Market Conditions Under COVID-19

by Miriam Hanna, Director MadlinHanna Consulting

After the political stability of the general election in December 2019, there was a quiet confidence in the market that uncertainty would lift, and we would finally be able to move away from talking about Brexit as much. This global pandemic has had many feel that we have switched one tumultuous period for a more acute one with larger ramifications. In our conversations over the last 2 weeks, that hasn’t been the case.

Communications in Crisis

In times of global crisis, there is no such thing as over-communication. Businesses need to speak to their staff, governments to their people and medical experts have to de-jargon the science for everyone to understand. As a result, agencies have seen the mandates for their clients shift and whilst there may be a pause on the launch of a new proactive campaign or the rescheduling of an event, the support and advice they can offer is required more than ever. In-house teams have seen their value sky-rocket as Chief Executives and key stakeholders look to them for how to create calm internal and external messaging.

Hiring

As a result of remote working, much more of the day is spent on internal conversations as teams compensate for the loss of direct contact. This has meant that when it comes to hiring, the live and urgent roles are a bigger priority over the longer-term speculative conversations. There have been some instances where knee-jerk reactions by parent companies put hiring on hold but when the reality of that was considered and an over-stretched team lead was crying-out for support, they returned to business as usual. Any short term requirements can be very easily filled with little risk by a freelancer and we have a network of content generation and crisis communications experts to call upon if required. We have created some tips on how to hire during these times but if there are no financial reasons preventing you from undergoing a process, you should be confident in continuing business as usual. From a candidate perspective, we can understand there might be worries about job security but with interviews only really taking place for quite urgent requirements, you can be assured that companies would not undergo the embarrassment of hiring only to have to part ways after a matter of months and make each decision very carefully.

Remote Working

To look at the silver lining, this period of time, whether it be 3 weeks or 3 months, is going to revolutionise the conversation about remote working. Personally, I miss the collaboration of being surrounded by the team all day every day. To compensate, we have taken to organising fun slots but we also have 2-3 calls a day as a team to make sure we are still speaking. There are those that would say they have been even more productive and worked longer having gained time they would be losing in the commute. Whichever side of the discussion you fall, the infrastructure that some may have been forced to set up but others always have, is going to be a staple of office life post COVID-19.

We are here to help so if you would like a confidential conversation about your options or a gap in your team, please get in touch here.

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.