I was surprised and saddened to see prioritisation skills and analytical skills low on the list of what challenges lie ahead for PR pros in 2022 in the CIPRs state of the nation report out this week. Is this because we’ve nailed it? or is it a lack of education on what the profession can do and is capable of, and people not seeing the link between core skills and specific industry skills?
One of the concerns flagged in the recent state of the PR nation report by the CIPR was the reputation of PR in the future – and well I think reputation and lack of recognised business skills are intrinsically linked. If we cannot prove that we have brains that can craft messages based on research and evidence and not just gut feel, surely that puts our knowledge and ability higher on the agenda?
If we are overworked due to not being able to prioritise (all the way up the management chain) then how will the reputation of the function ever improve?
There is also a surprising lack of skills being cited as a reason for slow recruitment. I wonder if the skills sought are those not being matched—too many writers and not enough project management and analytical skills, perhaps.
The CIPR is the only chartered body for PR Practitioners globally and has been conducting a report on trends and insights for over a decade. We haven’t seen many shifts, but key things highlighted in the 2022 report published this week include; an increasing lack of diversity, poor working conditions and mental health, and a lot of movement in jobs, as well as the lack of skills available for those recruiting into roles.
So this episode focuses on skills and my opinions on what’s important.
Let’s dive in.
Links mentioned in his episode:
CIPR State of the Nation Report
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Full Transcript (unedited)
I was surprised and saddened to see prioritisation skills and analytical skills low on the list of what challenges lie ahead for PR pros in 2022 in the CIPRs state of the nation report out this week. Is this because we’ve nailed it? or is it a lack of education on what the profession can do and is capable of, and people not seeing the link between core skills and specific industry skills?
One of the concerns flagged in the recent state of the PR nation report by the CIPR was the reputation of PR in the future – and well I think reputation and lack of recognised business skills are intrinsically linked. If we cannot prove that we have brains that can craft messages based on research and evidence and not just gut feel surely that puts our knowledge and ability higher on the agenda?
If we are overworked due to not being able to prioritise (all the way up the management chain) then how will the reputation of the function ever improve?
There is also a surprising lack of skills being cited as a reason for slow recruitment. I wonder if the skills sought are those not being matched—too many writers and not enough project management and analytical skills, perhaps.
The CIPR is the only chartered body for PR Practitioners globally and have been conducting a report of trends and insights for over a decade. We haven’t seen many shifts, but key things highlighted in the 2022 report published this week include; an increasing lack of diversity, poor working conditions and mental health and a lot of movement in jobs, as well as the lack of skills available for those recruiting into roles.
So this episode focuses on skills and my opinions on what’s important.
Let’s dive in.
Now don’t get me wrong – you need a mix of skills and creativity is crucial for this job but it’s not the only skill – neither is writing and a surprising amount of directors and founders / MDs cited in the report have writing and editing as the top 3 areas they spend the most time as part of their role, sometimes ahead of planning and strategy and people management – which may also be why teams are not feeling supported (another factor in the same report)
Part of this problem is the myth that goes along with the job.
When you picture a comms professional they’re often writing, talking on the mobile, and creating new campaigns. They’re working across projects and deftly switching between market research, a presentation to key stakeholders, and keeping abreast of latest developments.
While comms pros are multi-talented and perform a range of tasks as part of their daily lives, and over the course of a project, they can’t do everything all at once. But that’s not obvious to the outside world. You have to juggle competing priorities and figure out what tasks need to be done in which order.
Project management and the ability to plan effectively are an essential part of being a comms pro in my opinion. I am not talking about writing a to do list and ticking it off as you go. This is a longer term, strategic view of what you need to do and how you are going to get there. You need to prioritise, evaluate and make decisions in order to plan your comms effectively.
Comms pros are often working to deliver projects with long lead times. They need to be able to plan and manage their workloads in order to deliver on their promises and meet their goals. They must identify their key priorities and ensure that they have the right tools, resources and people in place to deliver on those priorities. They also need to be able to proactively manage their time and energy in order to make sure that they have the capacity and bandwidth to deliver on their key priorities.
Planning and prioritising your time is an essential part of being a good communicator. Many people think that they can multitask and get things done, but this isn’t the case. The ability to focus on one thing at a time is essential to being a good communicator, and the ability to manage your time is one of the most important skills that you can develop.
Luckily there are lots of tools, like apps and journals, that can help you. I use the Productivity Planner to organise the work I want to get done, and to plan out my week. It’s an easy to use time-tracking tool that can help you keep on top of your daily tasks and your monthly or annual goals.
One of the most important skills for communicators is the ability to identify your most important tasks and to focus on those. This isn’t easy, particularly if you’re juggling tasks. The most important thing for communicators is to identify their key priorities and to focus on those. You need to identify the tasks that are most important, and make sure that you allocate sufficient time and energy to getting those tasks completed.
I also use the Most Important Task method. The idea is to identify the one thing that is most important to you at the moment, and to make sure that you are fully focused on that. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do other things, but that you should make sure that you are fully focused on the one thing that is most important to you at the moment. This will allow you to deliver on your key priorities, and to manage your time and energy more effectively.
When it comes to identifying other skills, I’ve also spoken to some respected comms professionals on my podcast and skills come up in conversation a lot. When I ask what skills are essential, empathy has been on the list more than once.
Empathy is a feeling of connectedness,sympathy, or sympathy with a person or thing other than the self that can be a powerful force in social relationships. It can be an important tool for communicators to use and influence others. However, empathy can also be a dangerous force if used without understanding the complexities of the situation.
I believe that people need to have the ability to empathise with others. Empathy is the ability to understand and relate to another person – it helps us create common ground, and allows us to experience and understand their emotions, thoughts, ideas and feelings. This means that communications professionals will need to be able to understand and connect with others in a way that helps them understand what they are feeling and thinking. It benefits both audiences and our customers or stakeholders.
Empathy is key in a range of situations, from planning hybrid events to defying corporate purpose, as well as writing for investors, and strategic internal communications.
Having said that…
‘Listen hard and write fast’ was one of the early pieces of advice given to me in my first job and it has stuck.
Listening skills are not only common sense. They are essential for the success of people in a connected world. We have never been more connected. Our lives are increasingly intertwined with the lives of others. We can use our smartphones to understand people’s thoughts, feelings and emotions; and our lives are increasingly dominated by social media.
If we cannot listen well, we cannot absorb information and do anything with it. Listening helps us to understand. It is also learning without speaking. Listening is not waiting to speak.
In a world of smartphones and apps and continual media infiltration, we are listening all the time, but it is a skill to be able to listen hard and write fast.
I would like to see more training on these wider skills to enable comms and PR pros to shine at what they do and be more productive which in turn would help with feeling overwhelmed, overworked and undervalued.
What are the essential comms skills in 2022 in my opinion? Here’s my list – let me know if you would like to talk about any of these.
👂 Listening
❤️ Empathy
✍️ Writing
📇 Project management
📊 Data analysis
🔎 Research