Tag Archives: development

Creatives, PR and Media – Where are the Gulf’s Faces to Watch?

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There’s many young faces to watch in the Gulf’s creative, public relations and media industries, but if you’re looking for Gulf nationals on the agency side you’ll be sorely disappointed. The industry must find ways to solve this issue of diversity and inclusion.

I’ve enjoyed reading about the future of the region’s marcomms sector over the past couple of weeks in Campaign Middle East. The publication has listed the ‘ones to watch’ in the creative, public relations and media sectors. The people featured are an impressive bunch, and just reading about their abilities, potential and experiences at such a young age (they’re all 30 or under) is inspiring.

I was struck, however, by one detail. I didn’t see anyone I recognized as a Gulf national. There was so much talent from countries such as Egypt and Lebanon, but no one from Saudi or the UAE.

For anyone based over here, it’s probably not a surprise that there’s not enough diversity and inclusion in the marcomms industry/function, especially on the Agency side (this listing was Agency-focused). While there are Gulf nationals working agency-side, especially in Bahrain and Saudi, there’s certainly not enough.

How Can We Attract More Nationals?

The marcomms industry isn’t alone in struggling to attract enough young national talent – only one percent of the Emirati labor force is employed in the private sector, compared to 60 percent in government. But the landscape across the Gulf has shifted in a number of countries. Governments in Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia are heavily promoting the idea of nationals applying to the private sector. More nationals are also eager to try new fields, particularly in the creative space. Here’s my suggestions on what each party must do to change perceptions and encourage diversity and inclusion.

The Industry and National Misconceptions

Let’s begin with the agencies and private sector firms who hire (the client side). We’ve got to break down the misconceptions and stereotypes around nationals, focusing on two key points. First, there’s the issue of work ethic; for far too long, there’s been a view that Gulf nationals don’t want to and won’t work the longer hours that the private sector asks of them (governments traditionally worked from 7 or 8am to early afternoon). Second, there’s compensation; Gulf nationals have often earned more working for the public sector.

I’m not going to be naive and pretend that these issues don’t exist. In Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE there’s a high differential between private and public sector pay for nationals, as well as additional benefits such as longer vacations.

However, we’ve already seen a shift in Bahrain, Oman and Saudi, where it’s common to find a national working in marketing or comms on the client side. To their credit, some agencies such as Gulf Hill and Knowlton have always looked to hire local in these markets (they had a large roster of Saudis some years back, and they’ve also hired a number of Bahrainis). In these markets governments are both telling their nationals to look towards the private sector and reducing the compensation differential.

For many in the private sector, they’ve not even put in the effort to test if the old stereotypes are true. There’s nowhere near enough engagement with universities across the region, not enough internships for nationals, and little in the way of mentoring. These are low-cost activities, which both agencies and clients should be undertaking. At the very least, they need to look for local talent, so they can benefit from insights that only nationals can bring to the table.

Governments and Talent Development

The private sector is only one half of the challenge. The other is governments.  Understandably, the region has long sought to develop its own talent. The number of nationals working in the marcomms function has risen rapidly, at least on the government side. It’s understandable that many nationals, particularly in Qatar and the UAE, would want to work in the public sector – pay in these two countries is, generally speaking, much higher. Plus, there’s a preference for locals, meaning there’s less competition for positions.This has become a double-edged sword. There’s more marketing and communications jobs in government, pay is better, and there’s less competition for these roles. What this has led to is young nationals being advanced into senior roles, often when they’re not yet ready or experienced enough.

If governments are serious about developing local talent, they’ve got to change this approach to public sector hiring and instead focus on long-term development, in partnership with private sector firms. This could include funded internships, either at home or abroad, as well as engagement with industry associations such as the IABC to promote certifications and long-term career mapping (I’ll share more about this soon). What’s clear is that national communicators who have worked only in one sector are missing out on all the potential learnings and development the other can offer, including the ability to work with and learn from other nationalities and culture (diversity and inclusion is also an issue on the government side).

Advice for Young Gulf Nationals

My advice for any young Gulf national is simple. Go and explore the private sector, understand the training and development it can offer you, and ensure you’ve tried every single option before you go into the public sector. If you’re after a challenge and you’re passionate about what you do, the money and position will follow. But if you want to be the very best you can be, and learn from a wider group of people from around the world, then moving into the private sector will be the best thing that you can do.

