munslowd Insights into the South African Communication Landscape A study by VMA Group Global, in association with PRISA and IABC Daniel Munslow Director, MCC Consulting

munslowd Executive Summary Representation for the 2016 research report expanded to include feedback from communicators in East and West Africa In line with cost cutting, there is a trend to centralise the communication function across federated businesses 30% of communicators say their salaries were cut or remained the same year on year Career development is the number 1 reason people leave their jobs. Remuneration is rated the 3 rd reason only. Nearly 9% of respondents have started their own consultancies on the back of retrenchments (5% of those surveyed have been retrenched since March 2015) There has been an increase in the use of personal contacts for career development, with recruitment firms still holding a strong lead position as a way of sourcing top talent A study by VMA Group Global, in association with PRISA and IABC

munslowd Executive Summary There has been a drastic downward trend in communicators looking to expand into Africa, with 66% saying they have no plans to expand. 35% of comms budgets have increased, and the exact same amount have decreased their budgets 51% of respondents say business acumen is a critical skills for communicators, up from 5% in 2015! While training remains a critical skills development tool, not to mention that the absence of training is the number one reason for loss of talent, 51% of companies have cut their training budget in the last year Downward pressure on budgets has overtaken skills shortages as the number 1 concern for communicators. In 2015, 22% said budget was a key challenge for business over the next 12 months. This number has skyrocketed to 58% 29% have indicated there is a shortage of good skills and talent on the marketplace in 2016, up from 25% in A study by VMA Group Global, in association with PRISA and IABC

munslowd Demographics

munslowd Demographics What is your gender? Do you work in an agency or in-house?

munslowd Current job title

munslowd Years' Experience

munslowd Which industry do you work in?

munslowd What is your role primarily focused on?

munslowd How does your salary compare to one year ago?

munslowd Which benefits do you receive as part of your package?

munslowd In terms of remuneration do you believe you are:

munslowd What are the top three reasons for leaving your last role? Career development and training New challenges and more interesting work Higher Salary My line manager22%

munslowd Top three methods of gaining employment:

munslowd Is your role:

munslowd Is your business looking to expand their communications team in Africa within the next two years? If so, in which locations?

munslowd How much of the communications function is outsourced to an agency?

munslowd What is the current size of your team? How does your current team size compare to two years ago?

munslowd To whom does the most senior communications professional report?

munslowd What are the most significant challenges the communication industry is facing?

munslowd What are the most significant challenges the communication industry is facing? [year-on-year comparison]

munslowd Do you have clearly defined KPIs/financial targets to measure your own performance? If yes, what criteria are these targets based on?

munslowd What are the top five skills currently lacking in the marketplace?

munslowd What are the top five skills currently lacking in the marketplace?

munslowd How have your training budgets been affected by the current economic climate?

munslowd Which platforms your company uses to engage stakeholders? What enterprise social network do you use to engage with stakeholders and employees within your business?

munslowd What are your company’s three biggest challenges in developing its external or internal social media offering?

munslowd I expect the influence exerted by the communications function to increase in the next two years: When my organisation undertakes new projects, the communications team is involved in the process from the beginning:

munslowd Recommendations  Skills Development and Investment in Human Capital –Increase training budgets and ensure skills development in the right fields for communicators. Focus on business acumen and strategic thinking. –Support HR in better communicating to employees about the EVP and benefits within the organisation, in accordance with the needs of employees to drive staff and IP retention  Leadership Communication –Lack of leadership visibility during times of change is a major concern for communicators locally. Make sure you support your leaders and ensure they are visible, especially during times of change  Strategic Communication Measurement –Improved research and measurement is critical to drive better buy-in to the communication function… this measurement should be done on an outtake, outcome, and outflow level to ensure financial ROI as well as ROE are calculated and demonstrated  Social Media –Dramatic shift from tactical to strategy –More education required internally to get senior leadership buy-in –Manage social media as part of IMC, reputation management and crisis comms strategies  Collaboration –Silos within organisations are causing disruption and misalignment for integrated communication programmes. Find better ways to create collaborative forums to enhance interdepartmental synergies

munslowd Thank you Daniel Munslow E C