Now back in the day when I was a Government PR person - and also thought that revisiting 80s fashions were a good idea - I was permanently trying to promote the purpose of my job to the organisation that employed me.

The department that I did work for was stuck in the dark ages and most of the staff had started work then. However, the issues that we dealt with were a PR person’s dream: the civil partnership bill; avian flu; 24 hour alcohol licencing; and much more. But, the policy officers there were scared about communicating what they did to the outside world, I think because they were dealing with such high profile issues.

The best way that I could try to win over the hearts and minds of my colleagues was to try and get as much coverage as possible - but with as little input as possible from them. I attended team meetings as an observer to get ideas and would use them to write articles. I then made sure they were updated with any coverage we received, particuarly when it involved their area.

There was a very small culture change whilst I was there and some people did change their perceptions of PR. Others could also see that promoting their own work would also help them to move on to their next job. Sadly, some still saw no reason for them to promote what they were doing.

Ten months later, I decided to move on. It was a hard job but one I learnt a lot doing.

Article Tags: selling PR; UK PR; Government

Filed under: Public Relations