Stress Awareness Month

Stress Awareness Month: How to support staff wellbeing

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Hotwire head of people and culture Kam White focuses on developing people strategies, driving cultural change initiatives and organisational transformation programmes across the business. In today’s guest post, she shares her insight on how to support staff to promote better wellbeing during Stress Awareness Month and beyond.

For many of us, the last year has seen stress awareness in the virtual workplace brought to the fore, as businesses – and their staff – adapt to a new way of living.

This year’s Stress Awareness Month comes at a time where employee mental health and stress levels are under intense pressure, and how employers support their teams through COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on the long-term health and success of the business. The focus is no longer on work/life balance, but more fundamentally how wellness is the foundation to many of our people activities.

Working thoughtfully

At Hotwire, we have always had a proactive approach to supporting employees in dealing with stress, with a strong focus on developing two-way trust and supporting the individual, whatever their personal circumstances. Our philosophy centres on a preventative culture – rather than reacting when people need support, we do our part to stop people ending up in that situation in the first place. This means encouraging people to be open about how they are coping with work, but also that work itself is not a cause of stress.

Thoughtful Working is at the centre of the Hotwire Employee Value Proposition. This philosophy centres on trust in the individual to work smartly and deliver outputs, as long as they are thoughtful to their colleagues and their clients (internal or external) – in the location and at the times which work best for them – and this has not changed just because we are all at home.

A culture of self-care and wellness

Over the past year, we have been committed to developing a more disciplined, self-care culture to support our staff in addressing any workplace stress or pressure. We realised that people are tired and planning lots of activities and zoom calls made them even more tired.

Instead we have focused on giving people time out and distractions and any activities we have planned are relaxing and not intrusive. As part of our new self-care initiative at Hotwire, we are looking at intellectual wellbeing, providing support across the six areas of wellness: emotional, physical, social, intellectual, spiritual and occupational, in particular.

As adults, we can stop learning, especially when we are busy with work, but learning is so important to help keep minds engaged. With this in mind, we lined up a variety of inspirational speakers to do 30-minute chats in our weekly team meetings to continue to educate employees.

We also gave all staff in the UK office two half days and further half days planned to coincide with lockdown easing to spend time with family, meet friends and enjoy the outdoors. A virtual walk in aid of charity is also planned and we introduced a monthly cinema afternoon experience to provide a welcome distraction from the day-to-day hustle, enabling them to relax and watch a film together, albeit virtually!

Undoubtedly, employers need to be more sensitive to what is going on in employee’s lives other than work right now. Those businesses which have a robust wellbeing culture which trust and support individuals within the team will be best placed to have a happy and stress-free workforce.

How employers can promote stress awareness and support their employees:

1) Design the work around the wellness of your staff
Create a culture where the human element of what we do comes first – don’t have endless ‘people initiatives’ that mean well, but can cause additional pressure when your teams are already tired. Thoughtful working is a way of working we have built around our people.

2) Be there for your staff, when it matters most
It is important to have eyes and ears everywhere to be able to support staff across the business. You may want to train other members of staff across roles on mental health first aid. This will help those struggling with stress and mental health to, firstly, be able to identify someone who can help them and secondly, be able to spot someone struggling with mental health before it starts affecting their work.

We have professionally trained several mental health first aiders as specialists to help anyone who may be struggling and have adopted a policy to look out for each other and provide those in need with the resources to get better. We also do regular surveys to assess how people are feeling as well as regular peer group sessions with P&C and the MD.

3) Help staff prioritise workloads
Something we’ve started doing at Hotwire recently is encouraging a ‘what NOT to do list’ as a helpful way to work out priorities, actions and what is causing stress, so that employees can take control of their workload and tackle it head on! We had direct employee feedback that when you have lost control you need to take control of the things you can influence. In some cases, managers need to enforce a ‘circuit breaker’ to ensure their teams know when to stop.

4) Provide supporting materials
It is likely that many members of staff would have gone through a tough time over the past year during the pandemic. At Hotwire we developed a Mental Health Toolkit, available 24/7 for staff to access. This includes a number of resources that all employees can access including helplines, useful tips, articles, podcasts and a free download of the Headspace app. This way, staff can access these materials as and when they choose to support them with stress and wellbeing.

5) Take a proper break
Make sure you encourage all your staff to take their much-needed annual leave allowances to help make sure staff can relax and switch off. Something else we offer at Hotwire which people find incredibly valuable is our sabbaticals. Every four years, you can take six weeks at full pay or 12 weeks at half pay, to take a break and come back re-energised.

6) Encourage healthy and productive days
While many staff continue to work at home due to the pandemic, an employer becomes not only a workplace but also a support network too. Whilst remaining sedentary for a working day, it can be difficult to find the motivation to exercise and maintain a healthy work / life balance.

Why not encourage staff to take regular screen breaks, take a walk at lunchtime and log off on time in order to have their daily exercise? As a company, we provide meditation classes, which take place weekly via Zoom! We also encourage our employees to download the Headspace app to provide them with access to meditation techniques, which they can implement to help manage stress levels.

For more on managing stress in the workplace, catch up on our accessmatters session with KDP Coaching & Consulting’s Katie Phillips on preventing burnout and these tips for getting (and staying) motivated in 2021.

Weekly Economy Summary

COVID-19: Weekly Economy Summary – 15 April

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The Economy Summary is part of our Weekly COVID-19 Bulletin, sent every Thursday. You can sign up to receive your copy here.

GDP 

UK gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have grown by 0.4% in February 2021, as Government restrictions affecting economic activity remained broadly unchanged. February’s GDP is 7.8% below the levels seen in February 2020, compared with 3.1% below the initial recovery peak in October 2020. Latest estimates show that January’s GDP fell by 2.2%, an upward revision from negative 2.9%.  

The latest National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) tracker suggests that GDP is likely to have fallen by around 1.5% in the first quarter of this year. Assuming that the vaccination and re-opening programmes continue to run to schedule, NIESR estimate growth to be 4.6% in Q2, driven by pent-up demand and a return towards pre-Covid levels in the hospitality and retail sectors. 

Their month-on-month forecast for March, when many children returned to school, is for growth of 1.8%. April is then forecast to see growth of 2.2%, driven by the partial re-opening of pubs and restaurants. 

Rory Macqueen, Principal Economist – Macroeconomic Modelling and Forecasting at NIESR, said: ‘Despite little change in restrictions, a return to growth in February and upward revisions to January GDP mean that the contraction in the first quarter will be much smaller than anticipated. Clearly much of the economy has adapted to cope with Covid-19 restrictions. If the vaccine programme and lifting of restrictions continue on schedule, this provides a firm basis for continuing growth in the second quarter and 2021 overall. The third wave in Europe and the success of other countries in vaccinating their populations will also have relevance for the recovery of the UK, as an open economy.’

Economic impact 

A new report from the Resolution Foundation think tank finds that young people have experienced a ‘sharp rise’ in unemployment during the pandemic, with the increase fastest among recent education leavers and young Black people.

The report attributes the rise to disproportionate employment in sectors such as hospitality and leisure which have been worst hit by the pandemic, adding that the unemployment rate for 18-24 year-olds rose 18% between April-June and July-September of last year. Those who recently left education face a 40% increase in unemployment, as the think tank warns of a double hit on 18-24 year-olds of both losing their jobs and being unable to find work in the first place. The Resolution Foundation calls on the Government to do more to protect young people from the impact of long-term unemployment by expanding and extending its Kickstart youth jobs scheme. 

Recovery 

On the day that non-essential shops and other businesses in England reopened for the first time since January, studies suggested that the bounceback in the economy could be broader and faster than previously expected. According to analysis by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), consumer confidence has risen to its highest level since August 2018.

The CEBR has predicted that savers will unlock more than a quarter of £192bn in lockdown rainy-day funds this year, adding £50bn to consumer spending. About £314m is expected to be spent in the newly reopened hospitality sector in this week alone, it said, while figures from the Post Office showed that Britons withdrew £590m in cash in March, the highest monthly figure since September. 

