CIPR State of the Profession survey is a miss on COVID-19

The CIPR of State of the Profession survey was concluded before lockdown. It’s a useful historical record but of limited help to a profession that is trying to figure out its future.

The 2020 CIPR State of the Profession survey is a time capsule. The field work, based on surveys from 1,300 practitioners, was completed on 27 January.

Almost six months later the public relation profession is quite different. Changes already underway in the profession have been accelerated by lockdowns in almost every area of the world.

The COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact - both good and bad - on diversity, flexible working, talent, training and its reputation as a management function.

Over the long term, automation, salaries, skills and the nature of practice itself are likely to be impacted.

The State of the Profession survey, now in its tenth year, should be viewed as a retrospective and a record of the industry before the pandemic. My hunch is that the 2021 survey will tell a different story.

In this post I’ve explored some of main themes emerging from the survey and framed them in the context of COVID-19.

Falling salaries

The average wages for all respondents, and for those working full time, are marginally lower than they were in 2019 – down £908 on the previous year at £52,136. However, the median income for respondents working full time is markedly higher at £45,000, compared to £30,000 in 2019.

COVID-19 impact: The crisis is already putting pressure on agency-side employment in the PR industry according to the PRCA. This will have a knock-on impact on salaries and likely see further reductions.

Community of practice

Two-thirds (66%) of public relations professionals feel they are part of a professional community. The results will be skewed by the fact that most respondents are CIPR members. Learning and development opportunities were cited as the main benefit to being part of a community. Social media – LinkedIn and Twitter in particular – are the most common platforms used to network professionally.

COVID-19 impact: Membership of professional associations are under pressure when cash is tight. Equally, organisations such as the CIPR are well placed to enable individuals to reskill and use accreditation as a means of differentiation. And let’s not also forget the added value member benefits such as access to a free legal helpline.

Diversity fail

On ethnic diversity, last year’s report showed that the profession was less diverse than it had ever been in the past five years with 92% of practitioners classifying as white. This year, despite a small improvement, more than nine in ten (91%) classify themselves as white.

COVID-19 impact: Recessions widen inequality. COVID-19 is likely to increase the gap between white and BAME practitioners, despite efforts by organisations such as BME Pros, Blueprint and the Taylor Bennett Foundation.

Gender pay gap closing, but too early to celebrate

Though PR’s gender pay gap persists, for the second consecutive year the gap is shrinking. Since 2018 it has fallen by 46% and now stands at £3,658, after regression analysis. However, when examining the data in more detail, the gender pay gap significantly widens with a practitioner’s seniority and differs between organisation type.

COVID-19 impact: Related to ethnic diversity it is likely that a COVID-19 induced recession will have a negative impact on the gender pay gap. Assertive policy needs to make up the shortfall.

Strategic ambition

There has been a modest shift away from tactical delivery of work towards strategic influence. Copywriting and editing, for the fourth year running, remains the most common activity among both senior and junior practitioners. Media relations has fallen to fourth place, replaced by strategic planning which has moved up two places.

COVID-19 impact: It is disappointing that for all its ambition to align with management, PR practitioners remain focused on copyrighting and editing. We can take comfort that good writers will always be in demand, but this is not where the bigger, or more valuable opportunity lies.

Board representation and value of practice

The two biggest challenges for the profession are identified as how others view the profession and the value which is placed upon the work of practitioners. The biggest challenge last year was the changing social and digital landscape. This has now fallen into third place behind the underrepresentation of PR at board level and PR not being a professional discipline.

COVID-19 impact: The pandemic has shown the value of external and internal communicators as board level advisors within progressive organisations. Employee engagement and the value that organisations deliver to the communities they serve will set the corporate agenda as we emerge from the crisis.

Posh and privileged

Overall, practitioners (37%) are significantly more likely than the general public (20%) to think that their family background gave them career advantages and are slightly more likely to believe that it is becoming harder for less advantaged people to professionally progress (42% versus 39%).

COVID-19 impact: My view is the public relations should represent the public that it seeks to serve. We won’t achieve excellence until gender, ethnic, socio-economic diversity are achieved. The best place to start would be formal policy related to each of the points set out above.

Webinar: A new normal for PR, or the same old tricks?

Anne Gregory and I are participating in a webinar hosted by the CIPR Scotland group at 1pm on 23 July where we’ll explore these issues and more. Please follow this link to find out more information and register. All proceeds will be donated to iprovision.