Likewise, we need you. We need the industry to be more diverse and inclusive (this equally applies to the public sector, where there aren’t enough expats working today), we need your insights and knowledge, and we need your understanding of the local culture, behavioral psychology, and awareness of how the Gulf’s local communities are changing. Today, we don’t have enough of this on the agency or client side. And it’s our loss. This scenario needs to change.

If you want to talk more, message me. I’m always giving my time to universities, to talk about the profession and help you understand your options. I’m happy to answer any question you may have, and point you in the right direction.

Can We Please Appoint (Qualified) Comms People to Comms Roles?

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people talking

“Did you hear about the time they appointed a banker to head up communications in the White House?”

It’s rant time. I saw the news this morning that President Trump is expected to name Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director. This follows the move by United Airlines to promote its general counsel to effectively head/oversee global communications.

When is the last time any self-respecting firm went out and hired a CFO who wasn’t a chartered accountant. Or a legal counsel who was not licensed? And yet, despite crisis after crisis, firms and organizations are still appointing people to look after their reputations who are neither qualified nor have the necessary experience.

While I’ve written before about merit, this is different. As an industry and a function, we need to start promoting the idea of a global qualification that will be a prerequisite for stepping up to a certain role or responsibility. 

Organizations need to know that the person they’re bringing in is competent at all times (particularly during a crisis), is ethical in their behavior, understands how to listen to and engage with all stakeholders, and is able to show a proper understanding of how communications delivers organizational value through measurement. A certification should be able to prove this and more.

The CIPR has developed its accredited and chartered status labels. The IABC also has its CMP and SCMP certifications. As an industry, isn’t it about time that we come together, through a global body such as the Global Alliance, to push for certification for members and for hiring managers and organizations who are looking for communications professionals to favor those practitioners who are globally certified?

I’d say yes, it’s about time.

What PR training do you want MEPRA to offer in the Middle East? Share your thoughts with us.

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Are you a communications professional based in the Middle East. Do you want to improve your abilities, learn new skills, and develop your career. As part of its commitment to the region’s communications industry, MEPRA Academy is calling out to all communications professionals working in the Middle East to have their say on its new training programme set to begin in September.

By completing a short survey on current skills, expectations and preferences, industry professionals will help design a programme that is responsive to local needs and supports a wide range of practitioners.

As the Middle East’s leading industry body, MEPRA is committed to providing education and training that is aligned with global standards, responsive to industry trends and meets the needs of communications professionals across the region. Through its Academy, MEPRA hopes to provide an avenue for continuous professional development at every stage of a practitioner’s career.

To complete the short survey and have your say, please click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mepratna

 

 

 

Expats, Localization and the Need for Balance

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The marcomms industry can and should benefit from both local talent as well as foreign expertise (image source: The Daily Telegraph)

There are some places that are so inspiring, they fill me with passion and energy. I just love working with colleagues and friends in London and New York. Their creativity and insights are exceptional. What strikes me most about these places is their ability to absorb talent from abroad, to the extent that you can’t even tell who is the native and who is the immigrant.

Whilst there’s much to admire about how the region’s marcomms industry has developed, there’s still much work to do when it comes to marrying local insights and talent with foreign know-how. For years there’s been a divide between the Gulf’s public and private sectors: the public was staffed by nationals, and the private by expats. Whilst there were exceptions, this was the norm.

There have been changes, both good and bad. The economic changes in countries such as Bahrain, Oman and Saudi, combined with the increasing number of local marketing and communications graduates, have helped to increase the number of nationals working in the private sector. An insistence on hiring nationals in both government and semi government organizations have led to there being fewer expats in comms and marketing roles in both Abu Dhabi and Doha. For many multinationals, there’s still an over reliance on expat communicators, many of whom don’t know or try to learn about either the local language or culture.

I’ve always believed that there should be more locals in marcomms in the Gulf (one such person who is an inspiration to me and who I will always be proud of is my wife, who is both a local and who heads up marcomms for a multinational across the Middle East region). However, we need to place people based on merit, and we need to have structured succession planning in place. Both are missing today, across the public and private sectors.

Let me highlight my point. I live in a city which wants to be a global hub, attracting investment and tourism from abroad. That city’s government has been prioritizing national hiring to such an extent that it’s rare to find a foreigner in a mid or senior level comms post today in either a government or semi government role. What has happened is young nationals who don’t have the necessary experience or knowledge have been brought in (or roles have been left open), and as a result the work done and respect given to the function has dropped. There’s less diversity and inclusion in these government organizations, leading to a lack of understanding of foreign audiences and stakeholders.

