I had a great time being part of the panel discussion "Is pro bono worth it?" at the recent Good Agencies Summit. My fellow panellists Alex Holliman and Russell Jones and I all agreed with a resounding yes, but still covered some of the challenges we've experienced. It was lovely to meet so many people interested in pro bono working as part of everyday agency life. Some of my thoughts from the discussion: 🌍 Balancing profit and purpose: juggling pro bono commitments with regular work can be demanding. It's essential to manage time and expectations (internally and externally) effectively. ☄ Impact and measurement: pro bono work is not just about giving time, it can have a real impact when we use our skills and experience. That impact (for our teams and clients) can be challenging to measure. Sometimes it is immeasurable, but in a good way! 🙋♀️ Value: pro bono and ESG work can give us the chance to contribute, particularly to causes and in areas we feel passionate about. However, depending on the area and individual sensitivities, it might not be appropriate or possible to support all causes. Having a clear ESG/pro bono policy can help in these situations. Overall, it was an engaging discussion on how we can leverage our talents to create positive change. And I promise I don't normally look so stern! . . . #ProBono #ProBonoWorking #MedCommsForGood #BetterBusiness #BCorp #BCorporation #AgencyLife #BetterBusiness #MedicalAffairs #Pharmaceuticals
What a question! Thanks for sharing your thoughts Elizabeth Southey
Medical copyeditor | Elevating medical writing so it's noticed for all the right reasons | Editing for med comms and corporates | CIEP-trained | Accurate, responsive, reliable
9moThanks for sharing this, Liz. It's good to see how these considerations might affect agency practices. (And I think the 'stern' moment could be reframed as appropriate gravitas!)