One thing that has always been very important to me is making sure our company gives back to the healthcare community, which has enabled us to grow and flourish, especially in times of crisis.

Despite the challenging circumstances that the PR industry is currently facing, our skills, contacts and expertise remain vital to smaller organisations that are also struggling and need our help – pro bono.

You can make a difference
In times like these, it is more important than ever to have purpose, to get up every morning and feel as though you’re making a small contribution to the greater good. So many important changes and practices in healthcare have been driven by marketing and communications, including attitudes toward HIV, lung cancer and diabetes, to name a few. Communications is an extremely powerful tool that can mean increased awareness, endorsement and amplification for initiatives, projects and diseases that have typically been neglected or underrepresented.

Give where it is needed most
Since becoming part of a larger company, I’ve become more convinced than ever that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be an integral part of every organisation. When the Covid-19 lockdown first occurred, and we were sent home to work, we reached out to do more. We were fortunate to collaborate on a pro bono basis with the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, the AGILE Coronavirus Drug Testing Initiative in Liverpool, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergencies Programme on its Covid-19-related efforts.

It made me realise that talented employees who want to make a difference during a healthcare crisis should be given every opportunity to do so. Each pro bono project has helped enrich our business in a different way and continues to bring added value to our existing work for our healthcare clients.

Pro bono work can also really make a difference in terms of employee satisfaction and retention, especially during a global pandemic when staff are removed from the frontline but want to be courageous and do more.

Enable others to life-changing work
Not every professional healthcare charity or organisation has the funds to bring an agency onboard. That’s why it is so important to provide our services, when we can, to important pro bono initiatives – helping support healthcare campaigns in reaching their audiences and using our expertise to our fullest potential.

Enabling others to do life-changing work should always be a priority for those who are able, and I’m happy that we’re in a position where we can contribute to the healthcare community.

Written by Suzanne Jacobs, managing director at W2O Group