The Characteristics of a Professional

Professionalism is knowing how to do it, when to do it, and doing it.
– Frank Tyger

 The Oxford Reference defines professionalism as: ‘The combination of qualities and conduct regarded as essential to professional practice. These include knowledge, skills, relevant competence, behavioural qualities, and values of honesty, integrity, ethical probity, and capability of working well with patients or clients, colleagues, and representatives of the public.”

It is clear, from this definition, that what characterises professionalism goes beyond the simplicities of completing your work. being punctual and dressing or acting appropriately. 

• Hunger For Knowledge: Professionals are knowledgeable and skilled in their respective fields. They go above and beyond to improve their expertise through education, training and experience. They stay up to date with industry trends and developments. 
• Work With Integrity: Professionals adhere to moral values and ethical principles in all aspects of their work. They work with authenticity and fairness, upholding trust and credibility in their interactions with colleagues, clients and stakeholders.
• Adaptable: Professionals are open to change. They adapt to new challenges and environments and embrace innovation to extend their growth and development.
• Strive For Excellence: Professionals want to achieve the best in everything they do. They seek to exceed expectations in their work.
• Respectful: Professionals treat others how they would like to be treated. They value inclusion and diversity and seek to understand other perspectives, creating a healthy work environment.

Importantly, a professional demeanour cultivates reliability and trust, enhancing credibility within their role and industry. Professionals recognise the power of effective communication, which proves essential in increasing collaboration with other colleagues and clients. By upholding professionalism within the work they do and with the relationships they maintain, professionals can direct themselves towards the path of long-term career growth and success.

Adopting Professionalism in the Public Relations (PR) Industry

In the PR Industry, professionalism and ethical conduct are paramount. The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) are two of the most prominent professional bodies in the industry, offering guidance through their codes of conduct on how to uphold professionalism in PR. Unfortunately, as pointed out by Thomas Mayne in his recent research paper, only around 1 in 3 PR practitioners are a member of either the PRCA or CIPR. 

At Curzon PR, we follow the CIPR’s code of conduct to guarantee we are governing good practices around integrity, honesty, capability, competence, confidentiality, transparency and conflicts of interest. 

Ways To Incorporate Professionalism in Your PR Career

CIPR CPD: The CIPR offers Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to its members, offering enrichment through learning activities. Through completion of learning activities, points are earned, which contribute to the final goal of becoming a CIPR Accredited PR Practitioner; achieved through logging 60 CPD points in two consecutive CPD cycles. 

Learning activities include: training courses, studying for a qualification, delivering or receiving coaching and mentoring, writing CIPR short publications and many more. Importantly, to complete the CPD cycle, you must complete a compulsory 5-point course on ethics. Having CIPR Accreditation demonstrates to fellow employees, employers and clients that you are committed to maintaining a career in PR at the highest professional standards. To view more information about the CPD, click here.

AMEC Barcelona Principles: The Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) released the original Barcelona Principles in 2010, constructing a set of 7 principles for evaluating the effectiveness of communications. The most recently updated version, the Barcelona Principles 3.0 was released in 2020.  In summary, the principles highlight:

1. Setting measurable goals
2. Completing in-depth evaluations of those goals
3. Identifying clear outcomes for stakeholders, society and the organisation
4. Including both qualitative and quantitative analysis in evaluations
5. Moving away from AVE’s (Advertising Value Equivalency)
6. Holistic communication measurement (online and offline channels)
7. Measurement and evaluation should be rooted in integrity and transparency to drive learning

The Barcelona Principles encapture many characteristics of professionalism through its focus on development and learning and its commitment to honesty and authenticity. To view more information about the principles, click here. 

PRCA: The PRCA also offers many forms of training, including in-person and virtual classroom courses, online training in the form of 90-minute webinars, qualifications and also bespoke training that is tailored to fit any specific needs. To view more information about the training, click here. 

As PR practitioners, we carry a burden of responsibility to clients and the public and therefore, it is vital we follow the guidance of professional bodies, like the PRCA and CIPR, in order to ensure responsible and ethical communication. As the industry shifts, we must also promise, through constant learning, that we are offering the best possible knowledge and services to our employees and clients.

Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team [email protected]