Throughout my 20 years in public relations, I – and my colleagues – have found ourselves frequently playing clean-up after another public relations agency has failed to deliver what was promised to a client.

When I talk with organizations that have worked with PR agencies in the past, typically six out of 10 tell me the relationship ended badly. The reasons tend to fall into a few familiar categories:

• Poor communication between the agency and the client
• Frequent agency staff turnover
• Meeting senior agency leaders at the pitch meeting, but only interacting with less-experienced agency personnel after the contracts are signed
• Lack of alignment either on strategy, content, writing quality, values and personalities

Like any professional or personal relationship, there is likely a bit of blame to be had on both sides when an investment by both parties in achieving a successful public relations partnership fails.

However, in my experience, often these agency hiring misfires could have been avoided if the right questions had been asked in the agency screening process. Understanding who you are hiring and establishing shared expectations from the start can help ensure the relationship starts off as strongly as possible. To do so, there are five key questions I recommend asking your potential public relations agency during the screening process, including:

1. What distinguishes your agency from your competition?
2. Will you include former clients in your list of references that we can contact?
3. Who will serve as the account manager, and can we meet him or her before signing the agreement?
4. If the plan you create for us isn’t working out, what is your pivot strategy to ensure success?
5. Please describe your ideal working relationship with clients so we can level-set expectations both from our perspective and among the agency team.

Additional questions you should consider asking any public relations agency you might be looking to hire should include:

• What kind of response time can I expect from your team to my emails, texts or phone calls?
• If the account manager isn’t a member of senior leadership, what role will leadership play in the development and execution of our public relations plan?
• What is your process for learning about our organization, and how long should we expect that process to take?
• How will you help us prepare for any media interviews you might secure on our behalf?
• Can we see samples of your writing relevant to our industry or organization type?
• What kind of time commitment should we expect to make to ensure our work with the agency is a success?
• Please describe the frequency and type of ongoing communication you expect to have with our organization throughout the engagement.

Asking the right questions will help you get a better sense of the agency you are potentially hiring as well as how they intend to engage with you.

Too many business and nonprofit leaders ask questions of public relations agencies that either cannot be answered in the initial pitch meeting or demonstrate a lack of understanding of how public relations works. In our next blog, we’ll cover questions you shouldn’t ask in these initial meetings if you want to be taken seriously while also making the most of the time you do have to evaluate if the agency at the table or on a video call is a good fit.

Remember, public relations is more than an investment of money. It’s one of time, effort and trust. Knowing what to ask will help ensure those you ultimately hire are worthy of that investment.