MP&F is a longtime member of the Public Relations Society of America’s Counselors Academy, an organization whose purpose is to enable collaborative peer relationships among senior-level public relations counselors. Counselors Academy board president Tom Garrity’s February blog post celebrated two member agencies celebrating 30 years in business and included reflections from MP&F’s Mark McNeely.

Here, Mark looks back on 30 years of MP&F and the firm’s successful model of transparency and inclusion.

Create a culture of inclusivity

“Two things my partners and I have learned to cherish as our firm celebrates its 30th anniversary are transparency and inclusion. We’ve always shared with our whole staff how we are doing financially, on a regular basis. One reason is we set company goals at the first of the year that, if met or exceeded, means everyone on staff, from the senior vice president to the administrative assistant, will receive extra compensation. It is an honest and open incentive for everyone to bring his or her A-game every day.

And as a communications company, we value open dialogue, discussion and coordination and have never embraced cliques or lone wolves. Both transparency and inclusion are necessary for us to constantly strive to live our mission statement to provide the very best service possible to our clients, to be a place where people look forward to coming to work, and to be successful enough as a business that everyone on staff benefits from those successes. For 25 of the past 30 years, we have proudly used the headline version of that vision: Do Great Work, Have Fun and Make Money.”

This year’s Counselors Academy Spring Conference will be held in Seattle, Wash., May 7-9. For more information, visit www.caprsa.com.