Deloitte’s survey of bosses at some of the UK’s biggest public companies found that the potential spending boom was helping to fuel record levels of optimism among chief financial officers in charge of companies’ purse strings. Respondents said they now expected a ‘strong recovery in profits over the next 12 months, with profit expectations back to the previous high seen in mid-2014 at the top of the economic cycle’. 

Among smaller firms, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said it had found the greatest level of optimism among its members since 2014. Just over half (58%) of the 1,700 companies questioned expect their performance to improve this quarter, while 31% expect it to worsen. The FSB’s small business index has risen to +27.3 for the first quarter of 2021, a marked improvement on the -49.3 score at the end of last year. 

Former Bank of England Governor warns of post-pandemic inflation 

Mervyn King, who served as Governor of the Bank of England between 2003 and 2013, has warned of rising inflation as Covid-19 restrictions are eased. Speaking at the Royal Economic Society’s annual conference, Lord King said that central banks and finance ministries across the world are becoming overly dependent on stimulus as a means to support economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

This analysis contrasts with views expressed by most members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, but it chimes with projections made by the Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane, who has previously warned of cost of living pressures as lockdown measures are relaxed. 

King said he believed Governments should focus on providing targeted assistance for workers and businesses that have suffered most during the crisis using the tax and benefits system rather than stoking overall demand by pumping billions into fresh stimulus programmes. He suggested that heavily indebted firms should be allowed to collapse in order to boost growth and optimise Britain’s post-pandemic recovery, stating that there is ‘no argument for a dramatic set of expansionary policies’.

Weekly Health Summary

Covid-19: Weekly Health Summary – 15 April

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The Health Summary is part of our Weekly COVID-19 Bulletin, sent every Thursday. You can sign up to receive your copy here.

Vaccine programme target hit   

Vaccination efforts have continued this week as the Government hit its target to offer everybody in phase 1 of the vaccination programme a jab. More than 32 million people have been given their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine with jabs offered to everyone aged 50 and over, health and care workers and the clinically vulnerable. This group accounts for 99% of all COVID-19 deaths during the pandemic, so it is hoped that the most vulnerable are now protected.

Celebrating the ‘remarkable achievement’ Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘I’m delighted that across the UK, we’ve met our target to offer a vaccine to everyone in the top nine priority groups, ahead of the deadline of 15 of April.’ 

Data from Public Health England’s real-world study shows that both the Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines are highly effective in reducing COVID-19 among older people aged 70 years and over. It estimates that over 10,400 deaths have been averted as a result of the COVID-19 vaccination programme up to the end of March 2021. 

Phase 2 of the vaccine rollout  

Phase 2 of the Government’s vaccine rollout commenced this week, with people aged 45 to 49 invited to book their appointments. This comes as the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI) advised that the continued vaccination rollout is based on age. It has also said that unvaccinated individuals who are at increased risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 on account of their occupation, male sex, obesity or ethnic background are likely to be vaccinated most rapidly by an operationally simple vaccine strategy. The NHS Confederation has called this approach ‘reassuring’ and called for more operational guidance for primary care teams.  

It has also been confirmed that the Moderna vaccine, approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in January, will also be deployed in England across more than 20 vaccination sites. NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: ‘The Moderna rollout marks another milestone in the vaccination programme. We now have a third jab in our armoury and NHS staff will be using it at more than 20 sites from this week, with more coming online as supplies expand.’ 

Chris Hopson, the Chief Executive of NHS Providers, has welcomed the successes of the vaccination programme but called for caution in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. He highlighted that the under 50s and the most vulnerable not yet vaccinated must receive their jabs. As society opens up this week, with non-essential shops, gyms, and beer gardens opened on Monday, he said: ‘We need to balance celebration with caution. The underlying reality of this horrible virus remains the same – as we increase social contact, the rates of transmission will go up as well.’ 

NHS England waiting lists  

Statistics from NHS England, published this morning, highlight the ongoing backlog in NHS services, particularly for routine hospital care with a waiting list now at 4.7 million people. The number of people waiting for a key diagnostic test at the end of February was 1,151,200.  

The Health Foundation responded to the statistics: ‘The Government and NHS leaders now need to be clear and realistic with the public about how they intend to get the NHS back to full strength. This includes dealing with the backlog of care, achieving the ambitions to modernise the NHS as set out in the long-term plan and anticipating the effects of long COVID and an expected rise in poor mental health. There will need to be significant investment at the next Spending Review if we are to see improvement on waiting lists and plugging staff shortages, which are holding back progress.’ 

NHS England has published a statement on the statistics where it highlighted that: ‘NHS staff completed almost two million operations and other elective care in January and February while also providing hospital treatment for almost 140,000 Covid patients.’ 

Ideation tips for successful digital PR campaigns

Ideation tips for successful digital PR campaigns

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This is a guest post from Chloe Rowlands, Digital PR Strategist at I-COM.

When it comes to thinking creatively and ideating for a digital PR campaign, it can be difficult to know where to begin.

Many people have their own preferred methods for coming up with ideas, whether that’s with a traditional brainstorming session or some industry research, however, there are certain steps you need to include in your ideation process to ensure your campaign has a higher chance of success.

You need to consider the following things when ideating:

• What topics are relevant to your industry, audience and services/products?
• Do you have any interesting company news or product sales data that you can utilise to create a story?
• Look for inspiration either by following digital PR accounts, or looking at competitors and seeing what campaigns are doing well
• Where is your audience likely to read? This allows you to target the right publications
• Once you know which publications you want to target, spend time consuming the news via these sites so you can see what kind of stories they share, and what style they write in – this helps when it comes to pitching your idea
• What emotional response do you want to achieve with your campaign?

Evergreen and newsworthy Topics
Before any ideation session, it’s worth writing down a mix of both evergreen and topical themes that are relevant to your industry. For example, evergreen topics are ideas that never date and are regularly covered such as:

• The Kardashians
• The Weather
• Christmas

Topical themes are things that are being covered in the news now. Both evergreen and topical content have something in common – they have wide audiences that are interested in them, and journalists are more likely to cover the idea if it sits under one of those brackets.

A great tip would be to tie both a topical and newsworthy topic together, as this provides you with a stronger chance of coverage and offers a more unique story for journalists.

What emotional response do you want to achieve?
Before ideating for a campaign, it’s important to consider what the objectives are and also, what way do you want the piece to be received by your target audience?

For example, are you wanting to position your brand as an expert on a current, newsworthy issue? Do you want to create social media buzz or are you wanting to draw attention to something important on a serious subject but in an engaging way?

Research has shown that campaigns that evoke certain emotional responses, tend to have a higher success rate in terms of coverage and links. The top three emotions revealed were nostalgia, happiness and disgust – clearly indicating what resonates the most with audiences. Take this into consideration before starting a campaign, which emotional response best fits your brand and will help you to achieve your objectives?

Utilise resources
One of the best ways to come up with strong campaign ideas is to follow accounts within your industry or follow the work of competitors to see what people are talking about.

There are also many different tools and resources that help make brainstorming for ideas a lot easier, from easily searching trending topics to seeing exactly when certain subjects peak in the press!

Want more on ideation and content creation? Check out these tips on creating content in-house. 

Weekly Health Summary

Covid-19: Weekly Health Summary – 8 April

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The Health Summary is part of our Weekly COVID-19 Bulletin, sent every Thursday. You can sign up to receive your copy here.

Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine
This week the Government announced that people under the age of 30 with no underlying health conditions will be offered an alternative vaccine to the Oxford/AstraZeneca drug where possible. This followed a statement by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation which confirmed reports of an extremely rare blood clots following vaccination with the first dose of AstraZeneca.

Given the very low numbers of events reported overall, there is currently a high level of uncertainty in estimates of the incidence of this extremely rare adverse event by age group. However, the available data does suggest there may be a trend for increasing incidence of it with decreasing age, with a slightly higher incidence reported in the younger adult age groups. The decision is a precaution, and the Government has encouraged the public to continue to take up their offer of the vaccine.  

Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of GPs responded to the news: ‘Today’s announcement from the MHRA, and also the EMA, should be taken as reassurance for patients that overall, the benefits of taking the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 outweigh the risks… It’s vital that patients understand that the risk of developing blood clots after receiving the AZ vaccine is incredibly low for all patient groups.’ 

