Public Relations: In-House versus Agency

by Kalil Bushala

In public relations, there are two primary types of work you can get involved in. In-house departments and PR agencies. Just like anything else, they both have their pros and cons.

There are a few things you should consider before deciding which one you want to work in. I will be covering a basis of both and give you what I believe to be the positives and negatives of each.

If you’re not familiar with the term ‘in-house department,’ big corporate businesses will usually have an independent PR team that solely focuses on their business. These are considered in-house departments. You will usually have a more consistent set of tasks to maintain a positive image on the company and most likely have a pre-crisis plan in case something was to go wrong.

One pro to in-house is that you will be able to give your undivided attention to this client and environment. Job stability is another pro to in-house since your client typically has a fixed cost on their PR department and doesn’t have to rely on finding clients or keeping a client satisfied. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have to produce top quality work though.

What I believe to be one of the biggest disadvantages of in-house departments is you’re usually doing the same kind of work day to day. Some people like repetition so if you’re one of those, this is more likely to be your field of work.

Now that you know the basics of in-house departments, let’s move to PR agencies. PR agencies are hired by clients to provide a service. PR agencies will usually have several clients they’re working with. Unlike in-house, in agencies you need to make the clients happy to keep them. This can be stressful at times since you have the pressures to maintain a good relationship. One con is the stresses of constantly satisfying a client, since they have the option to find a new agency if you don’t satisfy them. In this industry, you will most likely be working long hours, especially for events, according to the Brand Amp PR Agency.

Moving on to a pro of an agency, since they typically have a strong client base, you will develop a variety of skills to cater to each client. Since agencies have several of clients at a time, they normally have many employees, which creates a livelier work environment. This could be considered a pro. If you don’t like repetition and want to challenge yourself with a different set of tasks every day, you should consider an agency.

Overall, just like anything else, in-house departments and agencies have their pros and cons. You just need to outweigh the differences to see which one fits your style more. Whichever you chose, keep an open mind and be prepared to go out of your comfort zone. The business world is constantly changing especially with how fast technology is advancing. Remember to remain ethically sound to give PR the positive image that will increase its value.