The Great Turmoil of Turnover in PR

It’s a fact across the board – turnover is common in public relations.

Not only is this a costly issue for companies, but can be detrimental to potential employees showing they are “careerist” driven without a drive to development under a specific company. Of course, salary factors are a major pull but often the issues of turnover are far more rooted than simply dollars and cents.

So why, in an industry that is very much based on establishing and maintaining customers’ brand loyalty, is there such a high rate of turnover?

According to a 2008 study from New York University, there are 6 important retention factors for public relation companies to consider:

• Communication: Being our sword and shield, communication (both internally and externally) is a necessity to any working environment in PR. Internal programs that allow for employee engagement not only offer teambuilding opportunities but a more clear understanding of the employee’s work in the company’s strategy.  Upon entering a company (particularly for those everywhere from entry-level to middle-management) the introductory period (generally six months) is critical to establishing one comfort level in a company’s dynamic. That said, don’t go thinking you can leave said employee out in the great unknown after that; communication should be ongoing, practical, and relevant.

• Change, stability and challenge: Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, The Scrivner: A story of Wall Street” tells the story of a young man who’s daily task is to repeatedly copy documents from his employer. Evidently, (*spoiler alert*) it causes poor Bartleby to go insane. This novella from the 1850’s still resonates today. Put simply, hitting the right balance between new challenges, while being comfortable with their requirements, allows for not only a learning experience but a greater sense of confidence in one’s work.

Let’s look at Edelman for an example, shall we? Spending seven months with the company, I can safely say no two days have been the same. Sure, there are daily tasks required of me but any given day of the week is something new, something exciting, and more often than not, something you can be proud to be a part of. Similarly, in speaking with members of the Edelman “comeback club” (those that ventured from the company to other opportunities before returning), the main factor in driving them back was the challenging day-to-day environment Edelman presents.

 

• Professional development: Building off the above point, an employee needs to develop in a company. Understanding a budget is one thing, but professional development must go further than simply a lesson in finance; there needs to be a mentoring, a process built off experience, and an idea of where one sits in the company’s strategic planning.

 

“Are they getting the experience and exposure they need to feel they are getting something of value beyond their salary? That is a question we need to ask,” said Edelman Canada CEO, Heather Conway.

 

Here at Edelman, we promote cross-practice development as just one of the benefits in personal development; from brainstorms to national campaigns, the opportunity to gain experience in our consumer, health, technology, corporate, and digital fields offer development outside of your background.

 

• Recognition and rewards: According to The Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), rewards given in a personal, appropriate, and immediate fashion for a job well done are a key to avoiding turnover. Of course, we aren’t an industry built of individuals trolling for compliments; the factor to consider here is setting a benchmark of excellence.

 

At Edelman Canada we have implemented a number of employee reward programs for just that kind of “job well done” work ethic and attitude. The “Shining Star” award (one is able to nominate any employee that best represents a job well done), office-wide competitions of the friendly variety (there is an office-wide competition currently happening for a Blackberry Torch – which I intend on winning), and not to mention our weekly event, Foursies; a weekly gathering for Edelfolk in Toronto to take a break from their work to eat, socialize, and play in our new café.

 

• Motivation and empowerment: Recognition of hard work leads to confidence in one’s work or, in this case, empowerment. There needs to be a solid foundation of reasoning for one to feel ownership in their work. Referring once again to the aforementioned report on turnover in this industry, “employees, especially younger workers, expect to be treated like partners. They are no longer satisfied with merely being involved — they want ownership.”

 

Like the brand loyalty we attempt to establish between customer and client, it is the same personal connections with our company that drive us to challenge ourselves and likewise thrive in the work we are doing.

 

• Work/life balance: In an era where the office has become a personalized hand-held device that is with us at any and all hours of the day, the work/life field is difficult ground to separate. Put simply, the game has changed – we are no longer dealing with black and white, but a great grey area.

 

According to a survey by OfficeTeam, the world’s largest specialized temporary staffing service for administrative professionals, the ability to manage one’s personal and professional life has become the greatest concern for 26% of respondents; outweighing even job security and salary.

 

As demanding an industry as PR is, it is not the “be-all-end-all” of existence. We have lives outside of our work, and taking the time to step away for personal time is not anything to feel bad about. Edelman offers excellent benefits in this regard, particularly with its “Living in Color” work-life philosophy; encouraging employees to bring personal interests into the office environment, from charities to hobbies, conferences, and aspirations. Be it the generous vacation time allotted to employees, or the “Living in Colour” work-life philosophy, Edelman is a sterling example of how to maintain this balance without facing the ever-infamous “PR burnout” so readily seen across the industry.

Well, there you have it. Ownership, the opportunity to develop and challenge oneself, good work not going unnoticed, and communication with managers and fellow colleagues are just a few areas the PR industry can focus to change this trend of high turnover among employees.

Special thanks to the Institute for Public Relations “High Potential PR Profesionals Thrice on challenge: A Study of Employee Turnover and Retention in the Public Relations Industry” for their insight, Herman Melville for offering more than that book on the whale, and Bruce Springsteen for Born to Run (which I have been listening to for the majority of this post).