Roadmap out of lockdown 
The Prime Minister announced on Monday that the country would go ahead with the next stage of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown. From Monday 12 April, non-essential shops will reopen along with personal care services and indoor gyms. Outdoor hospitality will also open up, including pub beer gardens.  

With this the Government confirmed that everyone in England, including those without symptoms, will be able to take a free rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) test twice a week. Alongside vaccine rollout, it is hoped that regular testing will help the reopening of society, helping to suppress and control the spread of variants. Updates to the NHS Covid-19 app will also be made to coincide with the new test offering.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘Around one in three people who have COVID-19 show no symptoms, and as we reopen society and resume parts of life we have all dearly missed, regular rapid testing is going to be fundamental in helping us quickly spot positive cases and squash any outbreaks.’ 

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of the NHS Confederation said that lockdown easing must be done cautiously ‘to ensure the NHS has capacity to tackle the huge backlog of treatment, deal with the growing demand for mental health services, and also allow its exhausted and overstretched staff the respite they so desperately need.’ He also welcomed the new commitment on testing but said that there must be resources in place for people to self-isolate if they receive a positive test.  

Covid-19 transmission 
An update to the REACT-1 study, one of the country’s largest studies into COVID-19 infections in England, has been published today. Findings show infections fell by approximately 60% from the last REACT study in February, with only one in 500 people infected. However, the prevalence of infections has now plateaued, showing it is critical everyone continues to follow the guidance and rules to help control the epidemic. 

The study also found that the correlation between prevalence of infections and deaths has diverged, suggesting that infections may have led to fewer deaths since the start of widespread vaccination through the Government’s vaccination programme. 

NHS Providers said: ‘We need to be alert to a possible rise in COVID-19 infections with lockdown restrictions being eased next week and the ongoing risk from variant strains which now pose the greatest threat to our efforts to control this pandemic. It is absolutely crucial that everyone continues to follow the guidance to prevent a rise in infections and further deaths.’ 

 

Weekly Economy Summary

COVID-19: Weekly Economy Summary – 8 April

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The Economy Summary is part of our Weekly COVID-19 Bulletin, sent every Thursday. You can sign up to receive your copy here.

Reopening economy
At a Downing Street briefing early this week, the Prime Minister said he plans to stick ‘like glue’ to his plans for easing current measures. He confirmed that step two – where shops, hairdressers and beer gardens can reopen – will go ahead on 12 April as planned. 

Analysis from Springboard indicated there was ‘pent up demand’ from consumers for bricks-and-mortar shops, with the firm predicting a 48% increase in sales after the next stage of lockdown easing on 12 April. On a similar note, data from Barclaycard showed that spending on leisure and entertainment increased by 136% last week. 

Business insights and impact on the UK economy
The percentage of businesses currently trading has increased gradually from 71% in early January 2021 to 75% in late March 2021. This is a similar level to that seen in July 2020, but lower than the 84% seen in mid-December 2020.  

The percentage of currently trading businesses experiencing a decrease in turnover, compared with normal expectations for this time of year, has fallen from 46% in January 2021 to 40% in mid-March 2021. 

Prior to August 2020, when the first lockdown restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic were in place, the percentage of currently trading businesses experiencing a decrease in turnover, compared with normal expectations for this time of year, was consistently above 50%, reaching 65% in early June 2020 (when comparable estimates began). When compared with the 40% of businesses experiencing a decrease in turnover in the most recent estimates, this suggests current lockdown restrictions do not seem to be having the same scale of impact, perhaps because of businesses adapting. 

The proportion of businesses’ workforce on furlough leave increased from 11% in early December 2020 to 19% in mid-March 2021. This level was last seen in late July 2020, when coronavirus restrictions were easing after the first national lockdown in the UK. The 19% of businesses’ workforce on furlough leave in mid-March 2021 equates to approximately six million people. 

Signs of a recovery in the jobs market have emerged with recruiters reporting that permanent hiring activity reached a six-year high in March. The latest labour survey by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation recorded that month-on-month growth in permanent placements was the highest since April 2015. Demand for temporary staff rose at the fastest rate since November 2017.

Business support
A new Government-backed loan scheme launched this week to support firms through the gradual reopening of the economy from Covid-19 lockdown measures. The Recovery Loan Scheme follows on from the previous support offered by lenders via the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme (CLBILS). Under the new scheme, businesses can apply for loans between £25,000 and £10 million which are 80% guaranteed by the Government. 

Recovery
Stronger recoveries from the Covid-19 pandemic in the US, the UK and other rich western countries will result in faster than expected growth for the global economy this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted. The IMF suggested that the UK will be the fastest growing advanced economy in 2022 as a result of the successful vaccination scheme and Treasury spending, with it likely to return to its pre-pandemic level of activity in late 2022. 

According to accountancy and business advisory firm BDO, the UK economy may see a significant boost to its recovery as close to 86% of UK mid-tier businesses told BDO they are looking to recruit more staff over the next six months, with over half (54%) planning permanent appointments. More than a third (36%) of business leaders said they would now hire apprentices as a direct result of the Government’s £3,000 apprenticeship grant announced in the Budget. This came as part of a larger 70% of businesses planning to recruit in this area regardless of the incentive.

Investment plans also received a boost in the March budget. Nearly half of businesses (47%) are planning new investments following the ‘super deduction’ initiative, which allows companies to cut their tax bill by up to 25p for every £1 they invest. According to the data from accountants at BDO, three-quarters of the UK’s medium-sized businesses state that 2021 is the time to invest, and 26% of them are already planning to invest in new locations or M&A.

Bank in London

Barclays dominates the launch of the Vuelio Banking Comms Index

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Today, Vuelio launches the Banking Comms Index as an industry benchmark. Using Vuelio Media Monitoring and Analysis, the Banking Comms Index is a free weekly resource that compares the Share of Voice of the UK’s top retail banks.

Share of Voice has long been used as a key metric in both PR and marketing, with evidence to show that increased Share of Voice, leading to ‘Excess Share of Voice’ – where a brand’s Share of Voice is significantly higher than its market share – can lead to growth.

The Banking Comms Index measures the earned online media coverage of 21 top retail banking brands and selected challenger banks in Britain. The coverage all appears in Tier 1 publications, with a reading list including national news and financial trades.

Barclays has dominated over the last three weeks in top spot, while challengers, including Starling Bank, Monzo and Revolut manage to take a bigger share of voice than more established brands like First Direct and Bank of Scotland.

Updated weekly, the Index will provide an archived comparison, as well as insight into the biggest movers and shakers. The monitoring in Vuelio also allows for further exploration to see how these retail banks compare on key issues in the media, whether that is ESG, financial policy changes or a breaking scandal.

Oliver Grant, senior consultant and financial services specialist at Vuelio, said: ‘We are thrilled to launch the Banking Comms Index that will, week on week, give a snapshot of how these major retail banks are performing in the press. Share of Voice allows brands to benchmark their earned media coverage against the competition in a meaningful way.

‘We will also use our proprietary data to regularly analyse the retail banking sector and see how each organisation tackles the big issues, from the pandemic and Brexit to advances in governance.’

AIinPR survey

AIinPR launches global AI Literacy in Public Relations Profession survey

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CIPR’s Artificial Intelligence in Public Relations Panel (AIinPR) has launched its AI Literacy in Public Relations Survey in association with Page to assess understanding of the topic among PR professionals worldwide.

Results from the five-minute survey will inform plans for AIinPR work on improving knowledge levels and performance in the use of big data and AI across the industry.

All practitioners who work in PR across the world are encouraged to take part and can opt in for an additional short phone interview to further help with AIinPR research.

‘Data and AI literacy is an essential skill to develop for public relations practitioners who want to remain relevant,’ said AIinPR chair Kerry Sheehan.

‘The coming months and next year will be crucial for us with AI in our own roles and in our advisory roles. The AIinPR Panel knows there is an urgent requirement for AI-aware and public relations practitioners upskilled into real data and AI. Public relations practitioners should be at the forefront of AI innovation in our own roles and, importantly, holding organisations, businesses and brands to account on ensuring only ethical AI4Good is built and deployed, and trust is maintained in our roles as reputation guardians and solutions-led leaders. We have a vital role to play here.’

