Today, I was struck by a major difference between working for a PR agency and doing PR inhouse — perspective.

I’ve talked about how great the camaraderie is at an agency, and it’s still something I miss. But I realized today that in-house PR folks are exposed to so many more perspectives about a company than an outsourced agency could ever be.For example, I sit next to a team of people focused on client retention. I hear their calls all day to existing customers, and get to hear some interesting conversations. Internal planning meetings typically include an interesting sampling of people across job functions who all represent different stakeholders (our customers, our technology, our investors). It’s fascinating to hear how everything affects everyone else.

At the same time, people with such varied backgrounds bring entirely new perspectives to any conversation. The questions are different, the thought processes are different, the examples of what has worked are different. I find that it brings a new level of understanding and access to the PR program that I don’t believe you can get over the phone.

I will say that I think agency PR people benefit from a different type of perspective. I loved working with multiple VPs because I found they all approached problems from a different perspective. And while the fundamental programs were relatively similar, each one offered a unique view. Mix in the ability to work on multiple clients across industries (something I craved — having completely different clients kept things interesting), and you’re presented with yet another perspective. Often, I’d brainstorm ideas and challenges with multiple people just to see their different approaches. Ultimately, looking at a problem five different ways becomes a great asset.

I’m still not ready to say one is better than the other, but more I do the more I realize just how different they are.