Public relations is changing and therefore the skill sets of in-house PR teams also changing. We recently held an event in partnership with 3 Monkeys Communications to discuss how in-house PR teams are evolving their skill sets and their internal structures.

Future Proofing In-House PR Teams from PRmoment on Vimeo.

We heard Stephen Doherty, MD, Head of Corporate Communications, Barclays talk about how in-house teams must become fluent in the language of business. Stephen discussed how it is important to elevate public relations up the value chain within the organisation by focusing on the outcomes of your communications.

The influence of communicators has increased in recent years and Doherty suggested that this had meant that in-house PR people have become the barometers of the organisations that they represent. It is therefore important that they have infectious enthusiasm to be effective.

The impact of in-house communicators is so important because they have the advantage of always being in the room when the big decisions are being taken and they therefore have an obligation to calibrate and put into context the activities of the business.

Doherty advised in-house communicators to everyday, ask themselves what they have done to aid the business objectives of their organisations.

Tom Barton, Head of UK Communications at Capgemini discussed how in-house teams must make the best use of the resources that they have available to them. Barton pointed out that media relations skills are no are no longer enough to excel in public relations and that to be truly effective PR people must embrace digital, to the extent that they understand more about social and digital channels than anyone else in their organisation.

Finally Angie Moxham, Chief Executive at 3 Monkeys Communications outlined the findings of their ‘Future Proofing of In-House PR Teams’ research. You can read this report in full below: