​.FACTUM – Honest Communication has been a member of GPRA since September 1, 2022. We spoke to our Managing Director Jörg about what motivated him to join and what is particularly important to him.

 

Why did we at .FACTUM decide to become a member of GPRA?

The GPRA is incredibly diverse! The association deals with many topics that we also find extremely exciting. Recruiting, for example, is a big topic for us. We are constantly on the lookout for new people. The association helps us to increase our visibility and be perceived as a relevant agency in the German communications landscape. GPRA also provides tips on how to carry out an optimal recruiting process and what the best training can look like. I also find the opportunity for young professionals to network across agencies within GPRA from the outset particularly exciting.

What role does Big Data or CommsTech play in the collaboration with GPRA?

Another exciting topic is Big Data or CommsTech. All agencies face the challenge of obtaining data from their work processes, interpreting it and deriving recommendations for action from it. GPRA, for example, has developed a model with suitable KPIs that we can use as a guide. There is a lively exchange taking place here, in which we want to participate and thus improve in this area.

Overall, however, GPRA’s main focus is on the measurable and comparable quality of agency services and agency processes. The Consultancy Management Standard (CMS) was developed for this purpose. All GPRA agencies must qualify according to this standard and we will also go through this process next year.

And then last but not least, of course, always very important for me: the people who fill the association with life. Even before we became members, I was able to attend a meeting of the association and got to know a lot of nice people. It was great to talk to these very likeable people who share the same working reality.

Was there any trigger for the membership?

Yes, the trigger was a PR Report podcast. It was about the CMS III standard. I thought it was really exciting that there was such a thing, but I hadn’t heard anything about it before. Before I read up on it, I initially thought I could just do this certification. It was only in the second step that I realized that there was an association behind it that had to accept us before we could start the certification process. Fortunately, it worked out.

Did you have any doubts as to whether the association would accept us?

Yes, of course. But of course I also had the feeling that it could work. We had to fill out a detailed questionnaire in advance and we were able to fulfill a lot of points. We have already significantly improved the area of process optimization within the agency with many new tools in recent years. And then I also had the meeting in Stuttgart, which, as I said, was really great. After that, I was quite confident.

Joerg in Hoodie
“Even before we became members, I was able to attend a meeting of the association and got to know lots of nice people. It was great to exchange ideas with very likeable people who share the same working reality.”
 
Bild: © Mark Volz

With all the benefits, what do you think is the most important thing for .FACTUM?

Everything I have already described is very important for us. Nevertheless, I believe that certification is a key first step. This is how we show both our customers and our employees that we are really serious about being one of the leading agencies in Germany with our quality standards.

What are the next steps?

Now that we have successfully completed the agency check (thank you, Alex!), we are taking big steps towards certification. The feedback after the agency check was that we already meet many of the criteria. But of course we still need to make some adjustments in one or two areas and that’s what we’re doing now!

Thank you very much, Jörg

About the GPRA e.V.

GPRA e. V. is the association of leading PR and communications agencies in Germany. The association contributes to the continuous development of the German communications market. The members are united by their claim to quality leadership in the interests of their clients and employees.

The association represents 38 agencies with around 2,800 employees and a fee-based turnover of around 364 million euros in 2018. GPRA was founded in 1974 and is based in Berlin.