Why don’t we have a standard certification for the PR industry? Isn’t it time we change this?

I don’t want to offend, but enough is enough. I want to tackle the elephant in the room, the issue that many of us face but few of us have the bravery to talk openly about. We have far too many people in the communications profession who haven’t gotten to where they are on merit or who are unsuited for the role.

You know what I’m talking about, the person who got into the job because his or her father is the best friend of the GM. Or the comms manager who has been appointed because global wants to increase their diversity count (despite all of their customers being male). Or the person who is overseeing comms for a specific industry (let’s say, social media), and yet doesn’t even use the product. Or the employee who has been shunted into communications because the company can’t get rid of them. Or the person who has been employed because of their nationality and there’s a quota, despite their lack of experience (or ability).

We have to tackle the issue of quality in the profession. Why, one may ask? Simply because they represent all of us. Their actions shape the views of others. As communicators, we often talk about a place at the table. We won’t claim that board or management seat, unless we’re qualified and able to add value to the organizations that employ us. And, there’s the issue of agencies, which I’ve talked about before.

Who would hire an accountant who isn’t chartered? Or a lawyer that hasn’t passed their bar exam? And yet, there are many who work in our industry without a single qualification. We need to change this approach to professional qualifications. There are many to choose from, such as the accredited or the chartered status from the CIPR. And there’s the CMP examination from the IABC. There’s a host of qualifications out there.

As an industry, we need to change the debate from years of experience to competency and skills. To me, it’s no longer good enough for organizations to seek out communications professionals with little to no understanding of our profession. There needs to be a concerted effort by our industry, by communications professionals who care about how we are perceived by others, for us to adopt a minimum certification.

Only by making a case for a professional certification, which will act as a symbol of our dedication to continuous study and development and our adherence to ethics and best practices, will we receive the respect and trust that we crave and need to be taken as serious as the profession needs to become a boardroom position.

Are you with me?