There has been a marked decline in trust between organisations and their publics and there is now a greater focus on corporate transparency, driven by vocal, engaged stakeholder communities.

Trust can be re-built and sustained, but it requires frequent and honest communication, authentic engagement with stakeholders and a commitment to the greater public good through corporate responsibility strategies. Organisations must also proactively address demands from disquieted publics for change to regulation and reward structures. Stakeholder dialogue is where its at.

These imperatives bode well for the public relations profession.  We understand how to build and sustain dialogue. Impactful public relations has always been about the conversation - a two-way interaction that is much more than a broad message push.  Of course, the organisation must be willing to listen to feedback from stakeholders and adapt and respond accordingly.  But, it is a powerful approach, one that builds community and directly impacts strategy. 

As Harold Burson said in his blog (http://tinyurl.com/burson): "At this time of major turbulence in how messages are communicated to target audiences, public relations has proven itself to be agile, flexible, creative and comprehensive in the sense that it is without boundaries in its scope and reach."

We must commit to professional development

To be successful however, this approach requires a confident and skilled public relations profession, one that sits at the heart of the organisation it supports, not on the fringes.  It requires an open and sustained dialogue between practitioners and the client; the establishment of feedback mechanisms; an understanding of an organisation's objectives, strategies and functions; a business vocabulary that stretches beyond the tactical PR campaign vocabulary we are so comfortable with, and a sophisticated awareness of the external and internal environment. To deliver this, it requires that our profession commits - wholeheartedly and consistently - to professional development at all levels.

Professional development, continuous learning, call it what you will, is key to the health and future prosperity of public relations.  The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) runs a continuous professional development (CPD) scheme for members, to help them structure their career-long learning.  We have developed a skills framework that embraces all of the competence areas we believe are critical to practitioners' success - from core PR skills to global, economic, political and social structures, financial systems and organisational theory.

As well as formal learning, practitioners have access to a thriving research base in the UK and internationally that is driving forward thinking and practice. Research centres in the UK are publishing excellent work on reputational risk, measurement and public trust. There are many sources, references, journals, blogs and communities where experience and knowledge are shared.

Neglect learning at the profession's expense

Whilst we have access to rich resources, there is a learning life-cycle in our profession that is focused on new and early career practitioners.  Whilst development at this level is essential, experienced practitioners neglect learning at the profession's expense.  Typically, core PR skills are honed, a lucky few will make it to the boardroom, sizeable management and client responsibility will be given and a few will venture out on their own.  But (and of course there are exceptions), practitioners are not consistently trained for the boardroom or for the strategic discussions that can have a positive and significant impact on client organisations. The danger then is that the nuances of the annual report remain unclear, our ability to assimilate macro environmental developments into PR strategy is limited and public relations as a profession is boxed in, the totality of our ability and skill set fundamentally misunderstood. 

There are many ways to address such concerns.  The CIPR has introduced Chartered Practitioner status for its members with the aim of making this a benchmark for those working at a senior level and a standard to which all practitioners can work towards. There is a group of CIPR members, including myself, currently working through the rigorous assessment process towards becoming the first Chartered Practitioners. We must demonstrate an outstanding level of professional practice and knowledge, commitment to continuous professional development and importantly, strategic ability.

Chartered Practitioner is one part of the CIPR's efforts to strengthen the profession's standing with client organisations and other, well established business disciplines that have a seat at the board table. But a collective commitment to professionalisation is what will cement new opportunities for our practitioners.  This commitment can take many forms - it may not be Chartered Practitioner - but it could be, for example, internal leadership programmes with external mentors from other business disciplines, collaboration with external business bodies or investments in research.  We must align with the organisations we support and broaden our learning and skill sets.

Collective effort is what it will take to deliver a positive impact on our profession's future success.  We have made tremendous progress in many areas, have proved indispensable in times of crisis and have shown our mettle in an uncertain and fractious economic climate.   Sustainable growth and strategic development must now be our focus.

For further information about the CIPR, visit www.cipr.co.uk

Jay O’Connor is the President-Elect, Chartered Institute of Public Relations