Page VP for communications and content Eliot Mizrachi added: ‘As PR adopts cutting-edge AI and machine learning, there will be profound opportunities to more deeply understand stakeholders and deliver more personalised content and experiences. At the same time, we must be cognisant of its implications, from algorithmic bias to the need to evolve how professionals work with these new technologies.

‘Now is the time to assess what we know, what we don’t, and develop smart approaches.’

AIinPR lead academic Professor Anne Gregory also highlighted the importance of understanding AI across public relations: ‘We have seen a growing number of governments, NGOs and businesses across the globe adopting data and AI technologies in their business processes, activities and interactions. It is now embedded into almost every commercial and social transaction.

‘Understanding AI is vital for the PR profession both in our own work practices and as advisers to senior leaders. With the power for good and harm that big data and AI offers, someone has to the perform the ethical guardian role. That is down to us.’

The AI Literacy survey can be completed here.

Find out more about the aims of CIPR’s AIinPR panel in our write up of its launch and research.

Weekly Economy Summary

COVID-19: Weekly Economy Summary – 1 April

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The Economy Summary is part of our Weekly COVID-19 Bulletin, sent every Thursday. You can sign up to receive your copy here.

Economic outlook
UK gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by 1.3% in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2020, revised from the first estimate of 1.0%. The level of GDP in the UK is now 7.3% below its Quarter 4 2019 level, revised from the previous estimate of 7.8%.

There have also been some revisions to earlier quarters in 2020. GDP in Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2020 is now estimated to have fallen by 19.5%, while it is estimated to have increased by 16.9% in the third quarter. However, the annual picture is largely the same. Over the year as a whole, GDP contracted by 9.8% in 2020, slightly revised from the first estimate of a 9.9% decline.

This is the largest annual fall in UK GDP on record, while historical figures from the Bank of England point to this being the largest annual contraction since ‘The Great Frost’ of 1709.  

Separately, the UK economy was the worst performer among the G7 group of wealthy nations last year, in part reflecting that the public health restrictions imposed have been in place for longer, as well as having higher levels of stringency. 

The latest monthly GDP estimates for January 2021 show that there was a 2.9% contraction in the UK economy, as the third national lockdown weighed further on GDP. The latest Business Insights and Conditions Survey showed that 42% of trading businesses had experienced a fall in turnover in early March 2021, compared with normal expectations for this time of year. This is an improvement from earlier in the year, implying that there might be a slight rebound in output in March.

The Flash UK Purchasing Manager’s Index for March paints a similar picture, finding higher levels of business activity in March underpinned by the prospect of the lifting of restrictions. This included ‘forward bookings from domestic consumers, while some manufacturers cited advanced orders from hospitality businesses and high-street retailers’. 

Recent figures from the Bank of England (BoE) showed that in March, businesses estimated that their sales in 2021 Q1 would be 20% lower than they otherwise would have been because of Covid-19, with employment 9% lower and investment 21% lower.

Overall, uncertainty continued to fall in March. The percentage of businesses that viewed overall economic uncertainty as high or very high fell from 67% in January and 58% in February to 57% in March, the lowest level since February 2020.

The number of payrolled workers declined by 693,000 between February 2020 and February 2021, while there are 4.7m employees furloughed as of the end of February 2021 that are mostly concentrated in the accommodation and food service activities, and wholesale and retail trade industries.  

According to a new report from the Learning and Work Institute and The Prince’s Trust, supported by HSBC UK, youth unemployment will remain high after other areas of the economy begin to recover. The economic cost of youth unemployment, in terms of lost national output, is forecast to rise to £6.9bn in 2022. The fiscal cost of youth unemployment, in the form of lower tax revenue and higher benefit spending, is forecast to be £2.9 bn in 2022.

The long-running scarring cost to young people entering the labour market in 2021, in terms of lost earnings and damage to employment prospects, is forecast to be £14.4bn over the next seven years. 

Plan for Growth and second meeting of the Build Back Better Business Council
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosted  the second meeting of the Build Back Better Business Council, which was established in January as a high-level forum for engagement between businesses and the Government. There, they set out how to make 2021 the ‘year of economic recovery’.

Ahead of the meeting, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng wrote an open letter to businesses on the Government’s Plan for Growth. 

The Plan for Growth looks ahead, building on the best of the Industrial Strategy set out in 2017 and refreshing the Government’s long-term strategy for growth in light of a new economic landscape, including the pandemic, the net zero target and the UK’s new place on the world stage as an independent nation outside the EU.

The Plan for Growth sets the path to invest in infrastructure, skills and innovation to ‘build back better’, while harnessing the strengths, resilience and creative spirit seen from businesses over the past year. This Government will focus on achieving three priority objectives: tackling geographic disparities, enabling the transition to net zero and supporting their vision for Global Britain. 

Tuesday’s Council meeting particularly looked at the innovation pillar of the Plan for Growth and discussed the Government’s upcoming Innovation Strategy, due to be published this Summer. 

Minimum wage rises
Around two million of the UK’s lowest-paid workers will get a pay rise from Thursday as the minimum wage goes up. The National Living Wage will rise 2.2% to £8.91, the equivalent of over £345 a year for a full-time employee. And for the first time since it came into effect in 2016, more younger people will be eligible for the National Living Wage, as the age threshold will be lowered from 25 to 23 years old. The rise means someone working full time on the National Living Wage from April 2021 will be taking home £5,400 more annually than they were in 2010.

The new rates – announced at the Chancellor’s Spending Review 2020 – were recommended by the independent body the Low Pay Commission, following extensive consultation. 

 

Weekly Health Summary

Covid-19: Weekly Health Summary – 1 April

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The Health Summary is part of our Weekly COVID-19 Bulletin, sent every Thursday. You can sign up to receive your copy here.

Roadmap 
This week saw the next phase of the Government’s Roadmap out of lockdown restrictions. As of Monday, the public is allowed to meet six people outdoors and do outdoor exercise. Speaking at the Downing Street Press Conference, the Prime Minister said that despite infections falling to the lowest number in six months, ‘we must proceed with caution’.  

Vaccination hesitancy and uptake  
While positive vaccine sentiment has increased to 94% in the latest period (17 to 21 March 2021), from 78% when the data were first collected (10 to 13 December 2020), there are higher levels of hesitancy among some groups, including young people (12%), Black or Black British (22%) and those living in the most deprived areas (12%).  

Research from the Office for National Statistics published this week on the Covid-19 vaccine highlights the uptake across the population. It showed the percentage of people vaccinated was lower among all ethnic minority groups compared with the White British population; the lowest vaccination rates were observed among people identifying as Black African and Black Caribbean (58.8% and 68.7% respectively). Those living in deprived areas were also less likely to have taken up their offer of a vaccine. While people who have a disability also had lower rates of vaccination at 86.6%, compared with those who were non-disabled at 91.0%.  

The NHS Confederation has argued that the results show there is ‘more work to do’. It has said that we need to ensure that the vaccine is equitable, and we need to overcome vaccine hesitancy, ‘as marginalisation clearly plays a major part in pushing uptake down.’ 

Poor mental health among emergency responders
Data from a survey of more than 250 staff and volunteers across police, fire and ambulance services in Wales has laid bare the scale of poor mental health within the emergency responder communities. The online survey found that mental health has worsened across 999 services, with ambulance staff worst affected.

Only one in three (33%) ambulance staff reported their current mental health as very good or good compared to two in five police (44%) and almost one in two (49%) survey respondents working within the fire service. Ambulance staff were the most likely (72 %) to say their mental health has worsened since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, compared to police (56%) or fire (61%). 

The highest proportion of respondents saying they had poor mental health were within the ambulance service, at almost one in three (30%). This compares to just under one in four (22%) respondents from the police service and just under one in ten (11%) within the fire service who rated their mental health as poor currently. 

