Seven Components of Correct GR-Work
State power is such a potent substance that any discussions or reflections related to it cause a vivid response and a huge stir. Especially in the interesting times we are living (unfortunately, like a wise rabbi used to say).
Reputation managers are interested in bodies of government as in the first turn a very specific group of stakeholders that should be dealt with in a particular way. A methodological approach to organizing GR-work depends on what state’s powers are under consideration. In a truly independent and sovereign state formation, GR is many-sided, complex and uses a rich tool set. While in case of a territory that is only formally named a state but is de facto ruled from outside it is enough to know and use only separate group mediators (agents of influence representing interests of this or that management entity).
The second situation is purely hypothetical of course – sapienti sat. That is why I will speak below exclusively about a sovereign state that has national interests and there are people to defend these interests. Thus reducing GR to working with mediators is like diluting the Kamasutra to variations of the missionary position.
Basing on this, let us analyze a full-scale system of GR across the forms, directions, angles and levels. And let us describe seven anatomic features of this area.
1. Any Relations are built as a kind of communications, whatever people occupying posts of GR-managers (directors and the like) in the corporate hierarchy may say. In case of Government Relations, communication activity aims at transforming the process of keeping contacts (public or backstage, direct or mediated by frontmen and “integrated lobbyists”) into trust, loyalty, reputational dividends, and, finally, into economic profit. That is, communicating is a part of the overall system of reputation management. That is why it is of little importance what is written in the GR expert’s job definition. It does not matter much how PR, IR and GR employees liaise or with what airs they are gravely sitting in their functional offices (God forbid them to do somebody else’s work or to help each other in vertical and horizontal rat races). It is not so relevant what individual or group opinion leaders the company employs in its GR work. But in any event, the “output” should be getting the “power” category of stakeholders cooperate in achieving the set business aims to the maximum extent possible. Ideally, doing not very much harm to the society.
2. GR is a strategic kind of communications like reputation management. Correspondingly, lobbying which is often mistaken for Government Relations refers to the overall system of GR like the particular to the general. It has an absolutely tactical character, i.e. it is primarily connected with implementing particular projects confined in time.
3. We can trace GR elements in the activities of any business entities because government power is many-faced and omnipresent. Only with big holdings “trust-based relations with an eye to economic gain” are established with more influential government institutions (central and local authorities represented by high-ranking public officials) while with small businesses these are regulatory bodies represented by “fire fighters, Health Inspection Services, etc.” And the way from the commutant to the violent lies through the “G-spot”.
4. The “G-spot” in the abbreviation of GR is not necessarily a public official taking a decision (OTD) on an issue the business is interested in. When communicating, it is possible to bring into play friendly experts well received in corresponding offices, friends and family of corresponding OTDs.
5. GR instruments are various regardless of the fact whether the company performs the function itself or makes use of intermediaries’ services not to stain its white robes. Yet, it is possible to aggregate those instruments to the traditional range of reputation management: 1) offline and online event newsbreaks; 2) offline and online mass media; 3) social media of the real and the virtual world that are the utilities for the information signal propagation. Separate instruments can be illustrated by:
• “Procedure” activities: statements, addresses; hearings; etc.
• Working with OTDs and opinion leaders, including loyalty campaigns.
• Projects of corporate social responsibility (for local communities, industry-based communities, etc.)
• Friendly “special interest groups” (non-governmental organizations, initiative movements – both natural grass-roots and simulacrum astroturfing), etc.
6. Typical GR projects are of various scales, time limits and communication levels (strategic, tactic – see point 2). In terms of daily activities, Government Relations mean practical work to support a continuous dialogue with corresponding government bodies on current issues of the business’s vital functions: interacting with officials of all levels, political parties and their leaders, candidates for an elective office and other categories of stakeholders. The analytical aspect of GR most often concerns preparing drafts of these of those legal documents, algorithms of their advancement, analyzing the level of political risks and devising steps to minimize them including measures for correcting the legal terrain in the necessary direction.
GR work efficiency can be assessed both in terms of quantity and quality only (with a set of particular KPIs) and in terms of quality – as a change in the target OTDs’ conduct reactions that condition taking the decisions favorable for the company.
Recently, Ukrainian GR has been characterized by a vague power configuration in addition to other inborn country defects (a corruption constituent, ambush strategies, manipulation techniques). While the political elite was being reformatted, decision-taking chains changed, “access points” ceased to be evident (the “old” ones are migrating, the “new” ones are glittering), there appeared a sword of Damocles in the form of people’s naturally or artificially inflamed anger that cannot be overlooked by OTDs. And it leaves a mark on all of the GR work. Including a morally-colored mark: “The state exists not to turn life on the earth into heaven but to prevent it from turning into hell” (Nikolai Berdyaev “Philosophy of Inequality. On State”). And every OTD of the business medium is responsible for where the state and its people will find themselves following his/her GR strategy.
Sapienti sat.
http://forbes.net.ua/woman/1384613-sem-sostavlyayushchih-pravilnoj-gr-raboty
Tags: Communications; Politics; Society