PR People in the Boardroom? a Look at HP

This last week, PRWeek, venerable PR magazine, published an editorial that claims that the HP boardroom debacle proves the need for PR pros in the boardroom. Well, I don't agree...or rather not fully.

"If any top-level communicator needed slam-dunk, real world proof that he or she deserves a seat at the executive table, that person has it - in spades," says the editorial team. ( I can't link to it because it's behind a wall, sorry!). HP's PR people are now having to 'mop up' where the editorial claims that they should be in place to explain how to avoid the messes in the first place.

The article makes some good points: "Smart communicators approach any backroom dealings fully anticipating that the company's actions will see the light of day.." the editorial continues. This is, to me, true and well said.

But, my take is that having a PR person on the Board won't change anything if the culture of the company as a whole is deformed. If we look at HP, it is easy to believe that the Board members involved with the investigation believed they were acting in good interests of the company - stopping leaks and finding out those involved. What they failed to see was that their actions could prove to be illegal and ultimately damaging the company. Yet there are assertions that legal counsel approved the actions. Would a PR pro in that environment see through the issue and realize a problem? Probably not.

Board members' responsibilities can be summarized into the following statement: They are there to keep the company in good standing as a whole, including accounts, debt, share holder interests, actions by the company and so on. If the Board members are unable to see that their actions are wrong before they take them, there is a good chance that the company culture is flawed right there at the top. And any MBA graduate will know that the culture derives from the top. PR pros in an environment like that will either be complicit, ignored, or simply removed - ergo, no PR expertise and counsel!

PRweek finishes on a good note though, and something we shuld all remember: If you take the assumption that any and every action of a company will see the light of day, "communicators hang their abilities on predicting how incidents will play out in public." The Board members need to remember that and perhaps seek counsel prior to various actions.

Rach