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Reaching the ‘gold standard’ in public affairs and corporate communications in Asia – an interview with Elizabeth Hernandez

As the second half of the year draws nearer, it is time to review what we have done so far and to reflect on how to utilize the rest of 2013. This is especially true for public affairs and corporate communications professionals, they have to tackling important issues timely without losing sight of the strategic goals such as forming partnerships, strengthening relationships and building trust which takes time. Balancing the two and be able to measure results are common challenges.

To succeed in public affairs in this ever-changing business, financial and political environment is not easy, and arguably even more difficult in Asia Pacific which is home to some of the most closed and repressive regimes, not to mention the diverse population and rapid changes in the media landscape here.

We have supported the Gold Standard Awards organized by PublicAffairsAsia for some years now. The Awards recognize excellence in corporate communications, stakeholder management, social media innovation and diplomatic engagement. Now in their fifth year, they receive well over 200 entries every year from a wide range of organizations, including corporations, consultancies, state-owned enterprises, government bodies, embassies, NGOs, think tanks, universities, chambers of commerce, trade promotion agencies and members of the government affairs, corporate communications and public affairs industries.

We invited Elizabeth Hernandez (VP, Government Relations, Asia Pacific & Japan at Hewlett-Packard, also the Chair of the 2013 Gold Standard Awards) to the PR Newswire studio to talk about what it takes to achieve the ‘gold standard’ in public affairs and corporate communications, and to share her views on the changes in government and public affairs in recent years in Asia. Watch the interview with Elizabeth, and learn more about the Awards from Craig Hoy (Executive Director at PublicAffairsAsia) in the video below:

Highlights from the interview with Elizabeth Hernandez (VP, Government Relations, Asia Pacific & Japan at Hewlett-Packard):

Q: With your wealth of experience in government relations and public affairs, has anything changed over the past few years?

A: Here in Asia, it has evolved quite a bit in the last 10 years. Before, it was mostly people from outside Asia that came here to practice. Now, you have a lot more homegrown public affairs professionals, people who learn their skills here in Asia, understand the region and are actually from the Asia Pacific area; that is the big difference I think. But also, it’s a matter of where they are positioned in the company; 10 years ago they probably provided more of a support and fire-fighting function. You call on the public affairs professional or the government affairs communicator when there is a crisis. But today, what is happening is there is recognition from companies that this is actually a much more strategic function, that it should be present at the leadership table, and be involved much earlier on in decision-making for the development of company strategy here in Asia. And so I think you will see many more companies investing in this function, and you will also see the role and the stature of the function perhaps being even further enhanced than it has already been in the last 10 years.

Q: Technology has influenced the way people and organizations communicate. Has technology make our jobs easier or harder as business communicators?

A: I think technology has certainly played a role and I think it’s both. It does make it easier and harder. On the one hand, technology has a way of leveling the playing field so that no single stakeholder has full control of the information today. But at the same time, it also becomes harder for communications or public affairs professionals because you are always on the go, and we have news 24/7 now. There used to be a bit of lead time if something happened, for example, if something happened in the U.S. headquarters of a multinational company, it would take a few days for news to travel across Asia. There is no such lead time anymore, and now you have to be on your toes; further, with social media – everybody has a voice, everybody is contributing to the debate, to the issue, so it is even harder for us as communication professionals or public affairs professionals to cut through all that noise and to really get your message across to the stakeholders you are targeting.

Sarah Tam is the Regional Marketing Director for PR Newswire. Follow her on Twitter at @sarah_tam.