Part 15 (2/2)

Invest in Talent The greatest value you can bring to clients is staffing their account teams with A players These professionals are analytical, confident, creative, detail oriented, highly ic-all traits that consistently translate into success for your clients

Hire the best

Provide advanced training and education that accelerates their developnize team over individual success, and put a prerowth of accounts

Develop professionals who are committed to efficiency and productivity

Build Connections Extend your reach and influence in the places that ency and your clients Be proactive in creating and nurturing connections now for you and your clients Do not go looking for new contacts when you have so events

Join clubs and associations

Participate in Twitter chats and online forums

Share your expertise on Q&A sites, such as Quora, Focus, and LinkedIn Answers

Diversify Your Relationshi+ps Look for opportunities to expand your connections within client organizations If you only have a single contact person, and that professional leaves, the account can be at risk However, if you have built relationshi+ps with reater chance of retaining the account

Understand the organization's dynaency partners are evaluated

Be willing to invest nonbillable tis, if it means you will have opportunities to make valuable connections

Seek opportunities to ith er coency expands, account teams are pushed to their limits to deliver on expectations and priorities At the sae and experience to accounts, are pulled away frorowth

No matter how talented your account tea picture So an objective look at their efforts, and considering things frohts can be essential to building stronger, more profitable relationshi+ps

One possible solution is to create a client in residence (CIR)-a senior agency leader charged with assessing accounts from the client's perspective These client advocates ask the difficult questions, challenge caies, push for is, assess the account teaency's value and contributions-all so the client does not have to

The CIR considers factors affecting the client each day-, expectations, and demands-and looks for ways to encies, it may be the CEO or president who functions part-tiencies, itdozens of accounts Here is a look at possible CIR responsibilities: Sit in on client calls and internal strategy e efficiency and productivity

Review aps in assess creative and innovative ideas to cas of client businesses and cultures

Provide feedback on the style and tone of agency coic recoets

Explore opportunities to enhance service levels

Advocate for client interests and needs

The Significance of Systeencies, specifically disruptors, are driven by systems They are built on adaptable infrastructures that enable theency brethren

The syste autononed to increase efficiency and productivity, encourage creativity, accelerate innovation, and push professionals to realize and eher performance levels andsections, ill exanificant ieement

Career Path As I have stated nuency Your ability to attract and retain A players directly affects your client loyalty These professionals are highly motivated, career-focused individuals They need a system that defines titles, responsibilities, pay scales, bonus structure, performance metrics, expectations, and opportunities

Like everything else in your agency, career paths should be flexible and adapt as needed to reatest value to clients The career paths establish how your organizational chart is structured, and they lay the foundation for how you construct account teaency that plans to recruit and develop talent

There are endless ways to build your agency's organizational chart, define your career paths, and construct your account teae For example, in June 2011, Interpublic Group-owned PR firm GolinHarris announced plans to do aith its traditional pyramid structure and introduce four new titles-catalyst, strategist, creator, and connector1 According to the New York Tianization is prieneralists to being designated as one of four types of specialists”2 When I first developed PR 20/20's career path in 2005, I felt that clients too often left agency professionals out of high-level strategic discussions, and tended to view them more as practitioners I wanted our professionals to be seen as strategists first, so I chose to move away from the standard ”account executive/supervisor” titles Instead, I created a career path with three primary titles-associate consultant, consultant, and senior consultant

As we gree added ency's operations and advancement, specifically in the areas of hu, but these core client-service positions are still the basis for our career path

Our account tearowth of core accounts, consist of group ers (consultants or senior consultants) and support staff (associate consultants and consultants) We continue to tweak our systeives you so your career path

Following is a snapshot of our primary positions associate Consultant is an entry-level position, ideally suited for professionals with 0 to 3 years of industry experience associate consultants are pri that their pri services to clients-and students, developing the skills necessary to advance to the consultant level

associate consultants are forecasted to log 120 to 140 client-service hours per y outside regular business hours to advance their knowledge and capabilities

Consultant is a enerally have 3 to 7 years of industry experience, and have displayed the potential and desire to advance to senior-level positions Consultants are prieer) responsibilities, and they are actively involved with business developency initiatives

Consultants have de and consultation competencies, and they have a proven performance track record Consultants and senior consultants are usually the primary day-to-day contacts on core accounts Consultants are forecasted for 100 to 120 client-service hours per month

Senior Consultant is a senior-level position, commonly for professionals with more than seven years of industry experience Senior consultants have demonstrated advanced competencies in all relevant areas, and they are viewed as builders, innovators, producers, ers, and leaders Top senior consultants coency, so their forecasted client hours range froers are senior consultants who e a collection of accounts They are responsible for the growth and roup Group roup client-hour forecasts

Conduct annual staff performance reviews