Bedroom Lobbying: Public Affairs and Working From Home
by Warren Madlin, Director MadlinHanna Consulting
As a headhunter for the government relations industry I have enjoyed being in the unique position of hearing how advocates across London-based agencies have differed in adapting to compulsory working from home. Here’s our summary of the good, the bad and the ugly. My big caveat here - COVID-19 has put everyone in an unprecedented and highly stressful situation. Many agency bosses have had to worry about the survival of the business before creating the perfect WFH environment. So please, take the below as a light-hearted, bird’s eye view of what we saw, not a damning criticism of people often trying their best at a difficult time.
The Good
Without a doubt, only those agencies who were early adopters of flexible-working have truly flourished over the last two months. Those who had extensive WFH policies simply faced an expansion of something that already existed. It was easy. Some of the first to send their entire workforce home when COVID-19 gained traction in the UK (Portland, Hanbury Strategy) got over their teething problems early and were settled into pitching for business from the spare room well before the matter was forced upon them. Teneo also stands out for the remarkable speed in which they rolled out a parent-friendly flexitime policy (work your 7 hours at any time, in any number of iterations).
The Bad
At this point, to be fair, naming of agencies will stop. Bulk buying of laptops at the 11th hour was widespread and for some agencies, totally unavoidable. They should be applauded for the quick decision to invest. But those who supplied the goods weeks after the event had teams dusting off personal computers and making do with tech that wasn’t up to the job for far too long. Those who didn’t quickly introduce an internal instant messaging platform found inboxes flooded. Some agencies, two months on, still don’t have consistent video-conferencing use across teams (and yes, many are still getting cut off mid-flow when Zoom’s 40 minutes expire).
The Ugly
To reiterate, agency owners, on the whole, have done their best, but I can’t deny that it has been difficult to listen to candidates who are particularly struggling to work at home. Frustrations that could be brushed aside in the office have come under the magnifying glass. Existing issues with internal communication have been thrust into the spotlight. But most importantly, some team leaders have forgotten that WFH is not the same for everyone. Some have home offices, a garden and peace and quiet - but others are in shoebox flats in Central London, with no greenery in sight and noisy flatmates. Remember this when they log into the Monday morning meeting without the enthusiasm you’d hoped for.
The effect of COVID-19 on our industry has caused some unexpected changes that will be around for a long time to come, but so long as we learn from these situations our businesses will come out even stronger than before.
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.