✅ The market for public relations talent levels off
A week in management, media and public relations
The Reuben Sinclair 2023 PR & Comms Salary Guide reports that the public relations job market appears stable, with minimal salary rises in the past 12 months. The market between employer and employee has levelled, and there is cautious optimism among both communities.
The dataset incorporated within the report is based on communication and public relations roles that Reuben Sinclair has placed in the past 12 months.
✅ Salaries remain largely unchanged from 2023, except for a small decrease in starting salaries for account managers in some agency sectors
✅ Demand is growing for roles requiring AI expertise as it becomes more integrated into public relations. Individuals should upskill in this area
✅ Employers are focused on personalised benefits tailored to individual needs to boost loyalty and productivity
✅ Salaries are rising in regional agencies to compete with London for talent, considering hybrid working flexibility
✅ The industry is prioritising inclusive and equitable hiring to address under-representation. A comprehensive approach is needed for recruiting, onboarding, and workplace culture
The recommendation for both agency and in-house employers is to focus on strategic talent management, offer competitive packages, support diverse career paths, embrace tech advancements, and prioritise inclusive and accessible hiring.
Have an excellent week.
Artificial Intelligence
✨ NEW AI MODEL: Mistral emerged from Davos last week as a challenger to AI giants Google and OpenAI. The French AI startup which builds large language models, the underlying technology that powers generative AI products such as chatbots, secured a €2bn valuation last month in a funding round worth €400mn. Source Financial Times.
🗳 ELECTION VIGILANCE: OpenAI is taking proactive steps to prevent potential misuse of their AI systems, including ChatGPT and DALL-E, around the 2024 elections worldwide. This includes implementing guardrails to decline inappropriate requests, improving transparency of AI-generated content, and directing users to authoritative sources of voting information. Source: OpenAI.
💻 COPILOT ROLLOUT: Microsoft has announced new AI offerings including Copilot Pro, a premium subscription service for individuals that provides advanced Copilot features such as access to the latest AI models. It has also expanded Copilot for Microsoft 365 to businesses of all sizes to bring AI capabilities to workplace apps and data. Source: Microsoft.
📖 AI TOOLS BOOK: #FuturePRoof has published the remaining chapters from its recent AI in PR tool book. The essays give a good overview of the race by vendors to incorporate machine learning and large language models into their products. Other sections in the book deal with large language models and AI productive tools. Source #FuturePRoof.
Management Communication
🧑💼️ GOVERNANCE GUIDANCE: The Higgs Report published in June 2006 by the Financial Reporting Council sets out guidance on the roles of the chairman and non-executive director, duties of remuneration and nomination committees. The suggestions aim to improve board effectiveness and corporate governance and provide a good benchmark for creative agencies. Source Wadds Inc.
🔰 LISTENING BOOK REVIEW: Leading the Listening Organisation is a new book about the role of listening in the modern workplace, particularly in the light of post-pandemic changes and innovation. It makes the case that listening results in higher employee engagement, better employee experience, effective change management, innovation, and improved trust. Source Wadds Inc.
🎓 SOCIALLY MOBILE GRADUATES: The Winter 2024 Socially Mobile cohort graduated at a ceremony in London last week. Matthew Dunn received the Chief Examiners Award and will have his CIPR Chartered Assessment paid for by the Community Interest Company. Applications for paid and funded places on the next Socially Mobile cohort close on 19 May. Source: Socially Mobile.
Research and Insight
🤨 TRUST PARADOX DEEPENS: The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer reports on a new paradox at the heart of society. Rapid innovation offers the promise of a new era of prosperity but instead risks exacerbating trust issues, leading to further societal instability and political polarisation. Source: Edelman.
🌍 PURPOSE VS PROFIT: A new report published by Vuelio explores the social impact of public relations and highlights the importance of authenticity. Purpose-led public relations is a means of engaging communities and stakeholders around a common goal and helping to co-create solutions. The report itself was co-created by socially-minded practitioners including Sarah Waddington CBE. Source Vuelio.
Technology and platforms
📱 LINKEDIN HASHTAGS FADE: Hashtags are no longer important to improve LinkedIn post visibility and reach. The platform is now focused more on showing posts based on overall topical relevance rather than maximising virality or reach. Source: Social Media Today.
I’ll be en route to South Korea by the time you read this on Monday morning. I’m speaking about AI and strategic communications at an International Air Transport Association crisis communications workshop in Seoul on Tuesday. Much of the discussions are under Chatham House Rule, but I’ll post updates on LinkedIn where I can.
Thank you to the following members of the House of Marketing & PR community of practice for sharing and debating stories covered in the newsletter over the past week: Rod Cartwright, Alan Morrison, Andrew Bruce Smith, and Sarah Waddington CBE.