Management tips for growing a team of legal PR stars

September 27, 2018 • 3 minute read

As we bid farewell to our summer interns, we’re publishing a series of posts they wrote based on interviews with Infinite Global staff.

Public relations is a fast-paced, high-energy field where decisions need to be made quickly and communication is key. To keep clients happy and maintain a good rapport with journalists, it is essential to have a highly motivated team on the case.

Managing a team of successful PR professionals takes a high level of dedication and leadership skills. Steven Andersen, Vice President of Content and Client Strategy at Infinite Global, oversees several public relations account teams, and helps high-profile law firms execute successful media strategies. With years of experience in prominent managerial positions, Steve offers valuable insight into how PR managers should oversee their staffs. If taken into consideration, these tips will help managers grow successful teams.

Delegate attentively

To be a successful manager one must delegate responsibility and give team members the chance to improve their skills. It is extremely important that you make sure everyone knows what is expected of them from the start. When people don’t know exactly what they need to do, their work can be inefficient and have negative consequences on the company. Managers should be aware of how much work each team member has on their plate, so that they can make sure no one person is pulling a disproportionate amount of the weight.

People feel comfortable taking on responsibility at different rates; a good PR manager will understand this and will act appropriately. Steve says that at Infinite Global one person may come in as a junior account executive and be able to take on elite professionals as personal contacts in their first year, while someone else may not feel comfortable handling those clients until later.

If management identifies team members ready for more responsibility, and rewards them accordingly, they will be paving the way for their team to be as successful as possible.

Reward PR professionals who excel

Providing compensation for those who do well is very important in PR. If a team member secures many media placements for their clients or gets positive feedback from journalists they work with, this should be praised. Compensation could take the form of a salary raise or access to more challenging clients. As management it is also important to boost morale.

At Infinite Global, when someone stands out in their work, a manager or employee will circulate a companywide email or acknowledge good work on company calls. Calling out a job well done is a powerful motivator — it sends the message that the company sees what good work is being done and appreciates it.

Growing a team of stars in the professional services communications field takes time, persistence and patience, but has long-lasting positive effects. Management needs to work hard to make sure they are retaining quality staff and providing them with the resources they need to have a lasting and fruitful career at the firm.

Interested in becoming a part of Infinite Global’s growing team of stars? Check out our current openings.

Paige Weidner completed an internship at Infinite Global before returning to the University of Michigan, where she is a rising senior who is majoring in communication studies with a minor in science, technology and society.

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