Only firm with perfect score for employee moraleATLANTA (January 14, 2002) - Hope-Beckham, Inc., an Atlanta-based public
relations firm, has been named one of the Ten Best Boutique Public Relations
Agencies to Work For in the United States. The honor comes from The Holmes
Group, which monitors the public relations industry and provides competitive
insight and intelligence to public relations professionals and companies
that hire PR firms. Its report can be seen at
www.holmesreport.com/agencies/bestagencies.cfm .
On its Web site, the Holmes Report states, “Hope-Beckham is a firm that
seeks out creative people and then nurtures their talent, encouraging them
to think outside the box, to generate ideas that set the firm’s programs
apart from those of other agencies, and to take risks. The culture instills
no fear of mistakes: anyone can suggest a bright new idea for a client
campaign, and anyone can walk into the president’s office with an idea.
There’s very little hierarchy, no bureaucracy, and an environment that
encourages junior employees to take on as much responsibility as they can
handle. Employees rated morale at Hope Beckham the best of any of the
boutique agencies, scoring it a perfect 5.00.”
Hope-Beckham placed 10th on the list.
The Best Public Relations Agencies to Work For survey was conducted online.
Participating agencies were asked to distribute a username and password to
employees, who were invited to log on and give their responses to 75
questions covering all aspects of their firm’s culture, from trust in
management to compensation to client service. More than 3,500 employees from
almost 100 agencies participated in the survey.
To make the cut and be named one of the Best Public Relations Agencies to
Work For, a firm had to score better than an average of 3.5 (on a scale of
one to 5). That means more employees had to view the firm favorably,
overall, than were either neutral or unfavorable. In all, 72 of the
participating agencies met this standard.
Hope-Beckham President Bob Hope says, “Our employees are the ones who make
us successful. Obviously, our efforts to foster a creative, open environment
are working. Ultimately, it’s our clients who benefit from the creative
culture at Hope-Beckham.”
President Bob Hope is a former senior officer of Burson-Marsteller in New
York and a public relations veteran with a wide range of experience,
including several years as vice president of the Atlanta Braves, where he
handled the team’s public relations and attention-getting promotions for
colorful owner Ted Turner, along with a multitude of other duties.
Chairman Paul Beckham’s experience includes more than 20 years at Turner
Communications, forerunner of Turner Broadcasting, where he was president.
The two formed the agency in 1994. Hope-Beckham employs 25 professionals.
