Communications salaries & market trends

What key trends have you witnessed  in 2017?

The wellbeing of individuals within an organisation and the impact a business has on society and its environmental consciousness has never been so important. It’s not enough to just make claims, there has to be some tangible action and this in turn must be communicated effectively to ensure brand experience stays true to its core value. The companies that have a strong purpose and integrate this in their message will have the most impact on their audience and reap the benefits of an engaged customer base.

The communications market has generally remained consistent, however our clients working as head of comms have been very busy with Brexit comms and have needed extra interim cover to support this.

Due to Brexit, we have seen an increase in internal communications vacancies and in particular change communications roles. Due to changes in regulations including MiFid II, we have seen more comms vacancies within financial services.

Collaboration amongst departments and teams has increased in 2017. Email remains a useful channel for internal communications and organisations recognise that peer – to – peer communication is now as important as top-down communication. Many businesses use tools such as enterprise social media to help with the cross pollination of ideas and for communicating topics such  as building the right culture, change and training.

Content from peers has the power to inspire and influence employees without the risk of appearing condescending or insincere.

What key trends do you expect to see over the next 12 months?

We have seen and expect several candidates working in corporate communications at a mid to senior level deciding to specialise in internal communications. Feedback from candidates show these channels are less developed internally and this provides scope for newly created roles to align both external and internal communications. This will result in an increased number of vacancies across all levels of internal communications.

The use of video and video technology to communicate with employees has also continued to rise and grow considerably in 2018.

What methods are companies using to attract and retain the top talent?

Many companies have invested into developing a positive culture by embracing flexible working hours. A significant part of internal communications is employee engagement and we understand this has been an area of growth proved by increased hiring within this field. 

Do you anticipate any changes to permanent salaries and bonuses over  the next 12 months?

Salaries have not changed considerably, however we are finding some companies are restructuring areas of the business particularly in financial services and professional services, as they are looking for highly skilled professionals and are not always able to find suitable candidates in the range they can offer. 

Contract roles & day rates

Communications contract positions were highly sought after in 2017, allowing clients to narrow their specification of candidate. This was tough for some candidates to accept, as it was harder for them to get an interview where once their skills would have been easier to transfer across roles and sectors.

In particular demand was experience in the ownership of an employee value proposition and candidates who could add value in a pro-active communications function, aligning a communication strategy with a company’s strategic vision.

Day rates remained similar to previous years, with senior communications professionals earning between £450 to £650 per day and specialists or those experienced in working at Board or C-level commanding £700 or more per day. At the middle management and junior end of the market, fewer candidates have opted to become interim specialists, which makes finding candidates between £200 to £400 per day, more challenging.