Tag: APR

Attitudes Mixed Among PR Students, Professionals and Employers About Value of Certificate and Accreditation in Public Relations (APR)

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Professional organizations such as the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and others in the public relations field have created opportunities for formal professional credentials. There is the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations for students near graduation time, and for professionals there is Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).

However, perception of and participation in these professional credential opportunities is varied. I conducted surveys of public relations students and professionals to determine why people do or do not seek to attain these professional milestones. In addition, employers were surveyed to determine their awareness and perception of these professional achievements.

My partners in this project were John Forde, PhD, APR, Fellow PRSA, Professor at Mississippi State University, and Sharee Broussard, PhD, APR, Director of Public Affairs and Community Services at Mobile County, Alabama.

Results show students and professionals are more likely to consider practical external value (i.e. getting hired or promoted) than other idealistic personal motivations to pursue professional development achievements. Meanwhile, employers value professional credentials as nice to have but not necessary if candidates have proven experience.

Surveys were completed by 76 public relations students who had applied to take the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations; 68 students who were members of various student public relations organizations but had not applied for the certificate; 387 public relations professionals; and 45 employers who hire public relations employees. (All questions in the surveys were on 5-point scales).

Students who applied for the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations mostly were neutral or agreed that having the certificate would increase their chances of being hired (mean 3.3). However, they mostly disagreed or were neutral on whether their employer valued the certificate in the interview process (mean 2.5). 

Their comments reflect the disconnect between their own expectations and experience with actual potential and current employers:

  • “I don’t think the certificate added much to my education that my degree didn’t already offer.”
  • “The certificate has little value to employers often because they are unaware of the significance.”
  • “Most recruiters and employers did not know what my certification was, and therefore did not value it as I would have wished.”
  • “The certificate did not capture the attention of potential employers like I had hoped. Employers are more interested in applicable portfolio pieces related to the position you’re applying for.”
  • “The employers I interviewed with during my job hunt were either not aware of the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations at all, or did not consider it significant enough to bear an impact on their hiring decisions.”
  • “I don’t feel this certification has provided any value. I haven’t received any special consideration after obtaining the certification, nor have any prospective employers commented on it.”

Meanwhile, students who were members of PR groups but had not applied for the certificate were mostly not aware of the certificate—35 of 68 said they were “not at all” aware of it and 14 were only slightly aware (mean 2). Once it was explained to them and they were asked if they would seek the certificate, these students were mostly neutral or agreed (mean 3.3). They also were mostly neutral or agreed on whether the certificate would increase their chance of being hired or promoted (mean 3.67).

Professionals were more mixed with regard to perceptions of Accreditation in Public Relations. As a group they were very familiar with APR (mean 4.64), with 237 of respondents having earned APR and 134 not. Of those who were not yet accredited, they mostly agreed or were neutral about one day earning APR (mean 3.24). They mostly agreed (mean 3.6) that having APR would increase chances of being hired or promoted. 

Those with positive attitudes about APR spoke to demonstrating professionalism and commitment to the profession:

  • “I earned the APR to increase my PR knowledge and to have a credential that demonstrates my expertise to the world.”
  • “I earned it because my employer supported me in my journey, paid for the process and I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. The process was a great learning and taught me where I had gaps and also gave me confidence in my capabilities as a professional.”
  • “I believe the APR credential is the true sign of a professional PR counselor. Each time I receive the maintenance letter, I’ve submitted it to my boss and received great responses.”
  • “I earned the APR to reinforce my knowledge and increase my credibility as a practitioner.”

However, professionals also had negative perceptions of the value and process of accreditation. Comments as to why they would not seek APR included:

  • “Do not agree that the title can be taken away from you if you choose not to be a member of a professional organization annually.”
  • “Cost, too cumbersome of a process to go through, and my company is not interested in having me earn it.”
  • “Not sure if employers or clients recognize the value; is the effort required worth the benefit received?”
  • “I met Edward L. Bernays in the 1980s when he was pushing APR. It was useless then and it’s useless today. No one I know in the public relations firm world pays any attention whatsoever to accreditation.”
  • “I don’t see a need. I think it works for some, but with 20+ years’ experience and an MA in Communications Management, it feels redundant. I also find that outside of the industry, people don’t really know APR to give it any value/weight.”

