In this interview, questions are being put to Jason Wassell MCIPR about the benefits of Chartered Practitioner status.
What is your educational background?
I have a degree from the University of Dundee in Political Science and American Studies. After some time in public relations I started to look around for a qualification and that coincided with the creation of the CIPR postgraduate diploma in PR.
What positions have you held in the past?
After university I was involved in youth politics and that took me into a policy research role with Henry McCubbin who was the Member of the European Parliament for North East Scotland.
My work started to focus more on communications as we headed into elections and I became more interested in PR as a career. That led to me working in-house both in the NHS and at a local authority.
Looking to develop further, I moved into consultancy with a focus on public sector communications and also advising commercial clients on public affairs. It was the experience of public sector communications that worked well in my role as PR Director with Barkers Communications where I was involved in a range of clients but primarily worked with the Scottish Government.
When the first incidence of H5N1 (bird 'flu) was identified at Cellardyke, I was asked to join the Scottish Government on secondment to work on emergency planning with a focus on communication structures and strategy.
That was a fascinating role working with a network of public sector communicators across Government, local authorities, the NHS and Police. During my time on secondment there were two fuel strikes, major flooding and a terrorist attack on Glasgow airport.
- Political Assistant to Member of European Parliament
- Corporate Affairs Officer at Angus NHS Trust
- Public Relations Officer at Dundee City Council
- Senior Account Manager at Pagoda PR
- PR Director at Barkers Communications
- Communications Strategist - Civil Contingencies at Scottish Government
What is your current role and how long have you been in this position?
I am a Director in the Global Government Relations practice of global law firm DLA Piper. I have been in that role for just over two years.
Can you provide a brief overview of your role?
DLA Piper has a global reach and provides a range of services. In a model that is more common in the US, we work with the legal teams to provide advice on corporate communication issues and public affairs. So I act as a consultant to clients that have an interest in the UK, and particularly those that are operating in Scotland.
Much of my work involves advising on stakeholder engagement, or working with specific communities. It tends to be around communicating policy decisions, for example the closure of a plant or the development of new facility. That often has an impact on a network of stakeholder organisations, and it is important to think about the planning required to engage effectively.
I also work on crisis communication for both commercial and public sector organisations. So, during 2009 I was involved advising clients on the issues arising from the credit crunch at the start of the year, and towards the end I was working intensely with the Scottish Government on the flu pandemic.
What is a typical day for you?
As I suspect, like many other practitioners my day starts with a review of the newspapers and I check all the regular email alerts that now seem to be standard.
My first discussion is usually with my researcher to discuss any issues that we have spotted, but also to agree what we want to be monitoring during the day.
Then the day can go in any of a number of directions. Often the research will lead on emails to clients to bring an issue to their attention, and to suggest a course of action.
My clients are often interested in the insight that we can bring on policy development - the people involved, the background to a policy and the process. With the variety of clients that we have that can mean I am dipping into new policy areas but I would tend to work more regularly on the regulated sectors such as energy, health and financial services.
Other clients might be more interested in what advice we can provide on a communication challenge. When we work with in-house client teams they might be looking for some suggestions about particular elements of communication planning, so, for example, suggesting a stakeholder mapping model or helping to shape messages.
But I still might find myself writing a news release or dealing with an enquiry from a journalist.
As a consultant, at least part of my day is spent on identifying new opportunities. So there are also a number of events that I would normally attend in the evenings, which usually combine networking and research.
Why do you think it's important to have the CIPR's Chartered Practitioner status?
Personally, it is important that I take part in this scheme because I am a strong supporter of PR as a profession, and this is the next logical step.
I was involved in the first course of the Diploma and joined the CPD scheme as soon as it was launched. I really believe that these are the building blocks of a profession and I am delighted to play my part.
What are the benefits of achieving Chartered Practitioner status?
To be honest, at this point there are only limited benefits. We are a profession that works with reputation, and so we will all recognise that it will take some time to develop the scheme. As awareness of the Practitioner status increases, it may become more important to those working in public relations.
At some point in the future I would expect the Chartered Practitioner status to be the standard recognition for those that have gained experience and skills in public relations.
However, we need to recognise that just now there is an entire generation of senior managers and practitioners who do not have any formal qualifications or professional accreditation. Many of them are the stars of the industry, and are quite rightly the role models for young PR professionals. If those senior practitioners are persuaded to take part, or to endorse the initiative, then it will be become more important.
As a consultant my own credibility is important in selling my services, and my personal brand is very important. So I think that Chartered Practitioner Status may be of more commercial benefit to me as awareness grows.
What was the topic of your original piece of work submitted as part of the Chartered Practitioner application process?
My paper was on the role of PR practitioners in a national emergency. But I wanted to move on from talking about our technical skills, and to think more about what a PR practitioner can bring as a strategist at the top table. In particular I consider the PR manager as a 'boundary spanner'.
I started by talking about the impact of some of the modern threats we face, including extreme weather, terrorism and health incidents such as a pandemic. These are often one-off incidents, with the potential to swamp the resources of the emergency services. In academic terms they could be described as 'wicked problems'.
The commanders may be experts in their particular areas, but PR practitioners bring a different approach, expertise and different perspectives that could help in developing effective strategies that can save lives.
Research suggest that in tackling such problems abstract thinking beats experience because these are one-off events, collaboration is a key to delivering aid and stakeholders can play a part in strategy development. That approach fits with the way in which PR practitioners operate on a daily basis.
The PR practitioner also can call upon their management of the stakeholder network to paint a picture of the emergency, calling on stakeholders to fill in the gaps in information. When the usual channels are down then the PR practitioner can usually find that information through their network.
They also bring a self-awareness, which is vital if you are seeking the support of others to manage an emergency. Public officials can no longer rely on the public obeying every instruction without question, so the strategic task is much more about true engagement rather than one-way communication.
Public evacuation or immunisation will only be an effective strategy if you can guarantee that the public will take part, and the key to success is effective engagement.
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