Public Affairs and adjacent functions: Friends or Foes?. The Internal Side of Public Affairs (10)

Alan Hardacre, PhD

Co-Founder Advocacy Academy, Advocacy Strategy

To be successful Public Affairs needs to be a lynchpin function that connects various other functions within a business. This are often challenges engaging other functions and potentially overlaps with some of them. Let’s look at how Public Affairs intersects with a few other key functions:

Marketing: Public Affairs can collaborate with Marketing to ensure that any B2C (or even B2B) external messaging aligns broadly with the organization's Public Affairs positions and messaging – and does not cross any political/regulatory/policy lines that would cause issues. Marketing is often the first line of sight that policymakers have of an industry or company so this relationship is key – but often challenging.

(Corporate) Communications: Public Affairs often overlaps with Corporate Communications in crafting and disseminating messages to internal and external stakeholders. Whether it's managing crisis communications, announcing new initiatives, or promoting ESG efforts, Public Affairs and Corporate Communications need to be very clear on who does what.

Legal Affairs: Public Affairs nearly always works closely with (and sometimes reports into) Legal Affairs. There is a real two-way street here as Public Affairs often needs input and guidance on evolving policy from the legal teams to ensure that communications, position papers and other advocacy materials are aligned with what the company wants – and shaped in a way that the company can accept. At the same time heavy-handed legal oversight stifles Public Affairs work so a balance of trust and understanding is needed.

Business Development / Strategy: Public Affairs can offer great value to Business Development / Strategy teams by helping identify new opportunities, showcasing future policy horizons and in furnishing competitive information. This strategic eyes-wide open assessment of emerging policy threats and trends can be a real boost.

Human Resources: Public Affairs can support Human Resources in employer branding efforts, recruitment initiatives, and employee engagement activities. What the company says and does publicly is increasingly important for employees (past / present / future).

More often than not Public Affairs functions have overlap and friction with some functions (Communications / Compliance / Regulatory / Legal) and are met with apathy by others (sales / marketing / manufacturing). Do you have internal friends or foes? Get in touch if you would like to have a chat.