| the word |
| the latest PR and communications career news |
We're in a particularly good mood in this edition of 'the word'. Not only are we starting to feel just a teensy bit Christmassy (we're suckers for festive shopping displays, improved TV scheduling and that month-long, hey, call it six-week excuse for over-indulgence…) but business has gone off like the proverbial cracker! In the space of a month or so, new business has shot up by 400%! This is good news for us of course, but even better news for PR and communications professionals who have had to keep their career ambitions on ice for what feels like forever. The results of our Christmas Party survey, 'Merrily on high, or lows', have also given us cause for some hilarity, provided us with some great ideas for themes and venues (thank you!) as well as confirming our belief that most PRs will do anything that involves the word 'party'. Or, as our survey seems to suggest, alcohol. All are, you must agree, reasons to be cheerful. But perhaps the greatest reason to count your career blessings is that no matter how bad a day you've had in the office, either now or in the future, it can't be any worse than that of the poor receptionist returning to work after THAT Christmas party... |
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Scroll down to 'the rest' to discover our
predictions for 2010. Do you think that market confidence is returning? Is the worst of the recession over? We'd love to hear your thoughts! E-mail them to sarah@the-works.co.uk New recruits wanted for 2010 Are you looking for a challenge? Can you spot talent faster than Simon Cowell? Do you want to work for a market leader in the PR and Comms recruitment field? Due to an unprecedented increase in roles becoming available, The Works is hiring! Highly experienced across several market sectors including financial recruitment, Amy Lawrence will be joining us in January as Senior Consultant to specialise in new business. If you'd like to work in our buzzing, lively office too then we'd love to hear from you. Scroll down to 'the jobs' section to find out more. PR's most influential media platform: You'll be surprised... What's the most influential media platform in 2009? The internet? TV? Newspapers and magazines? Nope, guess again... According to a poll of 1,000 opinion leaders which included CEOs, Whitehall secretaries, media execs and leading figures in the public sector, radio - specifically, BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme - has more influence than any other media platform on corporate reputation. Television was second, followed by print, leaving online (shock, horror) in fourth place. The 'Thought Leadership Index 2009' provides interesting reading for any PR involved in reputation management. Yep, that's all of us, then. For more information click on http://prweek.com/uk/News/MostDiscussed/969367/TLG-Thought-Leadership-Index-says-radio-most-influential-medium/ |
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| the rising star | ||
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| Can you summarise your career
path to date? I started my career in journalism before starting my comms career as External Relations Manager at the UK Passport Service, which involved all kinds of marcomms work, including a very exciting short secondment to the Home Office Press Office Newsdesk. I then worked for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, looking after their press office, events and the graphic design team. Having decided that I wanted to focus more on press, I went for a press office role with an education charity called the Teacher Support Network. This gave me a great opportunity to build good contacts with the national and trade journalists in the world of education. During these previous roles, I also studied for a part time Diploma in Nutritional Therapy during which I developed a love of all things food and health related. So, when the job came up at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) for a Media Officer, I jumped at the chance. After two years in an incredibly varied role, dealing with all kinds of food issues from food scares to manufacturers' community initiatives, I was promoted to Media Manager at FDF. I was in that position for a year and have just started at UB. Describe your role: My role at UB will involve managing the press office - dealing with national and regional press; leading on campaigns around food issues, for example on sustainability and health and wellbeing; and managing crises, should they occur. What's been your career highlight to date? In 2009 we took on a new project at the Food and Drink Federation, promoting food and drink exports. This provided the perfect opportunity for us to target the national press with a good news story at a time when all of the papers were filled with economic doom and gloom. It's also a rarity to have the chance to engage with the media about a positive story about the food industry. I worked with FDF's members, several of whom are Britain's best loved brands, to get some brilliant case studies to back up the statistics, and managed to land a fantastic news story. We had a full page in The Sun entitled 'Feed the World!', a leader column in The Times, and pieces in The Telegraph and Mirror, and a comment in The Guardian. And greatest challenge? When I was promoted to Media Manager at FDF it was an opportunity to really shake things up in the press office and change the way we worked. I worked hard with my team to change the way certain things were done to make us a more efficient and proactive office, jumping at every opportunity we had to engage with the media about issues that are key to FDF and building up key relationships. These changes have really made a difference this year - correspondents on our key trade, and some national publications, know me and my team by name, and feel free enough to come to us with their enquiries, even if they're just speculating; they know we will always do whatever we can to help. And your ambition? At the moment I'm just looking forward to getting to