The truth "human resources decide everything" is familiar to many. Especially in such an intellectual sphere as Public Relations. Especially because the labor market at the moment experiences not the very best times and demands of clients are rising. Who is a good PR manager today and what career you can have in a professional PR agency? Rouslana Plis, Managing Partner of Publicity Creating, is going to answer these questions.

What are the key skills and knowledge of the good PR manager?

Recently, «must have» list of a good PR manager included only the ability to work with texts and understand the basic mechanisms of PR (mainly in the direction of events for media organizations and media relations). Today the range of necessary knowledge has expanded: thus, PR manager must understand how to work with the tools of social media (content creation, management of pages in social media, moderation and communication with users, development of pages in social networks). It is also desirable that PR manager knows how to work with video - from preparing technical description for shooting and editing, to conducting video interviews with speakers, calculating video network and proper tagging.

Moreover, PR manager should know the basic mechanisms of integration of offline and online activities (e.g. conducting an online report from the venue). At the same time, talent of the gap and writing skills remain actual, with the only difference that now there are more "genres", for example, now we write not only standard press releases and articles, but also notes, news, analytical reviews, blog entries, and in some cases even literary sketches. In preparing texts for the Internet keywords should be considered and included in the text to the necessary extent, while retaining the content and style of text.

The next area in which you have to have some knowledge and skills - is monitoring and analytics. Today, PR manager constantly has not to just look for information in the Internet, but also to structure and analyze it, be able to choose the most relevant information, to predict the chances of information to be covered by different media.

Work with media is still very important, but the methods have changed here - media relations became more targeted. Today instead of contacting 100 "unknown" media representatives it is better and more effective to invite 20 key journalists, "friends" (during cell phone conversation, via Skype or Facebook). Obviously, PR manager has excellent communication skills and proven ability to establish and maintain contacts. In addition, it is no secret that media have changed a lot - a lot of publications were closed, especially in the segment of the printed press, at the same time a lot of business and socio-political publications actively moved online. Blogging platforms are now being actively developed, as well as civil Internet journalism, most opinion leaders in social networks are identified. All this requires ability to apply new approaches and a wide variety of forms to support media relations.

In general, the work of PR manager has become more similar to that of a journalist – it demands the creation of information occasions, ability to make an online report or conduct video interviews from the event, to collect the feedback from consumers, customers, partners, conduct a mini - survey , etc. Moreover, a good PR manager should be able to moderate the discussion (both online and offline, for example during the round table). PR manager should also be prepared to carry out the contest or quest during corporate events, incentive tours and team building events, as HR communications and PR become closer to each other.

What personal traits should have a good PR manager?

Energy, perseverance, flexibility, self-organization, punctuality and self-discipline are all important traits for the good PR manager. This is a person always looking for new ways to solve problems, not limited to ordinary and conditional way of thinking.

Generally speaking, PR manager today is a person of the wide outlook who keeps abreast of the latest trends and innovations for a wide range of issues and is always aware of current news, is very mobile, flexible, easy going. And thus, a good PR-manager never allows himself a lightweight approach to the customer, subject, etc. He operates on the basis of a clear calculation and analysis, forecasting results and providing different scenarios for its achievement in a changing situation.

What are the requirements for the employees in your company?

We have pretty high demands for employees. First of all, we want to see people with real experience in the field of marketing communications and PR, who possess necessary knowledge and skills. They should be educated and polite. Knowledge of Ukrainian, Russian and English is more than important – it is mandatory.

When we hire people, we evaluate not only their ability to learn something new, but also what they really can give to our customers, the company as a whole. That is, the employee should all his previous achievements and potential pretty quickly "convert" into the real benefit for the agency. We do not have so-called “extra people” – everybody is a self-sufficient specialist, therefore they should live up to expectations, and contribute substantially to the common good.

Sometimes we hire beginners, although it is a pretty big risk. However, there were precedents when, thanks to double diligence, adaptability and natural talent, beginners in six months or a year turned into really good specialists.

But most importantly – we want to see in our team only active, highly motivated people who are able to achieve the result and to prove to themselves and others what they are worth. In addition, the employee must be prepared to give 100%. Family, hobbies, education – it is in everyone's life, and that's fine. Yet, work should be the first priority along with high loyalty to the company. In people we appreciate individual skills, however - they must communicate effectively, work as a team. Regardless of the professional qualities and positions, we do not tolerate superficial approach, laziness, irresponsibility and selfishness.

What are the characteristics of work in a professional PR agency?

First of all, it's multitasking. Employees take several projects simultaneously, work with clients from different spheres. Our professionals know the specifics of each client, their goals and tasks. Therefore, on the regular basis we carefully examine features of the products, the client company and choose the optimum tools and methods of promotion for him. Employees must be able to rapidly "switch" from one industry to another without losing any tempo or quality.

The second feature is a high tempo of work and its high intensity. Some wonder - how our managers succeed in leading so many clients? The answer is simple - they work in a professional PR agency, so they are professionals or actively go down this path. And where someone spends 2 hours our manager needs only 30 minutes.

