Public relations practitioners spin lower salaries and longer hours
Practitioners are underpaid and working harder than ever but claim that management increasingly recognises their value. This may be wishful thinking.
The latest CIPR State of the Profession survey reveals a contradiction between how practitioners believe practice is perceived, how much they are paid, and how hard they work.
Practitioners report that the strategic function of public relations is increasingly being recognised. 69% of in-house practitioners say their organisations view public relations as making a valuable contribution to management.
You’d expect this value to be reflected in rising salaries, but it isn’t.
The average wage has fallen from £56,340 in 2022 to £53,052 in 2024. This represents a fall of almost six per cent over two years when annual inflation has been running at double digits.
The gender pay gap is £3,894, down from £7,074 in 2022. The CIPR says this is the lowest ever recorded in practice.
Practitioners are also working longer. 37% of respondents reported increased working hours over the past 12 months.
The State of the Profession data will reflect macroeconomic factors related to the broader economy and the cost-of-living crisis. Public relations practice was in demand throughout COVID-19 to support the response to the public health emergency and changes to supply chains and working patterns, but this situation has reverted in the past two years.
The difference may also be explained by the cohort surveyed in 2022 compared to 2024. Automation and artificial intelligence may be additional factors, although the report suggests that practitioners are still at the experimental stage of adopting these new technologies.
The view that management increasingly recognises the strategic value of public relations is more hope than reality. Senior practitioners working in-house and in an agency context report undertaking management tasks, but no evidence supports the claim of elevated recognition.
I think we’re kidding ourselves. We need to view the CIPR data from a critical perspective.
The issue of professionalism and the recognition of public relations as a management versus tactical function is longstanding.
Practitioners aspire to be recognised by management and compensated at the level of other colleagues working in professional services but don’t adhere to the same management standards.
This paradox lies at the core of public relations practice. Management recognises the growing importance of practice, but there is a gap between the requirement for public relations expertise and the ability of practitioners to deliver and demonstrate value.
The expertise of practice is sought to support planning, decision-making and risk related to climate, ESG, societal polarisation and regulation.
This is the topic of my own research at Leeds Business School and relates to issues including the definition and scope of practice, the expertise and qualification of practitioners and planning and measurement.
The gap is also reflected in skills and training. The CIPR State of the Profession reports that three-quarters of in-house professionals and three in five agency or consultancy professionals identify a skills shortage within their teams and organisations.
The survey identifies an inequality in training provision. White practitioners are more likely to have received training in the previous 12 months and are less likely to have had requests for training turned down compared with other ethnic groups.
Public relations practitioners will continue to be underpaid and work long hours until they can quantify the impact and value of their work in terms that an organisation understands. We should also be role modelling best practice in terms of diversity of talent.
Until this time, compensation structures for practitioners and the value of public relations work will continue to be misaligned.
The CIPR State of Profession report was undertaken by Chalkstream. More than 2000 practitioners responded to an online survey in April 2024.