Mental health support
Over the weekend, the Government announced a £500m Mental Health Recovery Action Plan to respond to the impact of the pandemic. The plan will support the expansion and improvement of mental health services, including NHS talking therapies and community services. The funding forms part of the Government’s plans to level up mental health and wellbeing across the country.

Announcing the plan, the Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘As part of our response to this global pandemic we not only want to tackle the public health threat of coronavirus but ensure our clinicians have the resources to deal with the impact on people’s mental health.’  

Responding to the Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind said: ‘As we continue to deal with the effects of the pandemic and the economic recession, the true scale of the nation’s mental health is only beginning to emerge. It could be many months or even years before we fully recognise the pandemic’s toll on our collective wellbeing. That’s why we welcome the UK Government’s recovery plan, which will need to see departments working more closely than ever to deliver on its promises given the multiple social challenges we face.’ 

Office for Health Promotion
The Government has announced more information on its reform to public health, following its decision to dissolve Public Health England last year. The new Office for Health Promotion, which will lead the country’s efforts to improve and level up the health of the nation, it set to be established in the Autumn.  

The Office’s remit will be to systematically tackle the top preventable risk factors causing death and ill health in the UK, by designing, implementing and tracking delivery policy across Government. It will focus on areas including, obesity and nutrition, mental health across all ages, physical activity, sexual health, alcohol and tobacco.

Announcing the plans, the Prime Minister said: ‘Covid-19 has demonstrated the importance of physical health in our ability to tackle such illnesses, and we must continue to help people to lead healthy lives so that we can all better prevent and fight illnesses.’   

The Health Foundation has welcomed the cross- departmental approach to address the wide determinants of health. However, it raised concern about funding the new Office and highlighted that this year’s public health grant allocations represented a 24% cut in real terms per capita – equivalent to £1bn – compared to 2015/16.

It said: ‘The pandemic makes it all more urgent that we prioritise keeping people healthy. The Government faces a crucial window of opportunity in which to create a public health system equipped to take on the major health issues facing the country including rising obesity, a mental health crisis and a growing gap between the health of the richest and poorest’.  

The King’s Fund welcomed clarity on public health reform, but argued: ‘today’s announcement does not add up to a compelling vision for creating a healthier society and needs to be swiftly followed by a clear plan for improving the health of the nation.’

6 May Elections: what to expect

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Several elections are set to take place across Britain on 6 May. Voting will take place for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Parliament, London and Metro Mayors, London Assembly, Local Authorities and Police Commissioners.

With Covid lockdown restrictions still in place, the campaigns for each of these elections are far from ordinary and some of the issues that will impact who voters choose to cast their ballots for will also be far from ordinary.

Vuelio has teamed up with the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) to provide a weekly bulletin with the latest news and updates, ones to watch and campaign information from the elections taking place across the country.

You can sign up to receive the weekly bulletin, starting on Wednesday 7 April, here.

Local Elections
In England, the 2021 local elections slated include over 150 local authority elections in hundreds of wards and divisions for both the delayed elections of 2020 and the scheduled elections of 2021, as well as:

  • Directly elected Mayors and Metro Mayor from 2020 and 2021
  • Parish Councils
  • By-elections
  • Neighbourhood Plan referenda
  • 40 Police and crime commissioner posts

Every single eligible citizen in England is due to be an elector in 2021. All areas are holding Police and Crime commissioner elections, except for Greater Manchester and London where these powers rest with the directly elected mayor. In many areas, electors will be voting on four or more different ballots.

This isn’t just about the sheer volume of decision making. It’s about choosing the people who will be deciding on vital services, dealing with social care in crisis, and making the tough choices as councils are struggling through an unprecedented financial crisis after a decade of unprecedented financial cuts. Local government is fundamentally about where people live and voters will be choosing the people who will help lead us to sustainable economic recovery as we emerge from the Covid crisis.

Scottish Parliament
In Scotland, 129 MSPs will be elected with the SNP hoping to regain the majority they lost in 2016. However, things have not been smooth sailing for the SNP with questions relating to the integrity of senior members of the party in the handling of the Alex Salmond scandal, all the way up to first Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon. Former leader of the SNP Alex Salmond has launched his new Alba Party and it will be interesting to see how much it can deliver on his ambition for a clear majority supporting Scottish independence.

Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross is putting efforts into creating a unionist alliance going into the election to combat the SNP and Alba, and Ross also seems willing to serve as both an MP and an MSP (providing he is elected). Anas Sarwar will have been the leader of the Scottish Labour Party for less than three months by the time the election comes around and has so far been unwilling to enter into any agreement with the Scottish Conservatives.

Ross, Sarwar and the Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Willie Rennie all seem to be making a similar argument that now is the time for recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and the discussion of independence is a distraction.

Welsh Parliament
In Wales, 60 MSs will be elected and the initial campaign focus has been on judging how well the Welsh Government has handled the pandemic. First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour Mark Drakeford has presented his plans as ‘honest and realistic’, as he has said Wales is not likely to return to normality in 2021.

The Welsh Conservatives are taking a different view and are campaigning to end social distancing restrictions earlier than suggested by Drakeford. The Welsh Conservatives will be hoping for similar success as in the 2019 General Election, where the Conservatives gained six seats in Wales at the expense of Labour.

The decision to build or not to build the M4 relief road will also play a part as a key campaigning issue, with the Welsh Conservatives pledging to build the road if they win in the election. Drakeford has previously said the plans cannot go ahead because of the cost and the impact on the environment.

London Mayor
In London, Sadiq Khan faces no shortage of opponents, the following candidates will be attempting to take his spot: Shaun Bailey (Conservative), Siân Berry (Green), Luisa Porritt (Liberal Democrats), Kam Balayev (Renew Party), Valerie Brown (Burning Pink), Peter Gammons (UKIP), David Kurten (Heritage Party), Mandu Reid (Women’s Equality Party) and Laurence Fox (Reclaim Party). Independent candidates include Brian Rose, Nims Obunge, Charlie Mullins, Winston McKenzie, Farah London, Max Fosh, Drillminister, Piers Corbyn and Count Binface.

Baily, Berry and Porritt are likely to present Khan with his sternest opposition. Porritt is campaigning on a platform of taking London forward with ideas such as converting office space into affordable homes and improving air quality in London.

Berry has run to be London Mayor twice, in 2008 when she got 3.2% of the vote and 2016 when she got 5.8% of the vote and came third. The Green’s are focusing on fairness and tackling inequality and are presenting themselves as an independent voice in politics that can often be dominated by the Conservatives and Labour. The Green’s may also seek to capitalise on those who have drifted away from Labour since Corbyn stopped being leader.

Despite numerous criticisms to the approach so far, Bailey seems set on basing the campaign on how Sadiq Khan has failed as Mayor and how he can give London the fresh start it needs. Interestingly, it seems as though both Khan and Bailey are blaming each other for crime in London; Bailey blaming Khan as he is the Mayor and Khan blaming Bailey as he was a special adviser on crime during David Cameron’s time as Prime Minister.

Keep up with all the latest election news from Vuelio and the LGIU.

embracing technology in a crisis opening slide

Embracing technology in a crisis

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This morning our head of marketing, Jake O’Neill, took to the virtual stage at Government Event’s Public Sector Crisis Comms Conference to talk about the importance of technology in both the strategy and delivery of crisis communications.

Chairing the event was Rachel Roberts, CEO and founder of spottydog Communications and CIPR President-elect 2021. Roberts opened the conference by discussing the importance of human relations in public relations and said that communicators need to keep at the forefront of their minds that what they say can affect people and make an impact on real lives, referencing the deaths of Dr David Kelly, Caroline Flack and Sophie Gradon, who were all thrust into the public eye.

Rachel also reminded the audience that comms needs to be the influencer in the organisation and make sure crises are handled with efficiency and consistency. She said the past 12 months has seen communications mark out their place in the boardroom and ‘we now need to cement this place’.

Echoing Rachel’s thoughts on keeping comms at the top table was Francis Ingham, director general of the PRCA. With the pandemic leaving plenty of legacies, some positive but many negative, Francis stated that a clear positive for the comms industry is that ‘we’ve recognised a simple truth, when so many things have closed down or been taken away, we’ve had to rely on our ability to communicate.’

