“The Nomad” is a fortnightly published series where I talk to expat PR and Comms professionals, then delve into the insights which inform and help other people to live or to do business in an intercultural world. If you or someone you know would be happy to share their perspective, please get in touch! I’d love to hear from you.
As part of my series about how we can learn from different cultures to embed them into PR and comms practices to help create positive social impact and overcome communication barriers, I interviewed Michael Collins, Head of Content at PRCA. Having been working in Australia, the UK, and now the US, Michael shared his opinions and experiences of working in multiple countries and cross-culturally.
We have discussed the reputation of PR after the pandemic, the ever-changing media landscape and how to cut through the noise, and the “Great Resignation” that is happening in the industry. We also touched on the Ukraine Communications Support Network and how we can support it by “lending our expertise and our support to other people who are going through very tyrannical, awful circumstances”.
When talking about ethics, he said that we need to “look through not in the lens of being a Western country, but we need to take a very regional focus on what ethics is […] We are dealing with real-world examples and there is never an absolutist approach”
Hi Michael, congratulations on the move to the US! How are you doing? What has been keeping you busy lately?
So we moved here to LA in August of last year, and we had a new child in December, which just added to the craziness of moving countries. So, you know, my day very much involves changing nappies and dealing with the kids all the while juggling Zoom calls and everything in between at the PRCA. But it’s been a really wonderful period. Since we moved over here, I think, you know, after going through the pandemic, it was quite an exhausting, emotionally draining experience and it’s nice to step away from London. And to be around some family over here. I’ve been fortunate to keep working at PRCA during this time. It’s definitely brought some unique challenges as well. But overall, it’s been a really positive time. It’s been really fun.
You studied Journalism and made the transition into PR and comms. What motivated you to make that transition or was it something that felt like a necessary step?
I don’t think I’m alone in this experience. I always had the idea of going into sports journalism, because I was obsessed with sport and I could write really well. From a young age, I knew writing was the one thing I was great at – or had the talent to be great at – so I thought to myself: Follow what I know! Storytelling and sports. So, for a few years, I sort of toiled away at that a little bit: I covered Australia’s National Basketball League for a few seasons, which was fun; I built up some good networks there. But then it was really hard to make a living. I sort of hit a point in my life. I was in my early-to-mid 20s and I just knew that I wasn’t going to get to where I wanted to go, or at least, the reality of the job wasn’t as appealing as it once was. I love to travel and live abroad, but I realised I didn’t want to frequently travel or move from state to state for live sporting games, for free interviews and things like that. I didn’t want that, especially when I had plans to start a family and didn’t want to have that life where you’re working really weird hours being away from home. So the appeal and the image of what I had of sports journalism changed as I got further into the career. I sort of stumbled into PR and comms. There was a junior comms job going in Australia for Cricket Victoria – the state body for cricket. I got interviewed and got the job and really, it all started from there. I really enjoyed it. I liked how you could do so many different things – I did some podcasting, content creation, some journalism stuff; I did interviews with the players; I was managing players for TV interviews, and all those sorts of things. Each day was different. There are always opportunities that come your way and you have to take them. Life is all about choices. I think it’d be foolish if you plan too far ahead and think that you’re going to be at point X in five years’ time because it’s not going to be the case.
Speaking of “in five years’ time”, it’s 2022 and people still ask “Where do you see yourself in three or five years’ time”, especially when everything is so ever-changing at the moment?
It’s funny that I used to get that question in a lot of job interviews. I have to admit, I probably never took that question in an authentic way. I always thought that I’d have to stand out in the interview, so sometimes if they asked me that question, I’d respond with “I want your job in three or five years”. It either showed that I was ambitious, or at worst, an arrogant fool – ultimately I wasn’t going to die wondering. But I was always unsure how to answer that question, and really, that spoke to how uncertain I was about my career for a lot of my 20s.
Following up on that question, what are your predictions for the news agenda in the ever-changing media landscape — what news would cut through the noise, and for the PR and comms industry in general in 2022?
