But others may have the jump on PR when it comes to the more technical skills related to surviving in this Web 2.0 environment—skills ranging from SEO and digital video production, to HTML, basic coding and even DIY measurement and monitoring. So which of these technical skills top the list for your peer firms? How much training in these areas happens at the most forward-looking firms today? Do most agencies buy the talent? Do they train the talent?

We checked with your fellow Council members for the answers—and for a list of 11 best practices to help you sharpen your team's technical prowess in 2010 and beyond:

Daniel Lemin Director PainePR

Kevin Walsh VP of Digital Strategies Spectrum

Michael Morsman SVP and Managing Director MS&L Worldwide

Mark R. Eber Partner and COO IMRE

Marc Heft Talent Management Group Chandler Chicco

For example, one of the firm's client service coordinators launched a wiki for his large, widespread family to share information and keep in touch, and he has been able to translate that knowledge into innovative monitoring and reporting tools for our clients.

Kevin Walsh, VP of digital strategies at Spectrum, elaborates: "Every junior to mid-level staff member should have familiarity with the digital tools on the ‘Conversation Prism.' You need to be conversant in the majors: Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Google bios, Twitter, Digg, delicious and WordPress (so you can set up and execute a blog on your own)." His advice to PR managers: "Look for those mentions and widgets in resumes, online and off. You're not looking for advanced digerati—you're looking for white and yellow belt levels of skill in these main social media channels. From there, you can train staff to become ‘Digital Ninjas.'"
           
"Pending whether [staff] plan to be strategists or account managers, the [technical] skills required encompass a knowledge and application of the following: influencer outreach, active listening, reporting and metrics, content development and community management. Due to all of the ‘moving parts' of a typical digital campaign, digital project management is a skill that's increasingly essential and frequently underrepresented among agencies in search of the right chemistry," says Michael Morsman, SVP and managing director at MS&L Worldwide, adding that, "Creative and technical roles, more traditionally associated with digital marketing though now more common among PR circles, require a stronger digital skill-set above and beyond the requisite social media skills mentioned here, including Web design and development across various platforms (mobile, web, SM channels and so on)."

Mark R. Eber, partner and COO at IMRE, advises searching for passion in these areas—not just tech savvy. "Everyone is on Facebook or LinkedIn, so ask what blogs they read, what brands are doing a good job in social media, why do they enjoy social media," he advises. "What companies do they feel really have a connection with their customers and why?"

2. Arm account teams with the basics—like PowerPoint, Internet monitoring and media list development skills. Marc Heft, with Chandler Chicco's Talent Management Group, says PowerPoint, Internet monitoring and media list development are critical skills these days for entry- and mid-level account people. "They don't have to be proficient with PowerPoint," he notes. "They just need to be able to work on slides and edit decks used in new business pitches. Junior people aren't on the pitch team—but they certainly are on the research teams that help compile the presentations."

He continues: "Superior monitoring skills are really important now. That means using free things like advanced Google search and alerts, and more expensive tools like Cision or even proprietary firm-based media intelligence and monitoring programs." Similarly, Heft says junior level account staff must be "able to pull together clear, updated and comprehensive media lists" and therefore should be "familiar with tools like Factiva, Cision and others."

Spectrum's Walsh, jumps in and stresses familiarity with digital benchmarking tools. "RSS feeds, Google Reader, Technorati—these are the free tools you should know. On the more elaborate side, Radian 6 is probably the most advanced in terms of capabilities. And there is one that Microsoft is working on [the ‘Looking Glass' prototype]" His point: "Junior staff members need a basic understanding of measurement needs and tools in the digital PR world. You want to be able to fish where the fish are, and you need these tools to help you find them."

3. Help account and design staff dialog—hire and train with Web design and SEO principles in mind. "It is also vital for candidates to have a solid and foundational understanding of HTML, basic to moderate levels of Web design skills, a solid technical grasp of social media technologies and a demonstrated track record in using these tools," says PainePR's Lemin. "In many entry-level situations, that comes via the individual's social networks and school projects, mixed in with perhaps an internship portfolio. For mid-level candidates, it is generally demonstrated through past work experience."

Heft elaborates: "HTML, programming and even search engine optimization are important for design team members—less so for account staff. But it doesn't hurt for a junior account staff member to know SEO," he says. "That, in particular, translates more to the writing that many account staff do." More important is that account team members, "know the principles of Web design and search so they can have a productive dialog with product and design studio team partners at the firm. The same goes for mobile apps. While not being able to program them, you should be on top of how they work."

In addition, several sources point to videography, Photoshop and basic CSS (creative style sheets)/HTML skills—as many clients want their PR reps to also be able to make changes to their websites.

4. Make technical skills development an official part of performance reviews. "We have a personal development training program here that is a one to three year program for people with one to three years of experience," says Heft. "Staff meets with team leaders to discuss mandatory trainings, which are in-person live training with internal experts or hired consultants."

His point: "Staff can sign up for any they want, but if they take eight trainings in a year, they get an extra day off." More important, this training "Is part of their performance reviews," says Heft. "Make it a priority and have a structured training and development program in place, complete with incentives and reward. For us, for example, it's part of the job description." He offers these four examples of current training offered to entry level staff:

• How to Write a New Business Pitch
• How to Manage an Excel Spreadsheet
• How to Twitter
• How to Develop a Media List

More advanced trainings at Chandler Chicco include topics such as, "FDA Guidelines Update" and "Client Presentation Skills."

