Treading on the waters of confidence

...A safeguard to information

One topic that has been addressed multiple times throughout this degree was that of confidentiality in the business of PR. 

We learn that confidentiality is key, and trade secrets must be kept. We are told about these confidentiality agreements that PR professionals are asked to sign before entering employment.

It’s one of those things you know exists, but only get a real sense of when it’s your turn to sign the agreement.

...Time to sign

In my first week at Mills Wilson, I was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. It was pretty straight forward, outlining the fact that any information I might come across interning for this company would have to be kept confidential. Sounds simple right?

But once I’d signed that agreement, it occurred to me how important confidentiality is in the PR consultancy business. Any work that is undertaken here is in fact a trade secret. The way the business runs, the way the consultancy manages its clients, but more importantly the information the agency gains from its clients – that’s all very confidential material.

I came across this constant dilemma outside of work, wanting to explain to my peers what I was actually doing as an intern, without divulging any confidential material, treading carefully on the waters of confidence.

...Conflict of interest

Accidentally divulging confidential material to an individual may be one aspect of confidentiality, and a relatively easy one to manage. But when working in a consultancy which covers a range of clients - it is even more important to make sure that there is a level of confidentiality between clients, and carefully manage any conflict of interest that may arise from consulting for competing clients.