On a bigger and broader scale, I would say the importance of authenticity. I think we can sometimes get too obsessed in regards to “Let’s post at 11 o’clock in the morning to maximise the chances of engagement”, but ultimately, it all comes back down to the basics. A good story is a good story and a good story will pop. It really is about coming back to the compelling human element, being able to tell human stories that aren’t so obviously driven by an agenda where you’re clearly taking a position from a very disingenuous point of view.
I think one of the challenges going forward, though, is the distrust between the media, institutions and society right now. This, of course, impacts our industry as well. We have a role to play in building trust. There are more opportunities to tell your story, not just through the traditional legacy media, but also by going through other ways. I think it’s important to acknowledge that neither side of the media (Left or Right) is doing a particularly good job in telling the truth and acting transparently. If an event or breaking news story threatens one’s overarching narrative then the news story will be only partly told. We’re at a stage where everything is ‘misinformation’ if you don’t agree with it and that’s never healthy.
After the pandemic, it seems that PR has experienced a rocket in reputation as a profession, but we seem to still have a long way to go. The Ukraine Communication Support Network has proven the role of PR and comms and it’s really coming back to your point of telling stories with human elements. Could you please tell us more about the UCSN?
I’ve been really fortunate to have played a very, tiny supportive role to the wonderful work UCSN co-chairs David Gallagher and also Nataliia Popovych are doing. There’s been a clear enthusiasm from the global industry to get involved and support the people of Ukraine. What’s clear is the war has two components to it: The on-the-ground military conflict and then the information war, specifically the myths surrounding the war. Lynn’s Stefan Rollnick’s piece, as part of UCSN’s special Ukraine series with PRovoke Media, lays out the myths so clearly. Our role as professional communicators is to put a face to the war, the victims and the tragedy so the world stays invested and strongly behind Ukraine. This also opens up to a broader issue of not just what’s happening in Ukraine, but also being always aware of what is happening in the world, and being globally minded and trying to lend our expertise and our support to other people who are going through very tyrannical, awful circumstances. For me personally, this experience has opened my eyes to the full power of PR, and how critical we are to being the connector between people, nations, and organisations. The key focus right now for David and Natalia is bringing onboard national ambassadors from across the world to drive support for the people of Ukraine in their own local markets, especially in those markets that aren’t so readily standing behind Ukraine. I urge everyone to share and amplify UCSN’s work, and subscribe to their weekly newsletter here.
There’s been a lot of conversations recently around “The Great Resignation” or The Great Reshuffle” and we saw it firsthand what is currently happening in PR and comms – Everybody is making a move. We as an industry talk a lot about retention – in fact, in a recent report of ICCO World PR Report, 52% of those surveyed say that ‘retaining PR and Communications talent’ was the biggest challenge for their business going forward. What do you think are the roles of employers to not only attract, but also retain talents?
It’s clearly a challenging time. It’s a big year because there’s a clear need to retain talent not only within the organisations but in the industry as well. My position always is that if you want to retain and attract the best talent, you need to pay what they’re worth and create a culture where everyone feels empowered and connected. If you’re expecting someone to accept a £25,000-a-year job, and you’re asking them to have five-plus years of experience, you’re kidding yourself. The other thing is it’s about putting people first and building a culture that is truly inclusive and that allows people to be themselves, to give them the autonomy to grow within their role. I think an organisation that has a lot of micro-managing only hurts itself because they put a limit on the creativity. The more diverse people you have in the organisation, the ceiling of what can be achieved is lifted. If you have different viewpoints of people with different ways of thinking, that’s where you find the magic. Healthy debate is a good thing!
A recent PRCA’s Mental Wellbeing Audit highlighted that PR practitioners are significantly more likely to suffer from poor mental health than other UK subjects, with many citing their workload as the key source of stress, and the conversations around putting mental health and wellbeing of employees have never been more salient. What should we do next to ensure this can be achieved? What does “Bring your whole self to work” mean?