He said that reputation has been key to withstanding the ongoing crisis, as an organisation’s most valuable asset is its reputation.

Francis highlighted the key takeaways for public sector comms from the pandemic:

  • Communications has found its seat at the top table and now needs to keep it.
  • The workplace has changed and this has had positive consequences for our industry, e.g. flexible working.
  • Collaborative working has been forced upon us and we’re better for it.
  • Internal comms has truly found its proper place and is important to every organisation.
  • We’ve become more inclusive in our comms and we need to remain so.
  • Our experience from the last year has taught us a lot around m/disinformation and while there’s still work to be done this will help us into the future.
  • The shift to digital media is accelerating.

With talk turning to the importance of upgrading digital skills in the industry, Jake’s session was very timely.

Using the unique insights from the recent PRCA Crisis Comms Conference panel Vuelio moderated, combined with in-house knowledge of PR and comms technology, Jake shared the reasons why tech is fundamental to comms. He explained that ‘technology underpins every aspect of how we engage with society and the core skills of a PR person rely on them being tech literate.’

As technology is fundamental to comms it’s also fundamental to crisis comms.

We’re now in an age of social media and, as such, a lot of things can look like a crisis when they are not. Giving the example of Jackie Weaver, Jake explained how this was not a crisis, rather it was an event, as everyone involved was aware of the video and the council members had uploaded it themselves.

Crises can come from multiple sources, not just social media, so it’s important to make sure the technology is in place to monitor, respond and manage the different platforms a crisis may occur. Using technology in this way can help identify what is a crisis, what is being said and which communities and audiences are saying it.

When it comes to using technology to respond to a crisis, it’s important to get the channel right. It’s not always necessary to publish a statement when a direct message would be sufficient, but the time has passed where organisations can stay silent on an issue thanks to social media.

Jake concluded that one of the most important aspects of a crisis is to evaluate what has happened and how the comms function responded. Using technology to log and keep a record of messaging and communication with stakeholders is an excellent way to review each crisis as no two crises are the same. Data is key to understanding a crisis and with the right technology you should be able to feed these insights back into your crisis management plan.

Find out more about technology best practice in communications with Vuelio.

Jane Latham

Feeling human at work in PR and communications

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This is a guest post from Splendid Communications‘ head of wellbeing Jane Latham about her ‘Feel Human at Work’ programme which aims to help staff ‘navigate life’s ups and downs with kindness’.

A few weeks ago, I was excited to relaunch my career at Splendid in a newly created role, Head of Wellbeing, having served as finance director for the previous nine years. This marked the culmination of a long journey of personal development, during which I had adopted a more mindful approach to living, and in so doing, found myself being naturally drawn into offering therapeutic support to those around me, both at home and work.

Having embraced the Human Givens approach to emotional health for as long as I can remember, it made sense for me to formalise this development by qualifying as a Human Givens therapist. Combining this approach with the Insights Discovery personality profiling methodology, along with my in-depth knowledge and love of Splendid, I have formulated a unique wellbeing programme called ‘Feel Human at Work’, incorporating a range of interactive workshops for all staff, as well as leadership training and one-to-one coaching. All of this aims to promote an open and inclusive culture of mental health and wellbeing across the business.

So, what is the Human Givens approach? As humans we are all born with a set of fundamental emotional needs, which at Splendid we define as the needs for security, control, status, headspace, belonging, teamwork, development and purpose. They can be thought of as rungs on a ladder of emotional health, as with Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs. We also have a range of mental resources such as our instincts, memory and a lively imagination which can help us to get our needs met. These needs and resources are collectively the ‘Human Givens’. Emotional issues arise when, for various reasons, our needs are not being met in balance. Furthermore, the needs on the lower rungs must be met before we can fully focus on the higher rungs. Understanding and applying this simple yet powerful guiding framework helps to foster positive emotional health and wellbeing.

Meanwhile, the Insights Discovery methodology uses a simple four-colour model based on the psychology of Carl Jung to help us to understand our working style, strengths and the value we bring to the team. We are all a unique mix of Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green and Cool Blue energies, which determines how and why we behave the way we do. Not only does this model help us to understand ourselves, but it also helps us to connect better with our colleagues, supporting more respectful, productive, and positive working relationships.

The Feel Human at Work programme will be rolled out over the coming year, to include a range of interactive workshops for all staff as well as leadership training and one to one coaching. A key theme is communication; learning how to adjust our behaviour to respect the emotional needs of others, and to bring out the best in the different personality-types we are dealing with. The aim is to equip everyone with the emotional intelligence to improve and strengthen their relationships with others both inside and outside the workplace.

There is also a strong focus on dealing with work-related anxiety, with the provision of a range of tools to develop emotional resilience; including breathing, relaxation and movement, mindfulness and visualisation techniques, various modalities of which I am qualified to teach. I am hoping to reintroduce regular live classes once we are back in the office, along with some other on-site wellbeing support initiatives. It is through the development of resilience that it becomes possible for us to freely express the Splendid values of passion and creativity.

Another key value at Splendid is collaboration, and with the support of the Splendid wellbeing team, I am currently developing a calendar of exciting activities and initiatives: watch this space for further news, but as an example, in Mental Health Awareness week, amongst other things, everyone will be learning some basic techniques in mental health frontline support.

Given last week was the first anniversary of us all working from home, I was really pleased to see in a recent staff wellbeing survey that the score for the statement ‘I feel part of the overall work community and accepted for who I am’ had increased over the last year and was now the joint highest score, along with ‘I feel proud that I work at Splendid’. I see this as a testament both to Alec and the senior team’s abiding passion for Splendid, and the people-first culture championed across the business. There were of course some lower scores too, especially around the need for a good work-life balance, and we are actively working on how to address these issues.

In summary, I believe I am building on strong foundations as I roll out this progressive wellbeing programme at Splendid, and I am looking forward to helping the team thrive as we re-emerge into the uncertainty of a post-Covid world. These may be strange and potentially unsettling times, but to end on a more philosophical note: life will always be full of ups and downs, and what really matters is how we choose to respond to these. One of the key lessons I have learned over the years is that, invariably, kindness is the answer, and it is often kindness towards ourselves that is most needed.

At the end of the day, we are all human.

For more on workplace wellbeing, check out our accessmatters session on avoiding workplace burnout with KDP Coaching’s Katie Phillips.

Five ways to improve social mobility in PR

5 ways to improve social mobility in PR

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There’s no denying that the PR industry has an inclusivity problem. Our latest accessmatter session focused on sociality mobility, with Sarah Atkinson from The Social Mobility Foundation explaining her work and how we can all do more to better our own industry when it comes to class.

Whether you’re someone who has come from the London-born, university-educated, middle-class-and-up background that makes up the biggest portion of the PR workforce and leadership level, or you’re from, well, anywhere else, here is some of Sarah’s advice for making a long-term career in PR a possibility for everyone.

1) Learn the terms and start asking questions
Low-income, disadvantaged, underrepresented, working class – if this isn’t your background, you might not be sure of the right words to use when having conversations around social, economic and class difference. If you’re from this background, you might not feel comfortable using these words as descriptors for yourself in a work environment.

But finding the words are important: ‘Use the right phrasing. ‘Low income’ is good, but it doesn’t cover everything,’ says Sarah. ‘Ask questions – in your family and in your network, did people go to university? Can people help you into industries?

‘We are working with very disadvantaged young people as part of our programmes at The Social Mobility Foundation. I do talk about ‘disadvantage’, and they’re comfortable with that. When I’m talking more broadly, I talk about class – I talk about “ordinary” people, actually. I’m talking about the general population with that; most of us.

‘Don’t worry about the language if it’s silencing you, though. Acknowledge social and cultural issues. Approach it with honesty and people will notice the intent and have faith in it.’

2) Ask if the recruitment process at your organisation is fair
Whatever level of the hierarchy you’re at, looking at or remembering your own recruitment process can help others coming through.

‘When it comes to recruitment, we ask employers at the start to analysis their recruitment process,’ says Sarah. ‘That’s critical in every organisation – if you’re automatically asking for degrees for jobs they’re not needed for, or if your process is one where people from low social economic backgrounds are being filtered out, that’s undermining any other efforts to be inclusive.’

