Diversity: The buzzword of the 2010’s

by Miriam Hanna, Director at MadlinHanna Consulting

Diversity is one of the words of the decade. From the appointment of a female Doctor Who to the campaign for a black James Bond, the conversation about how to get a better representation of different groups in society is ongoing. When we discuss diversity in PR it is generally understood to be a crucial factor in making the industry as strong as it can be as well as a moral obligation. Services that require creativity in the way communications does need a diversity of thought, approaches and ideas. In the PRCA Census of 2016, 83% of the respondents identified as white British, 28% were between the ages of 35-44 and 66% identified as female. So how do we get better at having a diverse workforce?

Getting everyone talking

The initiatives to get groups that need better representing to meet and network are useful but there is so much more the industry as a whole needs to do. The responsibility for reducing barriers rests with all. Without men promoting women, they will never break that glass ceiling to translate the gender balance that exists at the mid-level to board level and pull others up behind them. Those suffering from disabilities or impairments cannot join a workforce if an able-bodied employer does not take the adjustments required seriously. BAME and LGBT professionals cannot flourish if their ideas are not put on the same platform as their colleagues. This industry is about collaboration so only through working together can parity be achieved.

Image copyright: Hire Me My Way

The dreaded “F” word… and it’s not just for mums!

Flexibility, I said it. It should be a cornerstone of any organisation (particularly any who are looking to attract an increasingly demanding millennial workforce) but sadly there is still a lot of work to do. The majority of PRs require a laptop and a phone to get their work done. If an employer can trust their team to get on with their work wherever they are, they will get more out of them. We are losing out on so much talent by working on a strict 9am-6pm desk-based regimen. The misconception that offering flexibility will cost the business money in some way is damaging and untrue. Can you imagine having a job-shared PR Manager in your team? The firm would get 2 incredible PR professionals for the price of 1! There are so many different types of flexible working that can be tailored towards the business needs as detailed below.

Open Conversations

Having an open culture where mental health, physical impairment, religious challenges or cultural barriers are spoken about creates an environment where solutions to problems are much easier to get to. As employers, these conversations have to be handled with care but a perfect example is a recent email that went viral. A CEO thanking a member of the team for saying they were off-sick due to mental health reasons shows the kind of small gestures that make the world of difference. There are fantastic charities such as Mind with help and support pages so you can look into how to support an employee struggling with mental health issues and it really comes down to that. Take the time to learn about your teams and how you can best nurture and support them in a way that doesn't require being intrusive.

Mentoring

Soapbox moment: everyone needs to have a mentor. It requires finding an organic fit, not a forced one, but is something so valuable. Women in PR and PR week have a scheme; Taylor Bennett has a scheme and a new LGBT PR network called Intercomms will hopefully have a scheme at some point as well! Collaborating with professionals who have been there, done that, got the t-shirt not only shows PR professionals how they can progress but it opens the mentors' eyes to the challenges facing their mentees. The objective advice on your career can stop you stalling when you stop learning or give you that nudge you need when it's time to ask for that pay rise!

The battle for talent is fierce. PR agencies particularly are struggling to hire great people and work needs to be done to open up the pool they are recruiting from. People are the most important assets of the PR industry and it’s important to have a diverse work force to make the industry sustainable. Ask questions, challenge the status quo and assume nothing. Those barriers to entry and progression are not going to last much longer. How quickly can we remove them?

The PRCA is running a Diversity campaign. For more information see https://www.prca.org.uk/campaigns/diversity-pr-industry

MadlinHanna Consulting is a recruitment consultancy specialising in corporate affairs, covering public affairs, corporate communications and financial PR. Contact us on 020 8088 4102 for more information or a confidential conversation.