Hiring managers were mostly in the public relations field (62%) as opposed to general human resources (22%) or other functions (15%). This may explain why most were aware of the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations (mean 2.9) and APR (mean 4.1). All together the group was likely to consider general non-degree credentials about the same as APR when hiring, (mean 4), but they considered the certificate in particular less valuable (mean 3.5).

While hiring managers said they would consider the certificate and APR, their comments showed they only considered these credentials in the context of other factors:

  • “Many PR professionals who do not seem very competent have earned their APR, which dilutes the significance of that accreditation.”
  • “Hands-on, day-to-day, client-facing, problem-solving, real-world experience. plus knowing how to think and write tops all else.”
  • “The most important traits I look for are intelligence, work ethic and positive attitude. Letters behind the name are great, but it’s not the first thing I look for.”
  • “Certificates do not mean the candidate is more qualified.  Having the basic knowledge of public relations, experience (even if it’s from an internship) and willingness to learn will determine if they are the right person for the job.”
  • “I’m an EVP and have hired communications people here and at two other agencies as well as a top consulting firm and I can say these particular development resources have never once come up as being desirable things for a candidate to have. We look at all kinds of professional development examples not just those prescribed by PRSA. I think it’s largely due to the fact that so few PR practitioners are even in PRSA, and only 10% of them get any of these certificates. It’s just too small a pool of people to put any weight on it.”

It is especially hard to communicate the value of these credentials when PRSA does not promote them to employers and others outside the field. Also, PRSA received considerable criticism from members when they decided not to require APR for members to be representatives to the national assembly at the annual conference.

If there is a bottom line here, it is that students may expect the Certificate to help them get a job, but that employers either don’t agree or see it as just one factor when hiring. As for professionals, APR may have personal or intrinsic value but there is little evidence that it matters to employers. 

Many Reasons to Get Your Accreditation in PR (APR)

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How do you know and prove that you are “legit” as a public relations professional? How do you know a PR person you want to hire as a consultant or employee knows what they’re doing?

One way is street “cred.” Another is professional accreditation.

Yesterday I spoke about Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) at the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) International Conference. It was to be in Nashville, but as everything else this year, it was virtual. Check out the conference program description of the session: “The Why, How, and What of APR.”

As co-chair of the PRSA APR Marketing Committee this year, I discussed why professionals would want to seek accreditation, which is the emphasis of this post. My colleague and co-chair Elyse Hammett, APR of the Atlanta Community Foundation went over the what, or process. You can also find more about that on the accreditation page of the PRSA website. Finally, two chapter APR chairs–Dan McFadden, APR, Strategic Communications Director of Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas, and Denver Peacock, JD, APR, ABC and Principal, the Peacock Group in Little Rock–shared a chapter program to encourage professionals seeking accreditation. (Email me if you want a copy of the full presentation).

Motivations from Altruistic to Practical

In 2019, there were 196 PR professionals who passed their APR exam, joining a growing number of accredited public relations professionals. This includes those who earned APR+M, a special accreditation for those who work in military public affairs. The question is, why?

It turns out, there are multiple motivators for pursuing APR. Yours may be among the ones I mention.

In 2015, I co-authored an article about these motivations for accreditation. We took data from a survey of those who took the APR exam and analyzed it for some insights. One general insight is that by far the majority of people seek the APR for altruistic reasons, such as simple personal satisfaction (82%), to be a better professional (80%), or to gain confidence in their own competence in strategic management (72%). Respondents obviously could answer all that apply.

Others were more practical in their desire to be accredited. The most common answers in this category was to get a promotion (33%) or to obtain a new job (26%).

