The key to survival is ''good relations''

Chennai: Business is slowly limping back at the Chennai office of Good Relations (India) Pvt Limited, a public relations (PR) agency.

The agency had been plunged into a crisis when virtually the entire Chennai branch — the seven staff led by the branch head — defected to rivals Hanmer & Partners Communications Pvt Limited some days ago.

One of the reasons then attributed for Hanmer & Partners poaching the Good Relations staff en masse was that the recruits would also bring along their clients. Hanmer & Partners, however, has denied this.

Meenakshi Sachdev Verma, CEO, Good Relations, must indeed have been relieved to find that the agency's two major clients — Henkel Spic India Limited and TVS Electronics Limited — preferrred to stay on with Good Relations, while a third, after moving to Hanmer & Partners has now chosen a new PR agency.

But suspense still hangs over the several contracts that expired. "As a strategy we decided not to renew the contracts," explains Verma. The reason was simple. The agency had to assemble a new team and provide it sufficient time to settle down.

She adds, "Some of our clients are waiting to see our new team before renewing the contract." Ironically Good Relations is now in the process of poaching experienced staff from other agencies. "Poaching staff is an established industry trend. PR agencies do not invest time and money in training raw hands," she avers. However, it is the en masse poaching and its destabilising effect on an industry player is what she is against. "I might take up the issue with the industry association," she remarks.

With its staff strength increased to four, Good Relations is now talking to the corporates, which till recently the agency had been servicing. Among them are NEG Micon, Schwing Stetter and Funskool.

On the other hand, Hanmer & Partners has several challenges on hand. First it has to reorient the new recruits to its style of functioning. More importantly, it has to see that the existing employees do not feel threatened.

The moral of the entire episode undrscores the need for good relations with the staff and clients for continued success.