3) Recognise that not everyone will be comfortable with working from home
Is the ‘new normal’ of working from home with no commute comfortable for you? It might not be the same for everyone you’re working with.

‘If we’re all in our home environment, and some are in nicer, or more comfortable situations, the levelling can be very false. Remembering that a virtual set up means everyone is more reliant on their domestic circumstances is really important,’ advises Sarah.

‘If we assume there’s equity in that, we’ll build in that inequity we’ve inherited. We need to assess any plan for the future and ensure that we’re understanding everyone’s set up and their needs. Make sure the plan is mindful and offer support.’

4) Be an advocate
Whether you’re working from a position of privilege and want to help others who don’t, or you want to help others from your similar backgrounds and circumstances to yours into the industry with you, you may be asking yourself, ‘What can I do as an individual to make a difference?’ Sarah says: advocate for others and yourself.

‘Look out for job descriptions that have ‘graduate preferred’ when it’s nonsense. Stand up and say it’s not acceptable when someone’s accent is mocked. Spot those things where not having enough money, or understanding of the culture, can make a difference – be an advocate.

‘Everyone, at every level, can be a mentor. It can be light-touch – taking someone under your wing, helping them with how to dress right for an interview. Or it can be something more structured like a mentoring scheme.

‘You don’t just need a mentor to get into a business. Making sure that networks are there for people from a low income background, that they’re supported and brought into a room – this is the thing that makes a difference.’

5) Be an ally
Is ‘banter’ regarding class/accent/pools of reference acceptable? Not always, not often.

‘In lots of environments, mild mockery may be intended as harmless ‘banter’, but the first thing to do is to stand up, to say “That’s not cool, that’s not what we do here”,’ says Sarah.

‘This is about a broader culture that the senior sets and reflects. The culture is rarely bound to one behaviour. I would assume that there is good intent and bad execution until you know different. Speak separately to the person taking the wrong approach, and also say to the person it happened to: “I don’t think that was okay”. You do two things with that; you may get a change… you may not, but you give the opportunity for people to get it right. And you’re being an ally to the person on the receiving end – it’s really important to show ppl that there is some recognition.

‘If the senior person wants to engage or learn, that’s a great opportunity to talk about social mobility… if they say ‘you’re a humourless fun sponge’ then it’s a signal of what you’re up against.’

Wherever you came from and wherever your ambition will take you in your career and in your life, being aware of what’s not fair will help to shape the PR industry for the better:

‘Once you start actively noticing issues around social mobility, you’ll notice how the world is shaped to benefit people who are more privileged. You’ll clock it,’ says Sarah.

‘When you’re alert, then you can start to have the conversations that help others to notice, too.’

Read the round-up of our accessmatters session with Sarah Atkinson from The Social Mobility Foundation here.

Weekly Economy Summary

COVID-19: Weekly Economy Summary – 25 March

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The Economy Summary is part of our Weekly COVID-19 Bulletin, sent every Thursday. You can sign up to receive your copy here.

The UK’s debt has reached a new high as Government borrowing hit £19.1bn last month as it continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout of lockdown. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the public sector had borrowed more last month than during any other February since records began in 1993.

The debt owed by public bodies has increased by £333bn since the start of April, the first month of full lockdown in the UK. It brings the total debt to £2,131.3bn or around 97.5% of GDP, the ONS said.

Central Government bodies are believed to have spent around £72.6bn running their day-to-day activities in February, a rise of £14.2bn compared with February 2020. This came as the Bank of England’s (BOE) Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.1%.

The BOE expects inflation to return quickly to its 2% target but has played down concerns about rising borrowing costs and fears of rapid inflation. The strong vaccine rollout, coupled with a lower fall to GDP in January than expected, have led to cautious optimism from the BOE regarding the overall economic outlook.

The BOE has also indicated it will likely revise its forecast for unemployment down to match the 6.5% peak figure forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

The UK unemployment rate, in the three months to January 2021, was estimated at 5.0%, 1.1% higher than a year earlier and 0.1% higher than the previous quarter. However, the bigger picture is one of stability in the last few months, after the labour market deteriorated through the autumn.

The furlough scheme has stopped the effects of lockdown feeding into falling employment in the latest months. In fact, the number of payrolled employees has now increased for three months in a row, although since February 2020, the number of payroll employees has fallen by 693,000.

While the headlines are encouraging, data again underlines the impact of the crisis on young workers. Payrolled employment in February was down 11% on pre-crisis among under 25s, compared to being down 1% among other age groups.

The Centre for Economic and Business Research released analysis of the cost of coronavirus to the UK economy. The report suggests that COVID-19 has been the predominant cause behind a £251bn reduction in the UK’s gross value added over the past year, a fall roughly equivalent in size to the entire annual output of the South East of England in pre-pandemic circumstances and nearly twice the output of Scotland.

Business confidence has returned to its highest level since 2018, with 65% of firms confident about their growth prospects over the next three years, according to the Santander Trade Barometer.

Weekly Health Summary

Covid-19: Weekly Health Summary – 25 March

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The Health Summary is part of our Weekly COVID-19 Bulletin, sent every Thursday. You can sign up to receive your copy here.

Anniversary of the first Covid-19 lockdown
In the week that marks a year since the first lockdown was announced in the UK, the Prime Minister spoke of the ‘epic endurance’ of the British people. Speaking at the Downing Street Press Conference he said: ‘For month after month our collective fight against Coronavirus was like fighting in the dark against a callous and invisible enemy, until science helped us to turn the lights on and to gain the upper hand’.

The Prime Minister gave his thanks for the efforts behind the vaccine roll-out as well as the ongoing effort of public sector workers including in the NHS, social care, education and the police.  

The Government is yet to confirm its plans to hold a public inquiry to the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, despite calls from the Opposition. During Prime Minister’s Questions this week, Opposition Leader Kier Starmer spoke of the ‘shocking’ numbers of people who have lost their lives to Covid-19. He said: ‘As soon as restrictions lift, there must be a full public inquiry, because that is the only way we can get to the bottom of the many mistakes that were made during the pandemic and find justice for those who have suffered so much.’

The Prime Minister said that there will be an inquiry into the lessons learned as soon as it is right to do so, when it won’t diverge the attention of the key officials involved.  

UK Health Security Agency
The Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced that a new agency, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), will be established in April 2021 to lead protection against future health threats. The UKHSA, which is to replace the short-lived National Institute for Health Protection, will become the UK leader for health security, providing intellectual, scientific and operational leadership at national and local level, as well as on the global stage.

The body is ran by Deputy Chief Medical Office, Dr Jenny Harries and will bring together the key elements of Public Health England with the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC), and NHS Test and Trace. UKHSA will initially focus on the continued fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Responding to the announced, NHS Providers said: ‘We welcome further clarity from the Government on the new public health infrastructure. The pandemic has highlighted why it is so important to have long-term investment in public health services in recognition of the vital role they play in supporting overall health and wellbeing and building resilience in health protection’.

The new agency has also been welcomed by Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, who said: ‘The UKHSA needs to be able to operate nationally as a global player to major health threats. This needs to be aligned with councils’ ability to react swiftly on the ground, using their local knowledge, expertise and skills.’ 

There have also been wider calls for clarity on the other areas of public health, surrounding the broader determinants of health, including from the Health Foundation who said: ‘While the focus now is on organising to make sure the country can respond better to a future pandemic, much more important in the long run is making sure that Public Health England’s existing function to improve the health of the population is strengthened, and commands more political focus and investment.’

Speaking at the Local Government Association Annual Public Health Conference 2021, Hancock suggested he would lay out wider public health reform plans in the coming days. 

The Coronavirus Act 
The Coronavirus Act will have its annual debate in Parliament today. Members are expected to keep the Act in place, but the Government has suggested the removal of some of the Act’s components. Most notably as part of the it’s one-year report, the Government has concluded that it will seek to end the controversial ‘Care Act Easements’ which relaxed the duties for local authorities to provide care.

