ENCOURAGING DIVERSITY IN PR

(credit: Tim Mossholder, unsplash)

I found myself well and truly outside of my comfort zone a week or two ago, thanks to Tin Man.

I had put my hand up (voluntarily-ish), to attend a breakfast roundtable, organised by one of our most respected industry publications, on the topic of agency culture and, ultimately, diversity.

Which, let’s be honest, the PR industry does not have a great track record in.

The reason I say voluntarily-ish, is because, obviously, TM isn’t my agency. So, when I saw the list of owner / founder attendees, it all felt a tad intimidating.

Like I, didn’t exactly, belong there.

Which is ironic, I think (?), because that’s exactly what I was there to talk about.

For those not familiar with the terminology, ‘Belonging’ is the latest concept designed to encourage greater diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Belonging means everyone in a company is responsible for making deeper, more meaningful connections with their colleagues, in order for them to bring their true self to work. Making them their best, most productive self. A fine ideal. And on a very human level, these small things really do count.

But does this pass down the responsibility to already stressed employees instead of business leaders being totally transparent on the problem and making ground-breaking commitments to the cause?

I’m still not 100% sure. 

The cynic in me, a white middle-aged man, sat in the Ivy Cub, talking to other white middle-aged, even-more-senior-men and women, was concerned that it smacked of the industry trying to run before it could walk. But then you meet the people who are being tasked with doing something about it. Dedicated. Obsessed even. Working within the structures of their company to be a game-changer in the field.

Around that breakfast table, my industry colleagues wanted their teams to be agents of change, to transform the industry’s reputation in this area.

Key to that is an awareness around the role of ‘company culture’ in recruitment; as a dangerous barrier to diversity. It’s really not about being a good fit!    

However, acting on it to ensure it’s not, is another matter. It’s hard to drive forward a diversity agenda when teams and clients often want more of the same winning formula. 

But we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help.

So, as I type this, the exceptional chair of that breakfast meeting has agreed to help us with making our talent attraction more culturally diverse. Particularly, in the area of creative. Something I’m passionate about. I genuinely believe you turbo-charge the potential of your ideas with fresh, cultural insight and references. Meaning there is no doubt a diverse workplace has proven human and commercial benefits.

I wrote a campaign-line once that went something along the lines of: ‘don’t fit in, belong.’

I’ve no idea if that was the case over breakfast: was I trying to belong at the roundtable or fit in as the only Creative Director? Even as a non-agency owner, though, I had no less commitment to the cause.

And feel free to come back to us in a couple of weeks to see how we are getting on…