News & Events

PR recruitment: a question of balance

Date posted:

12th May 2008

How can PR agencies best attract the stars of the industry - while also keeping hold of the talent they already have? A Blue Skies survey sheds light on the matter.

Consider a situation that several PR agencies are likely to be familiar with: they spend a significant amount of time and resources on training up the best talent, only to find a year or two later that these rising stars would rather shine elsewhere.

Meanwhile, other companies are falling over themselves to snap up the cream of the crop - only to discover that they trip up when it comes to making their job propositions attractive enough, resulting in refusals or even a dearth of adequate applications to pick and choose from.

The latest survey from Blue Skies PR lends further weight to both of these scenarios. The poll, which asked 91 candidates from across the PR industry spectrum, made some important findings.

Firstly, career progression came top of the list for nearly a quarter of respondents when asked what is the most important factor they consider when searching out a new role, with salary - perhaps surprisingly - in second place, with just over a fifth of the total vote.

When these same candidates - ranging from account executives to associate directors - were asked what would make them stay in the current role, work-life balance came out on top, with nearly 32 per cent rating this as the most persuasive factor. Again, pay rises - 18.7 per cent - only managed to make it into second spot.

Another potentially surprising finding was that candidates did not appear to rate training as particularly important for both questions. This may be because they take it for granted that any company will provide the necessary education as part of the job.

However, portfolio-related issues, such as client mix, also languished near the bottom of both lists - a strong suggestion that the day-to-day tasks, achievements and challenges of the role itself will not always be key to keeping staff satisfied and catching the eye of jobseekers.

Of course, with money near the top of both lists, it would be foolish to discount salary as one way in which agencies can push the boat out when it comes to getting their best talent to stay or when seeking out the stars of the industry.

However, it would be equally foolish to neglect non-financial factors such as a clear progression route for promising employees and company culture, as well as mutually beneficial offerings such as flexible working hours and the option to work out of the office.

It may also be worth considering soft perks such as holidays for special life events such as getting married and moving home, gym membership, insurance, regular social outings and healthcare.

On their own they do not appear to carry that much weight, but when put together and combined with a competitive salary, agencies may find that they have a powerful job package capable of attracting and retaining the best in the sector.