In England, only eight local authorities (LAs) have used these powers, but not since 29 June 2020. The Government said that over the past year, support groups and the social care workforce have remained resilient under significant pressure, and continued to deliver their duties without the need to operate under easements.  

Adult social care
A report published by The National Audit Office today on adult social care has concluded that innovation and investment in the sector have been hampered by short-term funding and the lack of a long-term vision.

It said: ‘COVID-19 has focused attention on social care as never before. It has highlighted existing problems with social care and emphasised significant gaps in the Department’s understanding of the market’.

Responding to the report, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said that the ‘pandemic has shone a harsh light on how fragile and severely under-resourced the country’s social care system has become after failures by successive Governments of all parties to act.’

He has called for the Government to rapidly deliver on its manifesto pledge to transform the sector. The Nuffield Trust said that the report has exposed the fundamental flaws and fragility of the social care provider market: ‘Organisations providing adult social care were struggling long before the pandemic took hold, with years of delay to any meaningful reform of the sector storing up the problems exacerbated by the pressure of Covid-19.’

accessmatters with Sarah Atkinson

accessmatters with The Social Mobility Foundation’s Sarah Atkinson

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‘Something isn’t working when talent still isn’t making as much of a difference as background. Whole communities can be left behind from success, from aspiration. PR is no exception.’

Sarah Atkinson from The Social Mobility Foundation joined us for our latest accessmatters session, which focused on social mobility – or the lack of it – in the UK, including the PR industry. Problems with diversity and social mobility in our sector are well-known by now, with CIPR’s State of the Profession highlighting issues with class and background, race and gender, year after year.

PRs are more likely to have completed a degree in comparison to the general public. They’re more likely to come from a background where their parents also undertook higher education. According to the numbers, there are twice as many PRs whose parents or guardians completed a university degree (or an equivalent) than those who received income support or free school meals during childhood.

For Sarah and The Social Mobility Foundation, change is long overdue: ‘We know there’s a race problem in PR, we know that there’s not enough people with disabilities working in the industry. Racial disadvantage is completely entwined with economic disadvantage.

‘Even if you went to a good university, you’re likely to earn less money if you come from a working-class background. And if everyone comes from the same background in PR, you’re going to have something missing when trying to engage the public.’

The Social Mobility Foundation works with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to improve their confidence, give them the skills to ‘schmooze’ (of course those from working class backgrounds can schmooze just as well as those from middle class families when given the opportunity and experience, said Sarah during the session) and links with potential mentors and future employers give them the head-start they won’t have in comparison to many others at the beginning of their career journey.

What can those making the big decisions in PR do to help with welcoming (and keeping) those from disadvantaged, low-income or working-class backgrounds into the workforce? To start, recognise the problem.

‘It’s generally assumed that once you’re at work, your background doesn’t matter anymore, that it goes under the radar. If you actually come from a disadvantaged background, you damn well know it does matter,’ said Sarah.

‘There are two practical steps to start with – data and leadership. These things go together. We need to measure a baseline for the workforce with three key questions: did your parents go to uni? What school were you at at 14-years-old? And were you on free school meals? It’s not perfect, but it’s the best analysis we’ve got. You can start to measure whether we’re making change.

‘Leaders from privileged backgrounds may feel uncomfortable, might feel that they’re being patronising when talking about this. Make a clear personal commitment, and don’t say too much in the beginning.

‘People have to trust others to have the right intentions. If you come from a working-class background, you need to know it’s not going to matter in a negative way, to trust that positive things can happen.’

And when it comes to recruitment, Sarah urged that organisations start the right way: ‘Analyse the process – that’s critical in every company. If you’re automatically asking for degrees for jobs where they’re not needed, or if your process filters out those from low social economic backgrounds, that’s undermining any other efforts you make to be inclusive.

‘Very few employers are good at this when it comes to progression at the senior level,’ said Sarah. ‘It’s really hard to get there if you come from a low socio-economic background. If you’re there already, work with your employees and start focus groups – ask, have we got some unintended bias going on?

‘Because there’s getting in, and there’s getting on and you need to have something that addresses both.

‘The assumption can be that if you work on the ‘getting in’ part, your pipeline, it’ll all work out. But we know that’s not true from all the work we’ve done on gender – we’re still waiting for more women to reach the top spots.’

‘As a minority in the PR industry, you either have to hide it, if you can, or take it on as a ‘fun personality’. We’ve heard this from ethnic minorities and those from working class backgrounds – ‘It’s a burden of the work I have to do, I have to be this perfect person, or a comedy stereotype’.

‘It’s tough on people who have to do the work. If you aren’t one of them, be an ally.

‘The best thing we can do for social mobility is to talk about it more,’ believes Sarah.

For more from accessmatters, catch up with our previous sessions with KDP Coaching & Consulting’s Katie Phillips, Taylor Bennett Foundation’s Melissa Lawrence and Manifest’s Julian Obubo or check out the accessmatters hub.

 

PRCA Annual Perspective 2021

PRCA Ethics Council publishes its first Annual Perspective

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The PRCA Ethics Council has published its Annual Perspective to highlight ethical challenges facing PRs across the globe ahead of this year’s PRCA Virtual International Summit.

With an aim to spark reflection on purpose across the PR industry in regards to ethical practices, the free 26-page Annual Perspective features insight from 20 global leaders and is headed up by PRCA Ethics Council Chair David Gallagher FPRCA.

Key themes of the report include:

– West vs. East divide
– How PR professionals can aid in tackling misinformation and protecting the truth
– Reimagining culture in a post-COVID world
– Who-to-work-for dilemmas
– Building trust and accountability
– Avoiding purpose washing

‘It’s safe to say there’s no shortage of ethical challenges facing communicators right now,’ said PRCA Ethics Council Chair David Gallagher.

‘With misinformation swirling, trust in institutions declining, and businesses operating in new ways, it’s essential we put ethics at the front of the line. So many of us love the industry that we’re in and want to see it take a lead in building a better world. There are often no easy answers when confronting ethics in the real world. But I hope the different perspectives that are so generously shared by global leaders in this report will help drive a much-needed dialogue.’

Launched in May 2020, the PRCA Ethics Council has an aim to elevate ethical standards in PR and communications. It will host events, initiatives, and campaigns throughout 2021. Chair David Gallagher will present this report at the PRCA’s Virtual International Summit on 30 March.

CIPR post pandemic survey

CIPR launches pandemic sector survey

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The CIPR has launched a ‘PR post-pandemic’ sector survey in an effort to understand how public relations has changed during the global crisis as well as what the future may hold for the industry.

Open to CIPR members, non-members and those who have left the profession, the survey will gather data on information, from salaries to skill set, to pinpoint the potential challenges and opportunities coming up for practitioners.

Results of the survey will inform future updates to CIPR services and shape upcoming campaigns and policy change.

Those who wish to take part to aid in the snapshot of the experiences and predictions of PR professionals, organisations and the sector at large can do so here.

For a look back at the big trends and challenges of 2020 in PR, check out statistics from last year’s CIPR State of the Profession report.

Small Business Heroes

PRCA launches coaching programme for small businesses

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The PRCA has launched a free coaching programme for small business owners in need of advice for their communication strategies.

Running for an initial period of six months from 1 April to 31 October, the programme is led by the PRCA’s think tank, the PR and Communications Council, and will aim to support businesses across all sectors. Small business owners will be able to connect with experienced PR practitioners for one-to-one support with best practice comms strategies and engaging with target audiences.

Those who have minimal experience with PR, or who are looking for advice on internal and external communications, are encouraged to apply.

PR Council member and small business lead Liam Buckley said: ‘Small businesses account for 99% of the total business populations in the UK and US, employing millions, so their collective success and failures have a direct impact on our economies. We’re aware that marketing budgets are often the first to be cut back during times of crisis, so we want to step in to help those who are looking for PR support, but don’t quite know which way to turn.

‘It is more important than ever that small businesses understand how to communicate with their target audience, and we’d encourage them to step forward to take advantage of the free coaching sessions. Our expert PR coaches will gain an understanding of your business, identify your communications challenges and work with you to put an effective strategy in place.’

Find more information and apply on the landing page here. Deadline for entries is 12 April 2021.