable person in the world, more than Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Angelina Jolie combined.

How many times have Santa’s name and likeness been dragged in the mud? Lowlifes from bank robbers to street scam artists have taken advantage of his cheerful image, yet we still all love him. It took centuries to build this kind of reputation.

Inform your clients that building a solid reputation takes time and effort, but it’s worth the investment.

Show you care

Santa is associated with presents and children. That’s been fantastic for brands that show they care for disadvantaged and needy children. It is the season of giving, but why stop there?

As PR pros, we are in a position to turn the spirit of the season into a year-round effort. I advise clients to incorporate an ongoing cause-related PR program into their annual plan. It’s a great way to give back to the community and build an emotional connection with their audience. The love, good will, and loyalty a brand receives can’t even be measured.

Represent a toy company? Got toys to donate for a toy drive for the needy children at Austin Children’s Shelter. Let the author know. Speaking of the author, Joe Vasquez is the CEO of VASQ PR, a start-up firm he founded in 2010, when he left the lovely holiday lights of New York City for Austin. A version of this story appeared on the blog PRBreakfastClub.

(Image via)

David F. Barber, 89, died November 5, 2011.

Dave was director of public relations at Metropolitan Utilities District when he retired in 1987 with more than 10 years of service. He authored the District’s history book “Trial and Triumph,” published in 1989 to commemorate the centennial of the Florence Water Works.

A graduate of Creighton Prep, he received a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Nebraska in 1947.

Dave worked for the Omaha World-Herald, Falstaff Brewing Corp., ConAgra and the United Way of the Midlands before joining the District in 1976.

He was an accredited public relations professional, serving as president of the Nebraska chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in 1978.

The family will hold private services in St. Louis, MO. Condolences or memorials may be sent to:

Tim Barber
1071 Midland Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63130

Content provided by Tracey Christensen at MUD

Posted by Keith Trivitt in October 3rd 2011 – PRSAY

As the culmination of PRSA’s 2011 Ethics Awareness Month, the PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards (BEPS) hosted a special webinar (click here for the slide deck) Sept. 29, 2011, on social media ethics. Members of BEPS provided insight and training for public relations professionals on how the PRSA Code of Ethics can help determine the proper ethical course of action and protect their clients’ reputation and credibility when engaging in social media campaigns.

In addition to providing guidance on how public relations professionals can ensure their social-media campaigns uphold the ethical standards of the profession, BEPS members offered lessons learned from case studies of unethical practices in social media.

You can view the presentation here and below. An on-demand version of the webinar is available here.

You can continue the focus on ethics awareness in public relations by using the Twitter hashtag #PRethics, writing blog posts and other commentary focusing on the ethical value of public relations and developing programs to educate your clients, employers and colleagues on public relations’ ethical tenets.

By William M. Murray, CAE in PR Tactics

June 13, 2011

In March, I explained that the PRSA Board of Directors had engaged a Business Model Task Force to evaluate our 2011 financial forecast and budget, and prepare recommendations for ways that PRSA can balance its budget and meet its financial goals in future years.

Let’s quickly review why the Board took this step. In 2010, PRSA realized a net surplus from operations of $73,000 by tightly controlling expenses. We were fortunate that our financial investments added $197,000 to our income, helping us meet our ultimate goal of contributing 1 percent of  budgeted expenses to our financial reserves (and then some).

While we anticipate that PRSA will meet its stated net financial goals for 2011, those goals do not include the 1 percent contribution to our financial reserves. It’s the first time that any of us can recall operating with lowered expectations in this regard.

Having sharply cut expenses and tapped nearly all feasible sources of new revenue — while keeping the price of membership at 2002 levels — PRSA leaders asked the Business Model Task Force to review our financial position from a fresh, independent perspective.

To better understand the nuances of PRSA’s business model, the Task Force looked at historical data, including: financial and membership trends from 2002 through 2010; comparative data from other industry associations, such as IABC and Arthur Page; nonmember behavior; sponsorship trends; the evolution of PRSA’s product and service offerings, and the financial approaches taken by organizations of a comparable size.

The Task Force also analyzed the market factors likely to impact PRSA in 2011 and beyond, including continued pressure to diversify revenue resources; a continued increase in the cost of doing business; increased competition for lucrative programming categories and greater demand for relevant member benefits.

After reviewing and discussing the relevant information, the Business Model Task Force issued a summary report recommending that the PRSA Board of  Directors advance a motion to increase annual dues by $25 to $50 (11 percent to 22 percent) for the regular member category.* The Task Force also suggested that the Board consider new purchase options, such as bundling products and services that would increase the PRSA membership value proposition.

Finally, to help relieve the Society’s ongoing challenge of reconciling stagnant revenues with rising costs, the Task Force asked the Board to consider a policy that would allow for automatic annual increases, tied to an independent inflationary index.

Next steps

It’s now up to the Board of  Directors to accept or decline the Task Force’s recommendations, or to propose a different course of action.

The Task Force counseled the Board — in the event that it decides to move forward with the Task Force’s recommendations — to provide sufficient notice to PRSA members, highlight the rationale for the increase and give members an opportunity to provide meaningful feedback.

So why not engage our members now through this forum and elsewhere and get the conversation started?  The rationale for a dues increase is simply this:

• PRSA has not increased the cost of its membership dues in 10 years, even though the cost of doing business has risen sharply over that time.
• PRSA has increased the scope and number of benefits it delivers and taken other steps to increase member value, satisfaction and renewal during that same 10-year span.
• PRSA has also been diligent about finding new ways to diversify its non-member revenue sources, and has cut $1.5 million in operating expenses from its budget.
• PRSA needs a new approach to ensure our future financial health.

I’m eager to begin this important dialogue, and I encourage you to send me your thoughts.

*UPDATE: June 14, 2011, 9:30 a.m.: In reviewing the Task Force’s findings, the Board of Directors felt that an increase on the lower end of the recommended increase range would help mitigate the economic impact, while still allowing PRSA to achieve its financial goals in 2012 and possibly beyond. For this reason, the Board voted in May to move forward with proposing a $30 increase.