The Future of Talent: Views from Campus
In last week’s posting, we began a discussion about the evolving talent needs of public relations firms in the age of social media. Talking to two prominent industry leaders, we learned that firms were looking for well-rounded talent that combined digital skills with strong marketing knowledge and strategic thinking ability. This week, we explore what higher education is doing to fill this need. The industry has evolved— but are communications programs, too?
In a recent PR Week article, Professor Michael Posey of Franklin University advocated for more general business and social science education to enhance preparation for a career in public relations. To build on this view, we decided to consult three communications educators: John Bell, Global Managing Director at Ogilvy Worldwide and an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Arts and Sciences; T. Kenn Gaither, Associate Dean and Associate Professor at Elon University, and Robert French, Instructor at Auburn University.
Our panel first agreed that technology was the big driver in how communications is changing now and will change in the future. Gaither notes that university students don’t need exposure to new and emerging communications platforms; they have that already. What they need is instruction in the strategic use of these platforms. “Students often enter our classrooms well versed in using social media, particularly Facebook, but few are trained in how to use Facebook for purposes other than connecting with friends. All forms of mass communication relate to telling a story, and helping students effectively tell a story through the parameters of their selected area of study is an ongoing challenge. Our focus is helping students tell effective stories across platforms strategically using myriad means including text, audio, video and images.”
There are, of course, many ways to teach kids strategy. One important opportunity identified by our panel was more hands-on, experiential learning. French believes that academia is still “behind the curve” when it comes to internships and other opportunities to get outside of the classroom. “In the future,” he argues, “multiple internships will become the norm,” as will internships that provide practical experience with integrated PR/marketing. “Using the areas of integrated PR to do class exercises is a great way to both teach the theory and give students that practical experience. Employers love to see that, too. Experiential education is the key.”
Ogilvy’s Bell notes that many young hires come into his firm lacking skills precisely because they have not had enough practical experience. Ogilvy Worldwide has “a very robust training program covering strategy, tactics, and much more, and we built it precisely because people weren’t walking in with these skills as applied to social media.” Bell thinks the time is ripe for much more and deeper collaboration between agencies and educational institutions. “Internships could be scaled up. Instead of only having a handful of interns at any given time, firms should maintain far bigger programs, and they should run classes with real client work. There’s no reason why we can’t provide a complementary experience that universities can use to attract students and that businesses can use as a pipeline of talent.”
A final area that our panel singled out as an opportunity for educational institutions is the immersion of students in broader business and marketing thinking. Bell notes that “many communications programs don’t live within the business school. Many times they’re bundled into a media department or a school of journalism. And yet, the communications function is a discipline that should be at the right hand of CEOs, COOs, etc. It’s a tool to manage directly the reputation and operation of the organization. We need to teach graduates how to apply communications skills in a business context to get results. They have to understand the broader business picture more than they do.”
Gaither thinks teaching through real-life case studies can help contextualize communications skills more, especially as relates to social media, and not necessarily just in connection with business. “We need to deconstruct examples of social media used for various strategic ends. For example, we need to analyze how under a dozen people with computers in Egypt in a small apartment can topple a decades-old regime and galvanize an entire region. We can’t just say they used social media to form a revolution; we need to understand how they used social media strategically and apply those lessons to the ongoing communication revolution.”
Overall, our panel members seemed to think communications education was doing a good job preparing the next generation of public relations professionals. Still, colleges and universities would need to push hard to improve their offerings if they were going to keep pace with technology and meet the evolving needs of business. Gaither put it well: “The battle all educators face is keeping up with technology. Traditional educational structures are ill-equipped to support the lightning quick pace of technology. Educators need to revisit their curriculum frequently and monitor industry trends to ensure education is staying apace.”
I agree with most of this. But I point out that PR is best in a communications program for two reasons: 1) not all students aspire to work in business; some will work in nonprofit or government sectors; 2) communications is the core of PR and we need graduates to bring something new and outside the MBA box to the management table wherever they work.
Multiple perspectives = strength. PR students should get business knowledge through a double major/minor or taking electives, IF they seek a corporate career. I fear that PR in a business school would mean it gets sublimated under marketing and treated as merely a tactical support function versus a management function focused on relationships with all publics, financial and otherwise.
I agree with this article. I am a senior business major concentrating in management. I particularly enjoy my marketing classes, but found in my freshman year that they lacked any emphasis on Public Relations. I began minoring in PR to make up for the deficit. I feel that PR should be taught in business schools.
I agree with Tim Penning, PhD, that it could become diluted under marketing if the program was not properly planned. I also believe that some business education would benefit PR professionals. The businesses the PR professionals work for are ultimately concerned with business measures of success. That is the case even with non-profits.
Great article and something that’s been on my mind for a long time. I plan to share this with the communications students I mentor at my alma mater as well as with each PRSSA chapter in my state. I believe it’s a *huge* disadvantage for students to not be exposed to marketing studies. The larger business context is critical as the lines become “PR” and “Marketing” become even more blurred and communications disciplines become more connected. Understanding this connection and how to navigate in an increasingly complex media landscape and business environment is essential for any type of organization – for profit, non profit, public, private or governmental. And many agency clients often have broad marketing responsibilities- not limited to PR – so it’s vital we speak their language and that our counsel and services complement and drive their business goals. I was lucky enough to take an introductory marketing class as an undergrad despite being a student of the College of Arts & Sciences and not the Stillman School of Business. It definitely gave me a leg up, and left me hungry to learn more.
Joan M. Bosisio
Director, PRSA NJ
Professional Advisor, Seton Hall University PRSSA
Group Vice President
Stern + Associates: Public Relations + Marketing + Digital
http://www.sternassociates.com
As a public relations professor and former agency executive, I agree regarding the importance of students completing multiple internships and developing a knowledge of business, however, this doesn’t mean public relations programs need to be housed in the business schools. We in the department of communication at William Paterson University encourage our students to take marketing, management, negotiation, consumer behavior and even professional sales courses as core electives for the public relations major. As long as universities are willing to collaborate across colleges/departments and with strong advisement from their professors, students can develop the right mix of knowledge and skills. What business schools lack however, are the rigorous writing courses that are still an essential part of public relations work. As part of our core curriculum we require multiple writing intensive courses and also incorporate many real world scenarios, social media marketing and strategic program development/management and execution as an integral part of our program. This formula, mixed with a strong focus on external and internal internships is helping our graduates be prepared in this increasingly competitive market.
Lorra M. Brown
Assistant Professor, Public Relations
Internship Coordinator, Dept. of Communication
Advisor, Student Public Relations Association
William Paterson University
Wayne, NJ