It’s so important that we’re talking about this all year round and that it’s not just a one-off conversation. Sadly, in some organisations – and I’m not talking strictly about PR companies, but also the broader workforce – I don’t think it is ingrained in the culture of business. I think having trained mental health first aiders helps. We have that at the PRCA as an example, being able to have that relationship with your manager, with the colleagues where you can share what you’re feeling, and not be scared of repercussions of what you’re saying. I’ve been quite fortunate that I’ve got some people in my corner where anytime I’ve gone through anything that’s quite challenging or I’m not feeling great, I’ve been able to talk in a really honest way with a colleague. I’ve experienced the other extreme of not having the trust or not being particularly comfortable with sharing what’s going on in my life and being able to have that freedom of talking about how you’re feeling. A person who genuinely has your back and cares about you is something you can’t take for granted. It also comes back to flexible working as well and not putting pressure on the idea of hours, like you have to be doing this amount of hours every single day because if you don’t, then you’re in trouble. People need to focus on productivity, not output.
What’s your take on ethics in PR?
I’ve been working with our global ethics Council and the recurring theme is that when we talk about ethics, we need to avoid looking at it solely through a Western lens, and instead, take a very regional focus on what ethics is and how it’s perceived. For example, what is considered bribery in the UK is not so in other regions. We need to consider the context. But, yeah, to your question, I think there’s never an easy answer when dealing with applying ethics in real-world situations. There is never an absolutist approach. In reality, there’s a lot of uncertainty, but I think what we don’t do enough of as an industry is having an ongoing conversation about this. Of course, members of PRCA do have to adhere to very clear, rigorous guidelines and codes of conduct. But it’s also about asking yourself after each day: Are you proud of the work you did? Would you tell your children or grandchildren about your actions? I find this is a good place to start when considering ethical conduct.
There is an opportunity here where a baseline is applied across all markets in the world. There’s language, there is a particular code that can be applied within different markets that fits in the cultural norms and what is accepted and what is not accepted behaviour. So, I think there’s an opportunity to establish that definitely.
You are from Australia, have been working in the UK and recently made the move to the US. What differences do you notice about the culture (life culture and working culture)? Do you have any advice for “the nomads”?
There are a lot of similarities between Australia, the UK, and the US, but there are also a lot of wonderful, subtle differences. Sometimes you can’t even start talking about these differences until you define what pockets of the country you’re drawing the comparisons from. One of the things that I love about the US is how different the culture, norms and geography are from state-to-state. There’s a lot of things to love about LA’s culture from the beaches to the food. My wife’s family owns a number of authentic Mexican restaurants so I’ve been spoiled by the rich hispanic culture here. But when comparing a country’s work culture to another, I’d say there is a real sense of joy, a camaraderie in the UK, and there’s a more apparent emphasis on supporting mums. Of course, this is a generalisation and not always the case. I love how in London it’s so common to finish your work day in the pub or enjoy the open green space at a park. Here in LA, your hard day at work is rewarded with the bleak proposition of navigating the insane traffic on the freeway. To be quite frank, you’re not particularly wanting to spend that much time in downtown LA, for instance. Oh, and one final thing that I do miss about Australia and its culture compared to the US is Aussies’ emphasis on the “team” over “individual”. Now, don’t get me wrong, I actually admire Americans’ self-confidence and conviction to say, “this is what I’m good at and I’m proud of it”. But sometimes, I miss that Aussie shyness towards praise.
My advice for other people who are in my sort of situation is just be open-minded, embrace the people in the city you’re in, and be curious. If you have a different way of thinking to others, it doesn’t matter. You’d be amazed by the friendships you can draw from the most unlikely of places.
If you can bring anything from Australia to make it “feel like home” to where you’re based at the moment, what would it be?
You can never go wrong with a good barbecue! One thing I do miss is the freshness of the food in Australia. You go to any average supermarket, and you’re guaranteed a level of freshness that you can’t consistently match in the UK or US. And of course, I’d take my Aussie Rules Footy with me over here in the US!
