CorpComms Magazine

Seven out of ten communications professionals say their department has become more important to their business in the recession, according to the most comprehensive analysis of communication management and PR professionals worldwide, conducted by The European Public Relations Education and Research Association and the European Association of Communication Directors.

However just one in five communications departments reported an increase in resources and budgets allotted to the discipline compared to others in the business. Two in five respondents experienced very little change in their resources and 37 per cent saw a decline in their budget for the period.

On balance, 70 per cent of PR professionals say they are satisfied with their current job situation but this may be partly because of a relative dearth of new pastures. Eight out of ten respondents find their day-to-day activities stimulating and 71 per cent feel valued by superiors and clients, but just four out of ten see good opportunities for career progression on the horizon. Those most likely to be satisfied with their work are women working in higher posts.

Crafting and polishing a company image is no longer enough if PR is to prove its worth in the current economic climate. Alongside building corporate assets like brand and reputation, the best way for communications to achieve a bang for the business' buck is by facilitating business processes, such as influencing customer preferences, generating public attention and motivating employees. This is also the best way to achieve more bucks for the department, with the study suggesting those teams who facilitated these goals also received greater resources and a larger communications budget.

The three key indicators of excellence for communications departments, as identified by management, are good relationships with stakeholders, mobilising people effectively and formal involvement in the strategic management process.

Some communications departments are wary of hogging the limelight, with 85 per cent seeing their main role as to support business goals compared to six out of ten who feel confident helping to define business strategies. But over three quarters of communications managers and professionals are enlisted by senior management in an advisory capacity and seven out of ten are likely to be invited to executive meetings addressing organisational strategic planning.

Respondents' sense of their own influence within their organisation perhaps unsurprisingly correlates with their place in the communications hierarchy, with a steady decline in perceived power from heads of communications to unit leaders and down to rank-and-file team members.

Communications teams appear to be focusing more on the short-term in the recession, with just four in ten respondents happy to invest in developing future skills through academic research either for themselves or their staff. The priorities for career development in the current climate were training communication and management skills and networking.

PR professional anticipate a reshuffling of priorities within the communications sphere over the next three years with corporate social responsibility and sustainability strategies pushing skills like crisis management and public affairs out of the top five most important disciplines. International communication is also becoming an increasing concern for future business.

The five most valued channels and vehicles of communications for the PR industry also look set for a sea change by 2013. Online communication is readying itself to usurp traditional print media, social media is anticipated to knock face-to-face communication out of the third spot, and TV and radio will no longer feature in the top five at all. Though to put these forecasts in context, media relations with print journalists were expected to decline by ten per cent between 2007 and 2010 but in reality increased by five per cent.

PR professional still place by far the greatest stock in clippings and media response when evaluating the success of their communications activities. Web traffic is the second most highly valued tool for assessing the department's achievements, followed by client satisfaction.

Salary is another key factor in demonstrating the value placed on a discipline internally and in motivating employees. Women's median salary remains considerably lower than men's at every hierarchical level. The material difference is most striking at in the highest echelons of the organisations, with a female head of communications or agency chief executive expecting to earn between €60,000 and €70,000 annually, compared to somewhere between €90,000 and €100,000 for her male counterpart.

The biggest challenge for communications in the next three years is coping with digital evolution and social media. Online communication has already made leaps and bounds since the 2007 survey, with social networks, online video and blogging - both micro and macro - leading the way. The tool has scored points amongst PR professionals for delivering the maximum rewards from squeezing budgets, with more content being made available for a lower cost and at a far greater speed. The biggest threat identified from social media is a loss of control, when the tool is openly available for use by everyone within the organisation.

Despite the overwhelming dominance of social media in this digital arena and the perceived hazards of open dialogue, many PR agencies and departments have not yet implemented the necessary guidelines to regulate the professional use of social networks in their organisation. Less than three in ten communications teams have introduced social media training, laid down rules governing their use, issued a description of the social media services they offer clients or installed tools for monitoring stakeholder engagement via these forums.

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