Outsourcing Communications?
It’s Possible
Dawn Morais Webster Special to The Garden Island
09/17/09

It has become commonplace to speak about the outsourcing of accounting or payroll or human resource functions like benefits administration — and for good reason.

Outsourcing lets companies save thousands of dollars and frees up critical management time to focus on the heart of their business or mission. Yet, when thinking about communications, organizations think almost invariably in terms of direct hires.

In the case of nonprofits or small- to mid-size businesses with limited budgets, that often results in hiring from the ground up and settling for less experience and breadth of skill than needed. At $35K, $45K or $55K a year, many organizations cannot afford more than one professional. That person might have three to four years of business or media experience, might have strong writing skills or a familiarity with advertising, or an aptitude for dealing with the press or an interest in advocacy or a particular specialization in one issue such as education or energy or tr.avel. It would be a great find indeed if the employer happened on to someone who combined all of the strengths, aptitudes and experience needed.

Yet companies can have that depth of experience and more for the same cost or less if they looked seriously at outsourcing the communications function. But true outsourcing has to go beyond buying services piecemeal. It has to get beyond just hiring an advertising agency, or a PR firm, or a graphic design firm or a social media maven. It has to reflect a continuing commitment to achieving true integration of all the pieces of corporate communications.

Outsourcing the communications function has to be a strategic decision by an executive who is tough-minded and prepared to lay out expectations, determine goals and hold the agency to clear, mutually agreed upon standards, outcomes and deadlines. It also requires a commitment on the part of the executive to treat this as a long term relationship to be nurtured, not the kind of random flirtation and falling in and out of love for no particular reason that has plagued client/agency relationships forever and kept both from doing as well as they might.

Assuming that several firms have comparable technical skills, a company looking to outsource its communications function must look beyond technical competence. Here is a list of the Top Ten attributes to look for in a communications team:

1. Love what they do but are not in love with themselves.

2. Listen attentively and somehow get you to talk more.

3. Don’t talk a lot about creativity. They just demonstrate it.

4. Don’t invariably suggest throwing a lot of money at problems.

5. Don’t play back what you told them last week-as their idea.

6. Know something about your business that you did not tell them yourself.

7. Are willing to voice strong, persuasive views about a variety of ideas and issues.

8. Know that designing an ad is not the same as understanding an issue.

9. Are good at connecting the dots and coloring outside the lines.

10. Are willing and ready to walk away from your business if it runs counter to their principles.

In other words, look for people you would want to hire if you had a bigger budget.

Look for a team with people you feel comfortable with who will help you get the job done. A sense of fun and good chemistry are important. Trust your instincts. And when you do find the right team, pay them the way you would to hire the best and the brightest.

After all, you’d still be saving a great deal in terms of all the indirect costs that go with hiring direct. A good agency that has taken ownership of your communications function understands that you are staking your professional reputation on this relatively untested arrangement. They will want to make you look good. Instead of holding an individual responsible for pieces of the total corporate communications picture, hold the agency responsible for ensuring the integration of messages that is critical to brand-building and mission success. Your fairness will make them work harder than any employee probably does because they are not employees. And you could have a team of 10 at your service for the price of one.

If you are ready to go this route, you have a pretty good chance of nurturing a “near-employee” team with whom you can grow old together gracefully and who gets better and better at what they do for you.