Other motivations had to do with individual characteristics or where in the vast public relations arena a person practiced:

  • Younger professionals were more likely to seek the APR because of the added potential for a job promotion;
  • Men were more likely than women to see the APR as a way to earn respect from an employer or client;
  • Professionals who had been in public relations their entire careers were more likely to see the APR as a means to leverage a salary increase and promotion as a primary motivator;
  • Those in a tactical role were more likely to seek APR to position themselves when interviewing for a new job;
  • Those in a manager role saw the APR as a boost to get them a higher salary;
  • Those working in agency, nonprofit and government/military PR thought accreditation would help them gain respect from employers or clients.

You may see your own motivation to put APR behind your name on that list. Or you may have your own reasons. One thing is important to stress for everyone: there is an excellent ROI on the APR. The return on investment, relative to a master’s degree or a professional certificate program, is quite good. The APR process is less costly and time consuming than a master’s degree.

And, compared to professional certifications, which often certify in specific skills, the APR is a designation that a professional has an understanding of the field that is deep and broad. Anyone who earns APR has proven that they understand not just how to do tactics, but the theory, history, strategy and process of the field across all segments.

There’s one final motivator–to enhance the profession. Not only is that the sixth provision of the PRSA Code of Ethics, it’s a reality with regard to the APR. The more professionals who are accredited, the more the public at large will recognize with respect the hallmarks of an accredited professional and a profession worthy of credit.

Why Do PR Pros Seek Accreditation (APR)? Latest Research

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The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) established the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) program more than 50 years ago, in 1964. Since then, thousands of PR professionals have worked to earn the designation as a mark of superior PR skills, knowledge and ethical practice.

However, not all practitioners seek the APR credential. In fact, PRSA noticed the percentage of practitioners who are accredited has gone down in recent years. So the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB) has encouraged academics to look into the reasons why professionals do and do not make the effort to earn the APR mark of distinction.

Hence, my latest research research with my co-author Dr. Kaye Sweetser of San Diego State University. “Role Enactment, Employer Type, and Pursuit of APR” was just published in the journal Public Relations Review. The journal article is available here. Or, since the journal article is an abbreviated version, you can email me for a full copy.

Or you can just read on here for a summary!

First, a quick explanation of the key terms and variables in the study. “Role enactment” is an academic term that describes the specific role that PR practitioners enact in their jobs. Prior research has boiled these roles down to two: a “technician” is more of an entry-level role focused on tactics; a “manager” may still work on tactics but is more focused on strategy and advising organizational management and making communication decisions vs merely implementing them.

“Employer type” has to do with the fact that PR professionals may work for a corporation, but they could also work in many other contexts. Vast numbers of PR professionals work in non-profits, government agencies, educational institutions, the military, or public relations firms.

We were curious to see if the context in which a practitioner works, or their years of experience or level of authority/status in the organization, were factors in whether or not and why they sought the APR credential.

Results showed that employer type and practitioner role did make a difference. The practical take-aways:

  • Respondents pursued APR mostly for personal satisfaction or to be a better practitioner.
  • Seeking the APR to get a promotion was correlated with younger practitioners.
  • Those in PR for many years were more likely to pursue APR for higher salary than those who transfer in from other fields (who may seek APR for knowledge and legitimacy in their new field).
  • Pursuing APR to gain respect from clients/employer was more common for those in agency, nonprofit, or government/military.
  • Those in a manager role were more likely to pursue APR for higher salary, while those in a technician role were more likely to pursue APR for a job promotion or when seeking a new job.
  • A somewhat counter-intuitive result was that men are significantly more likely than women to be motivated by respect from an employer or client.
This research extended previous studies about the differences between those PR practitioners with and without APR. The UAB may use the results to tailor their promotion of the APR program differently to practitioners, based on their gender, specific role, years of experience, and the type of organization in which they work.