I’ve also come across countless multinational executives who don’t understand the importance of hiring local knowledge. To them, global strategy only needs to be translated. There’s no understanding of local insights, and an inability to communicate with local audiences because of the lack of any marketing or communications people who are from or connected to the local population. I’ve known regional comms people in the private sector who’ve never even gone to Saudi, despite it being the biggest market in the Gulf. It’s all too easy to manage issues remotely, and let the agency deal with an issue.

We’ve got to change these two approaches in the region. There needs to be a balance, an understanding that foreign expertise is often needed whilst initiatives are created to support knowledge transfer to capable locals. Rather than replacing foreign expertise overnight (which has happened in some places), let’s get these professionals to pass on their expertise through job shadow programs, teaching and mentoring. In one of my previous roles I was asked to do this, and I considered it part of my role in developing the local profession. Others should do the same.

Our region can be as diverse and as exciting as London and New York, and I don’t see why the marcomms industry should be any different. Let’s start making use of both local insights and foreign experience, and combining them to create better work. We need balance in approaching this issue. As always, I’d appreciate your thoughts on this issue.

#CIPRElection – What do the CIPR’s international members want?

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The CIPR can do much to promote public relations overseas, and, most importantly, support its international membership.

The CIPR can do much to promote public relations overseas, and, most importantly, support its international membership.

As part of my bid to stand for the CIPR Council this year, I’ve written about what I want to bring to the table on behalf my fellow CIPR members who are not based in the United Kingdom.

I’d like to turn the tables slightly and talk about what the CIPR needs to do when it comes to its members abroad, many of whom (including myself) look to the CIPR for leadership and guidance when it comes to the industry. Let’s start with the obvious.

1) Ethics – While the industry has come a long way in terms of ethics since the days of Edward Bernays, ethics is still an issue for communicators. For people who are tasked with managing reputations, professionalism must be at the top of the list when it comes to engagement with all CIPR members. To its credit, the organization has one of the strongest and most robust codes of conducts I’ve ever read. In addition, the recent launch of a compulsory ethics CPD module is also a step in the right direction.

I’d like the CIPR to build on these steps, and launch ethics campaigns outside of the UK throughout ethics month (which is normally held in September), as well as all-year round. This can take a number of forms, such as social media dialogues and webinars. It could also include working with other public relations bodies, to share best practices. For those of use who care about the reputation of our industry, I’m sure this would be more than welcome.

2) Training and Development – The CIPR has the best development program in the industry, full stop. Its Continuing Professional Development program is exceptional, and covers everything any communicator needs to develop (I’m even talking Chief Communication Officers here). Likewise, the range of academic qualifications offered by the CIPR is outstanding. I have the utmost respect for anyone who has undertaken and completed a CIPR qualification.

This positive attitude needs to spread. We need more communicators outside of the UK to understand the importance of ongoing training and development. We also need more employers to understand that when they look to hire, they should look for CIPR qualifications. We have far too many communicators who haven’t studied communications, either because they don’t understand the importance of doing so (I hope these are far and few between), or because there are no institutions that offer courses in subjects such as internal comms, public affairs or public relations. The CIPR needs to step into this gap, and bring its know-how to bear, to promote a respect for training and development and to offer the tools needed for CIPR members outside the UK to enhance their own abilities.

3) Networking – We’re part of the family, but sometimes out-of-sight can be out-of-mind. One aspect of my membership that I enjoy the most is networking with my fellow CIPR members. I’ve had the good fortune to visit the CIPR offices in London and meet with the organization’s leadership. But many others who are abroad haven’t. We can use technology to bridge that gap (the CIPR International has done great work, with webinars on countries outside of the UK for its home-based members), as well as promoting the development of local chapters outside of the UK where numbers allow. The more we feel that we’re one family, the more we’ll benefit from what the CIPR has to offer.

These are but a few ideas that the CIPR can use to engage with members abroad. I hope to be able to provide a voice for those members, and bridge that gap. The CIPR is an incredible organization, and I have benefited enormously from all that is has to offer. I want others who live outside of the UK to have the same experience that I have had with the CIPR. I hope you agree, and will support me during the #CIPRElection.