Time management skills and motivation have paramount importance. People can actually have time to do more at times, if they are centered on the result, and are not distracted by minor or non-work related issues and clearly plan all the activities.

It is very important not to put yourself in barriers and frameworks. In the professional team almost any problem can be solved, and the objectives can be achieved – because so many methods and resources are available, because real competitive specialists work along with you and can give a piece of valuable advice – then many "impossible" things become possible.

As for working with brands - paradox, but professionals in the first place do not look at the brand, but at the problem to be solved. Especially because experience proves - projects for medium-sized companies, such as the B2B sector, are usually much more complicated than for large well-known brands. Generally speaking, you can order a print run of 10 thousand pens with the logo, and you can create a unique pen - the second for the professional will be more interesting. We work with different companies: Ukrainian and international, large and medium, very famous and known only to a narrow circle of specialists, and our task is to provide quality services to each client. The same approach should be shared by our staff.

Active creative work atmosphere, the possibility of self-actualization, the desire to achieve more attract the best candidates who want to grow professionally, and not just to somehow spend the working day.

How many public relations specialists are now in Ukraine? Is there an urgent need for such people?

There cannot be too many good specialists, of course. The need for professional PR people will always be – in companies and agencies. At the same time, these professionals are formed, for the most part, in the agencies, due to the fact that the agency, by virtue of its activities and the role on the market, accumulates the most effective technologies, best practices, and is always closer to innovation than PR divisions of companies. It is easier to grow professionally in the agency then in the company.

How many specialized PR agencies are there in Ukraine? And where is Publicity Creating among them?

Before 2008 crisis in Ukraine were about 100 agencies that provided PR as a core or basic service. At the moment – there are around 20-30 specialized agencies, a dozen of them – works actively and develops professionally. Publicity Creating is one of the three most famous and one of the five most professional PR agencies in Ukraine according to the "Golden Grain" rating. Publicity Creating is an informational industry leader - a winner of media rating PR- 2007, 2008, 2009. Also our company is the leader of the ratings in social networks - Social Media Activity Index, 2011, 2012.

As for the various competitions, our company consciously is not taking part in them, because of the large workload and main focus on customer service. Top awards for us are positive customer testimonials and long-term cooperation with the agency on their part.

Is it possible to work for Publicity Creating remotely or have a flexible schedule?

Yes, there is such a possibility. For example, we are working remotely with content managers, by using the Internet and social networks, with assistants who monitor and with digital managers. Moreover, these people work on a regular basis, some - for 2-3 years. Just the nature of the work they do doesn’t require constant presence in the office, and remote work with a flexible schedule in this case is a good alternative. At the same time - despite the distance, the best remote managers are valuable members of our team who are interested in our news and participate actively in corporate events.

Does your company provide the possibility of rapid career growth for the most promising employees?

In Publicity Creating there is a real possibility of rapid career growth. To achieve this, manager should have an active position and deliver work of the decent quality. It is not enough just to want and ask for promotion, you must meet certain requirements to prove your right to occupy certain position – with your own work. Secondly, general situation in the company also plays a role, everything depends on the volume of work and priorities of development at any given time, allowing prospective employees to take on more projects or customer service and/or start leading some new directions. If these factors are there - your career can be really dynamic. The main thing is to hold positions decently – that is to prove your high level of professionalism on a daily basis. Therefore, the priority of a good employee is horizontal career, and only then vertical.

If a person with zero experience comes to you to offer his/her services, will he/she ever have a chance to join Publicity Creating?

Yes, if we currently need assistants, or remote employees. Of course, such a candidate will need to show maximum effort and all his/her abilities.

How about candidates who have experience in other areas, but are confident that they will be really productive in strategic communications. Will they be considered?

Changing Jobs is always a big risk, because the candidate usually does not imagine the real nature of work in the PR agency, sometimes overestimates himself. On the other hand, if the person can quickly learn, grasp specifics, rules and schemes of work and shift his previous experience on the new activity – than he can be quite successful. There were such cases in our practice. The only point – you must be prepared for the lower wage level in the first stage than that of those who come to occupy a similar position with relevant experience, because the company also runs the risk in this case. But after a person has already immersed himself into the swing of things and showed results, hisher salary equalizes.

How do you increase the loyalty of employees?

Loyalty is a very important concept. Unfortunately, not everybody understands what is behind it. Traditionally, loyalty might be increased by using two types of motivation - tangible and intangible. The entire focus is in the art of combination, as focus only on the salary increase will not bring the desired effect, just like endless "honor diplomas". Our company has tried to achieve a balance between tangible and intangible factors, moreover, tried to thank people individually for their specific contribution, not just because employees work here for a long time. Of course, we organize corporate and team building events, trainings and strategy sessions, congratulate staff with the New Year and other holidays. But frankly speaking, I think loyalty is inside of each employee. If the work is interesting, if you like it and have respect for the company, where you work, have good relations with colleagues and perceive directors as examples to follow - then loyalty is high. These people work longer with us, and achieve more!