Last week, this column published a public relations(PR) ’ article headlined ‘Strengthen your PR for improved performance and more profits.
It is pleasing to note that the series of PR promotion and education campaigns that this column has been producing has received favourable response from existing and potential PR students and practitioners.
Some students and practitioners in various fields of study, including some school leavers are asking this writer how best they can study PR because they have found it interesting and exciting.
It is true. PR is not a dull career. It is among the  few exciting careers in the world. What is also interesting about PR is that it is a growing career.
It grows with the dynamism of human needs, interests and aspirations.
This is why those who have eyes for seeing; and ears for hearing have increased their interests and efforts to study and practice PR.
But if you see that PR is dull; and therefore not beneficial; ask the environment in which the PR you see operates. PR is supposed to be always interesting and exciting.
It is against this background that most students this writer teaches at University of Zambia (UNZA) in Diploma in PR programme have joined Zambia Public Relations’ Association (ZAPRA) so that they strengthen their PR knowledge and skills.
But surprisingly, some chief executive officers (CEOs) and some top management officials in some organisations seem to be facing serious challenges in appreciating and practicing professional PR.
One civil servant who studied PR and is in PR department; but doing more customer care related functions, e-mailed this writer to find out whether they are any benefits in PR.
The concerned PR or customer care practitioner said what the top management officials; including supervisors do is so frustrating that one feels that PR is a dull and  retrogressive career.
The known civil servant who cannot be named for fear of victimisation said the assignments allocated to PR functions are rare; and completely outside the core functions of PR.
Event the element of not handling customer care related issues compound the complaint of not using PR effectively and accordingly.
‘Yes, I did PR; and I am in customer care functions. But even in customer care, when issues or complaints come, no one seems to be interested in addressing those issues or complaints from customers;’ the PR/customer care practitioner observed.
While some PR practitioners are yawning because of not being allocated or supported in their core PR functions; and therefore crying for professional PR practice environment; some organisations are doing very well in providing enabling environment for professional PR practice.
Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company  (LWSC) are among  few organisations in this country who are reportedly making frantic efforts in professional PR practice.
ZNBC corporate affairs manager, Masuzyo Ndhlovu and LSWC marketing and PR manager, Topsy Sikalinda have repeatedly told this columnist how they enjoy the good professional relationship their respective CEOs and top management officials accord to their respective offices for them to do professional PR practice.
CEOs and top management officials should note that PR is like Business Ethics. Ignoring professional PR practice or ethical business decisions is at one’s own peril. One might regret later on.
Therefore, the best thing to do is just to adopt and adapt to professional PR practice. Don’t look at today only. Look further than today for sustainable operations and profitability of your organisation.
One of the challenges that some organisations face is that some CEO and some top management officials feel that because their organisation is in a public sector, there is no need for effective PR.
They feel that as long as government is there, they will continue being funded for their operations.
If you don’t know what government can sometimes do, ask those who were working for parastatals such as Zambia Airways, United Bus Company of Zambia (UBZ), Zambia Consumer Buying Corporation (ZCBC), Mwaiseni, Engineering Services Corporation (ESCO) and others.
They will tell you what happened to such parastatals when the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) government came into office in 1991. This is why such parastatals are no longer there now.
Therefore, you can also be a past tense of existence if you don’t increase and improve on your PR.
But what makes most PR practitioners feel that PR is a dull and frustrating career is that most CEOs and most top management officials don’t seem to know what PR is; and how it can benefit their respective organisations.
Look! Most organisations now are dormant on most PR related functions and issues.
This is because most CEOs and their top management officials feel that PR is an event; and not a process.
As a result, every organisation is waiting for national agricultural and commercial show (NACS) for that organisation to be very active in PR.
Consequently, PR opportunities are being lost; and in the process, PR issues are drifting into crises.
These are PR opportunities and issues which PR practitioners should be doing on daily basis.
What is also surprising is that while many case studies of how professional and poor PR affect organisations exist locally and internationally, few local organisations seem to learn lessons from what is happening to other organisations as far as effects of professional or poor PR are concerned.
It is like some CEOs and some top management officials are saying: ‘As long as I get my salary for my family; it is okay.
What they call professional PR; and the rest is theirs.’
Such an attitude to organisational management leaves an organisation in shambles when such a CEO or such top management officials leaves or leave that organisation respectively.
The humble advise to CEOs and top management officials in all organisations is: ‘Leave an organisation better than you found it.’
You can leave an organisation better than you found it if you practice and promote professional PR with all stakeholders.
So, don’t feel shy to tell us what your organisation is doing to improve professional PR practice.
For CEOs and top management officials to practice and promote professional PR, they should take advantage of many people who studied PR or are studying PR now.
Find a way of accommodating such people in your organisation; even on voluntary or part-time basis.
Ask such people for PR ideas and strategies. Try to get some PR ideas from them so that you see how such ideas can help your organisation now or in future.
Nowadays, no profession can operate independently without interacting or over-rapping with other professions.
This is why the world now demands genuine multi-disciplinary professionals.
These are professionals who can understand and embrace many other professional ideas and practices for the betterment of a respective organisation.
Facilitate PR to be one of the most exciting and rewarding careers as it is in many other countries.
Always remember that PR is not a PR practitioner or a PR department.
PR is what an organisation through its workers and top management officials do and say in relations to what stakeholders want and expect. It is also how an organisation handles PR opportunities and issues.
Effective PR makes organisations vibrant in achieving their objectives on time because it persuades all stakeholders to rally behind it in support for its objectives and a goal.
Be pro-active. As stakeholders’ needs and aspirations become more and more dynamic; and as competition stiffens, each organisation should pick on one or some of  PR graduates; and use them accordingly.
Don’t employ PR practitioners for window dressing. Employ them for a purpose.
And the purpose is, not only writing news releases and feature articles occasionally but also to contribute to strategic PR management of your organisation.
No one is saying that all organisations should be perfect in professional PR practice.
It is not possible to be perfect. But each organisation is safer making frantic efforts in improving on its professional PR practice than doing nothing about it.
Even the cited organisations which are reportedly said to be providing enabling environment for professional PR practice have rooms for improvement.
It is interesting that Shoprite Zambia has taken serious steps to improve on its employee relations after the government took it to task on low and poor workers’ salaries and conditions of services.
Reports reaching PR Forum’s desk state that now Shoprite Zambia has employed most, if not all casual workers on permanent basis; and that most workers at Shoprite Zambia are now getting monthly wages and salaries of not less than the government prescribed minimum wage.
It is hoped that Shoprite Zambia’s workers will now increase their productivity and improve on their customer care for more customers and profits in Shoprite Zambia.
But government action on Shoprite Zambia and others also demonstrates that our government is also improving on its effective PR with Zambian workers who feel that most investors are exploiting them through low wages and salaries and poor conditions of service while government has just been watching such a situation.
It is hoped that most organisations will not only improve on their workers’ monthly salaries and conditions of service but will also improve on their professional PR through employing PR practitioners and using them accordingly for the benefit of their respective organisations.
The author is a PR Trainer and Consultant.
For comments and ideas, contact:
Cell: 0967/0977 450151
E-mail:sycoraxtndhlovu@yahoo.co.uk