grips with the exciting Comms challenges at a big food company like UB. What advice can you offer to other comms professionals who want to get ahead in the current climate? I know it sounds like a cliché, but do something you love. If you're passionate about your work, it's easier to communicate the right message. Work hard; develop good relationships - both internally and externally with stakeholders such as the media if you work in that area. Always remember - meeting face to face is always better than email - and never forget to have some fun along the way! How do you feel about what you have achieved so far in your career? I'm glad that my previous roles have given me a good grounding in the whole marcomms area, which led me to discover that working in PR is what I particularly love. I also love dealing with the variety of issues that the food industry faces day to day - no two days are ever the same, so there's never any reason to be bored! I feel I've come along way since starting at FDF as a Media Officer three years ago, to working for a big food company producing some of Britain's favourite brands. What recent current affairs issues are you most interested in, and why? The challenge of packaging waste reduction is something that has fascinated me during my time at FDF. Food companies have really embraced the challenge of coming up with new ways to address this problem and to come up with some truly innovative solutions such as minimising the packaging that consumers take home. I am also interested in the area of ethical sourcing. There's been quite a bit in the news recently about sustainable palm oil and food companies stepping up to the mark in this - for example, UB has just announced it is one of the first food manufacturers to secure a supply of sustainable palm oil to ensure the oil used in their products is from sustainable plantations. What challenges are you facing in your current position? Adapting to a role in a big corporate, having worked mainly in smaller government or trade organisations before, will be an interesting challenge - one I'm very much looking forward to!
Do you
have an unusual, impressive or
inspirational career path? Are
you able to offer sage career
advice to other communications
professionals? If so, we'd love
to hear from you! To nominate
a colleague or be featured as
the next 'rising star' yourself,
contact us at: sarah@the-works.co.uk
or tel. 020 7559 6690. Alternatively,
click on our website at: www.the-works.co.uk
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| Job vacancies: In terms of corporate comms job vacancies, things are on the up. After the sudden increase in activity in the last quarter of 2009, growth will continue at a more realistic pace, in line with activity in 2007. Many teams are hoping to hire next year, financial services seems to be over the worst of it and technology will probably come back in the second half of 2010. There will continue to be an increase in candidates registering at junior to mid levels across all market sectors although in-house senior level positions remain sparse. Salary trends: Over the last year, salary levels have either remained the same as those in 2008, or dropped. Some candidates whose roles were made redundant or who needed to make a move considered taking salary drops, sometimes quite significant ones. Freelancers haven't been immune to salary sacrifice either and have had to become a lot more flexible with their rates in order to be retained or hired. The news for next year is much, much better. With more roles around, there will be less of a need to drop in salary. In-house positions are most likely to benefit next year due to a greater number of highly talented individuals now having the confidence to move once again, so providing communications teams with a greater selection of candidates. Market trends: After a year of flat-lining, the financial PR sector's pulse is finally returning: corporate comms, financial PR agencies and financial services all now have colour in their cheeks, most particularly at junior or director level. Other sectors likely to experience buoyancy are: green technology and renewable energy, CSR, retail and internal communications. In terms of expertise, it's the digital sector that's leading the way as demand continues to outstrip available talent. Social media savvy PRs know this and are using it to their advantage, some requesting salary hikes of £10 - £20k before they move. HR departments will have to either meet these demands, or manage their expectations. The technology and consumer sectors are most likely to be requesting digital hires. Chief challenges for 2010: We're not out of the woods yet as despite growing optimism, there's significant challenges ahead post recession. In the words of Sarah, "there are likely to be a lot of very fed-up people out there." Slashed salaries, pay freezes, four day weeks and redundancy threats can do that to a person. As confidence returns, any employee who has felt hard done by will be the first out the door, so organisations will have to work hard on retaining top talent. Not every employee is motivated by money, however, and for those companies who genuinely can't afford fiscal rewards, softer benefits such as continuous professional development training will be warmly received. "A company that shows its appreciation for staff and is honest with them rather than over-promising and under-delivering, will be well placed to retain its staff in the coming year," says Sarah. Christmas parties: our survey results With news that the corporate Christmas party has been given the big heave–ho by some this year (the BBC being one of the most notable), we asked over 1,000 PR pros whether they were following suit? Clue: you can take the PR out of the party but you can’t take the party out of the PR... Oh, and we couldn’t resist asking
about the best and the worst festive fluff
ups. From police breaking up office bust-ups
to the entire office being flown to Morocco
(we’re assuming with return tickets),
here are the results:
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