Market Update for the First Half of 2018

by Miriam Hanna, Director at MadlinHanna Consulting

Now that the heatwave has subsided, and we have returned to normality with a rainy British summer it is time to reflect on the trends in the PR & comms market during the first half of 2018.

The legal sector has seen a lot of turnover at the manager level with firms taking the opportunity to refresh their teams as well as change the remit of the existing team to encourage development. Real estate has been busy at the PR executive level in-house and at the senior-level agency-side.  Financial PR has been enjoying a boost in transactions so there has been a high demand for Directors & Partners in the agencies enjoying good momentum.

Other themes so far this year are:

Counter Offers are rife

We are having to prepare candidates more than ever before to expect counter offers when they resign. This is indicative of the challenge even the top firms face in finding good talent. It costs a lot to fill gaps so a counter offer is seen as a way to buy time.

Advice for employees: Money is never a good motivator for leaving so if salary is the driving factor for exploring options, build the business case to get the salary you want with your current employer.

Advice for employers: Benchmark your salaries every year to make sure you are not behind the curve with money. Expect your team to talk to one another about what they are earning so having transparent brackets at each level will save you a headache.

Advice for prospective employers: Ask the question at interview, do you expect your current employer to counter offer? The answer will save you a lot of time as you will very quickly see if prospective employees are using a job offer to leverage their salary within their current team.

What about Brexit?

We are asked a lot if Brexit and the lack of clarity around what deal (if any) we secure is affecting the market and the truth is it isn’t. The transaction activity is on the up from this time last year and there seems to be no let-up in the growth of agencies. The challenge is the uncertainty for EU nationals currently working in the UK market. They are less likely to move until they see what happens so those roles that require languages are harder to fill.

Where is the money?

As I mentioned in the financial PR update earlier this year, agencies are seeing less retained briefs and more project work come up. It’s a good thing for in-house teams as they are taking the budget and using it to grow their own teams. It does require more creativity from agencies to avoid playing the volume game to fill the gap. Performance and results are under close scrutiny.

We have been kept busy and there is certainly no summer lull. Do get in contact if you would like any more market intelligence.

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.