APR Promotion Long Overdue

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I received an email from the Public Relations Society of America PRSA yesterday that announced a new effort to promote the value of the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) designation. Information about the ‘Enhancing the APR” effort is also available online.

The timing of this announcement is interesting to me personally. Just last week in my spring Fundamentals of Public Relations course I explained the APR in a lecture about ethics. I discussed the background and pros and cons of licensing public relations professionals, and why accreditation emerged as another option. I explained how a PR professional gains the APR accreditation, how they maintain it, and why they might want to do so.

But I was also honest. I pointed out that the same week I had once again renewed my APR credential. I filled out the requisite form to demonstrate I had earned the points needed in the past three years to remain worthy of the professional distinction. I sent in my $50 with the form. But I also wondered, why do I do this?

As I told my students, the value of the APR is mostly personal. It has intrinsic value. In other words, as young professionals it can be a way to prove to themselves that they possess a broad understanding of a field that is very broad in the numerous specific jobs that PR professionals undertake these days. To earn the APR is to show to yourself that you care about the profession, that you possess contextual awareness of the role of PR in organizations and in society that goes beyond mere technical skills.

I also told my students that earning and maintaining the APR might help them within the PR profession. In other words, some PR agencies or departments may include professionals who have earned accreditation themselves, or through membership in PRSA, they may value it  and give an edge when hiring to those who have APR behind their name. However, there are also those even among PR professionals who are unaware of or unimpressed by APR.

I said the same things to local professions a decade ago when I was president of the West Michigan PRSA chapter and when I was coach for the APR exam preparation class.

Beyond that, the legions of people outside the profession have little or no knowledge of what APR is or why it should matter to them. I have both PhD and APR behind my name on my business cards, and when I do PR consulting and hand over my freelance consulting card, I almost always get asked “what is APR?” I recently published a book and my father-in-law looked at the book jacket and my bio and asked me about APR. I am editing a new annual report for the School of Communications at the university where I teach and the director of the school, a colleague but who does not teach public relations, highlighted the APR behind my name on the masthead and asked “is this some sort of professional designation?

In other words, the promotion of APR and its value to an audience outside the profession is long overdue.

I was surprised to learn in the PRSA materials on this subject that APR is as old as I am–it will be 50 years old in 2014. I earned my own APR more than a decade ago, and remember standing as a delegate  from West Michigan to the national PRSA conference standing and urging the national committee to promote the value of APR not just to members but to those who may be our bosses, clients and co-workers. My remarks received applause, not because of my great oratory skills, but because back then the issue resonated with professionals who had worked to earn and maintain APR and wanted to have more than the intrinsic value I mentioned above.

I am one of a handful of PR professors who has been asked to do some research about the APR based on feedback from professionals who have earned it. I am now more inspired to do such research. In the meantime, I eagerly await hearing more  from PRSA in August about the plan to “enhance the profile and prestige of the APR credential.”

I am often dismayed when bad practice gives all of us in public relations a bad name. Many times the person or persons responsible for bad practice are not in public relations, or if they are they did not receive a degree in the field. It is my belief that instances of bad strategy, execution or ethics are even more  rare among those with APR.

I also cringe when PR is shown not as bad practice, but just as a limited profession. For example, when popular journalists are hired by organizations as PR professionals because of their quasi-celebrity status and ability to speak well versus an actual broad knowledge of public relations in its many facets beyond media relations. It would be nice if employers would know and respect the field, and give preference in job descriptions for those with degrees in and accreditation in public relations.

It would also be nice if one day when there is a large scale PR blunder, the public and media would not respond by calling it a “PR nightmare” or a “PR stunt” or worst of all “just PR.” That’s insulting and intellectually dishonest, to equate one episode with an entire profession. Rather, it would be refreshing to point the blame at the person and not the profession, to explain the misdeeds by noting that the person responsible was “posing” as a PR professional without any background, to refer to incidents as BAD practice of PR and not examples of what all PR people do.

Making public the APR credential would be a step in this direction.