Heft adds this tip: "We have a dedicated person here whose main responsibility is overseeing training and development for the staff. So designate someone to training. It can't be an afterthought." In addition, "Look to associations like PRSA and IABC, and other organizations that offer conferences and webinars in these areas."

5. Train in technical skills—then share, share, share. "Our trainings are done in each of our three offices either via videoconference or by a staff member in that office who acts as the training leader," shares Lemin. "We believe this encourages cooperation, one of our deeply held shared values."

His larger point: "In cases where an individual has sought training or attended a conference on their own we ask them to bring that knowledge back to the agency and present it during a staff meeting or what we call a ‘PainePR University' module," Lemin continues. "We fill those gaps in between with a product we call ‘PainePR IQ,' which are as-needed internal newsletters about major topics of interest to the agency and our clients. For example, we recently distributed a PainePR IQ note about the FTC testimonials and endorsements guidelines which helped the teams stay on top of a trend that is critical to our clients' lives."

Eber similarly encourages article sharing—focusing on technical skills. "Create a central Google Reader reading list and share with the team. Encourage article sharing with insights. Discuss new trends on a weekly basis and assign team members to dig deeper and follow-up with team. For example, we encourage and pay for employees to attend conferences and attend workshops to broaden their knowledge and skill levels."

6. Take it one step further—test staff for technical skills. "We test all inbound candidates for skills via a written test and encourage ongoing participation in one or more social media channels as part of their basic responsibilities," says Lemin. "And skills are also reviewed during the annual peer review cycles," he concurs with Heft.

7. Look beyond PR—more firms are hiring across disciplines for technical expertise. "Staff with technical skills like these come from all over these days," says Chandler Chicco's Heft. "They come from other agencies, the advertising world, design shops, new media companies, mobile marketing companies and even IT departments now." His point: "New media causes a lot of overlap, so keep that in mind when you're looking to recruit, and when you're training. There's no reason a trainer for your account team can't drop in from an IT team or advertising partner, for example."

Similarly, people with degrees in journalism often come with some of these skills, says Heft. Specifically, many journalists have developed blogs, online video or other relevant applications for their media companies—and most are familiar with SEO concepts and principles as applied to writing.

Lemin drives the point home: "Entry-level candidates from journalism programs are beginning to learn these skills in school which prepares them well for the field, and many public relations programs are also expanding their curriculum to support this need. From a purely anecdotal perspective, schools strong in computer science/engineering programs seem to do a more consistent job of integrating the right mix of those skills into their humanities and social sciences curriculum."

8. Tap LinkedIn—social networks are your secret weapon for hiring staff with technical skills. "LinkedIn has absolutely helped us in recruiting staff with these skills," says Heft. "Having an HR Facebook page for a PR shop, having a job/careers section on your website, and even posting job alerts on Twitter have all helped us—but LinkedIn is the best of all of these. I used LinkedIn to find people by keywords. I'll search LinkedIn with ‘SEO' as a keyword, for example, and potential hires will pop right up. This is a goldmine. Use it," he encourages.

MS&L's Morsman agrees: "Leverage social networking sites, such as LinkedIn & Facebook, in addition to industry specific blogs and standard job boards such as HotJobs, Craigslist and so on," he advises. "The effort has to be multifaceted and comprehensive to be successful. Also, networking events, speaking engagements and niche sites" are a good place to recruit.

9. Consider buying talent with technical skills—instead of hiring or training. "Our firm trains and hires outside talent with the necessary technical skills," shares Lemin. "There are clear areas where PR agencies should collaborate with design or Web development experts versus internalizing the skill," he explains.

"For example, for many clients we lead their Facebook page, which involves content management and engagement on the page. Since we're not a Web development agency, we collaborate when needed to make significant structural or layout changes to a page, or develop an application via FBML (Facebook Markup Language). Our client service teams then have the knowledge and expertise to manage those pages on a daily basis. It does not make sense for a PR agency to bring all of those services in-house as needs will vary by client and project, and it would result in excess bandwidth. A collaborative model works best, and staffing a team with basic to moderate levels of knowledge enables a productive collaboration."

Gail Heimann Vice Chair Weber Shandwick

11. Don't overlook the "classic" PR skills—like writing, creativity and critical thinking. "Writing may seem so 20th century—but it's as important today as in Dickensian PR days," stresses Heimann. "Cogent, competent writing is good. Versatile writing style is better. The ability to vividly telegraph ideas is great. Good writers are good thinkers. In any age. At any age."

In addition, Heimann believes resourcefulness is a key skill firms should look and hire for in 2010 and beyond: "LastGen PR people had to make things happen on a single or maybe a double platform. NextGen PR people will need to fire on all platform cylinders. That includes thing like: How to get and deliver the right ideas, how to drive them through the right platforms at the right times, how to amplify them in a way that drives conversation and engagement and measure the impact you've had. That takes mind, muscle and discipline. And, mostly, it takes resourcefulness to get all the pieces right and moving in the right direction."

PainePR's Lemin agrees: "There are general core competencies that will always help a PR professional succeed and these include strong writing skills, critical thinking and analysis experience, and human relations experience such as poise, public speaking and other intrapersonal skills," he says. "What sets PR apart from other media and marketing jobs is our need to interface with various levels of publics, in a wide variety of media, not just one. No matter what the technical skill involved, savvy communications start with a savvy communicator who can deftly move between modes, while carefully listening and reading the audiences. These skills come with experience and are very hard to train."

Chandler Chicco's Heft, puts it even more bluntly: "Good communication skills aren't going away. Technology skills can be easier to learn and teach—but if you're writing PR materials in email style, you're probably better suited for a job in IT."