PR practitioner's roles in public relations

The PR practitioner's tasks are multiple, various and diversified and the activities undertaken by this specialist are going from research and counseling to monitoring, evaluation and decision-making. In fact, nobody is capable to do it all. More, the PR practitioners don't poses all the same qualities or talents. Within this strategic context it is appropriate to look at the specific roles of public relations practitioners.

Work spearheaded by Glenn Broom and David Dozier (Theaker 2001:44) has identified two dominant public relations roles: the communication technician and the communication manager.

The communication technician

This often highly skilled individual carries out communication programs and activities such as writing news releases, editing house-magazines and developing websites. They probably do not undertake research, except to decide which communication mechanism suits their prescribed purpose best; implementation is their focus. They will not be involved in organizational decision-making.

The communication manager

This person is in the dominant coalition, plans, manages and facilitates the community program, counsels management and makes policy decisions. The communication manager should have an international outlook and an understanding of different cultures and languages that make up his area of responsibility, as well as a good understanding of the business and a good rapport with the people marketing products/services for the company.

Communication managers in turn can find themselves in different roles:

The expert prescriber

They are seen as the authority on communication and management relies on them to come up with solutions to problems. The expert prescriber researches and defines public relations problems, develops programs and implements them, sometimes with the help of others.

There are dangers in this role: practitioners may become overconfident, perceiving themselves as in a position of great authority and with exclusive knowledge. The downside is that they may be solely accountable if things over which they have no or little control “go wrong”.

In situations such as crises it is important for experts to guide and provide definitive advice, but in the longer term it is beneficial to diffuse public relations thinking, expertise and knowledge throughout organizations.

The communicator facilitator

These individuals act as go-betweens: interpreting, mediating and keeping open two-way communication between an organization and its public. They are often the official contact points in organizations, are trusted by stakeholders and the organization alike and act in the mutual interest of all involved. Boundary-spanners in a very real sense, communication facilitators remove barriers and establish links between all interested parties. They work on the basis that mutual understanding facilitates good decision-making and provides shared benefits.

The problem-solving facilitator

These individuals work with others in the organization to identify and solve problems. They are involved in strategic decisions from the beginning, helping to set objectives, defining communication needs and advising on implementation. Problem-solving facilitators are perceived to be skilled at helping others in analysis and solution finding and as such are invited into decision-making coalition.

In reality, most public relations practitioners undertake a variety of these roles, often all at the same time. In general, junior practitioners tend to operate at the technician level, while senior practitioners undertake the management roles. It may be tempting to denigrate the technician role, but the truth is that some technicians operate at a high level within organizations and have a great deal of influence, usually in a very specific area of expertise.

The key-word of the PR practitioner function is the polyvalence of knowledge and personal abilities . The demands and responsibilities related to the PR depend on the nature and complexity of services, the nature of institutions and organizations and the personality of the practitioners. A person who is somehow intimidated by the new publics would rather write texts or feedbacks, tasks that other persons find extremely boring, as they need to meet people. Therefore, every practitioner, depending on his personality can draw a scheme of the tasks he can fulfill. (Wilcox et co. 1995:78)

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