Seven steps to the board room seat - a communications performance management system developed by Germany’s GPRA

Public relations practitioners have long sought a seat at the management table. Many believe they will gain acceptance by being accountable. Unfortunately, they often do not think about what they actually need to be accountable for in order to be allowed to enter the board room. Public relations practitioners, too often, are focusing on carrying out communication measures successfully than on contributing to organisational success (Mercer 2003, Rolke 2003). They are trying to be efficient without effectively supporting business objectives. As a consequence, measurement and evaluation generate a huge amount of metrics that management is not really interested in. To gain a seat, public relations practitioners need to demonstrate their business impact, speak the language of management and to use appropriate tools.