How to win the public relations talent battle
Public relations agencies often tout the talent within their building as their best asset, but finding great talent, and then ensuring they want to remain in the building, can be challenging. Mumbrella’s Miranda Ward spoke to PR agency leaders on how they find the right people and how they hold onto them.
“There’s a certain talent shortage at the mid-to-senior end of PR agencies and it’s become quite acute,” Red Agency managing James Wright conceded.
“You can go out there and find good people but finding great people who are going to help you move the needle for your clients and for your business is really, really tough.”
Wright said an agency’s most important strategy “must be based around your people because they’re your best asset”.
Um, how about creating family-friendly workplaces. Senior staff, I mean real senior staff – people with kids – actually want a flexible work environment.
That is why PR people of a certain age, flock to boring in-house jobs with big companies with proper HR policies as soon as the idea of children comes along.
No one cares about days off for birthdays, or three-day off-site benders. Wake up people – 80 per cent of PR people are women – mums (or mums-in-waiting).