Shownotes: 

In the 45th episode of The Elephant in the Room podcast I spoke with the unflappable Koray Camgoz, Director of Communications and Marketing at the PRCA. For many of us in the industry he is the 'go to' guy for anything to do with the PRCA.  

Koray is passionate about DEI and has been deeply involved in all PRCA DEI initiatives including REEB and EIAC. 

In this episode we talk about the last 18 months, its impact on the PRCA, the industry, restructuring of the PRCA Board, and the launch of the Race and Ethnicity Equity Board(REEB). 

👉🏾 We also spoke about the memorable/scary moments from the last year;

👉🏾 Progress on DEI in the industry

👉🏾 The Accessible Communications Guidelines launched in partnership with Current Global

👉🏾 PRCA's partnership with DWP for the 'Kickstart' scheme and it's success

👉🏾 PRCA CMS as a gold standard for inclusion and accessibility

👉🏾 The people who inspire him in his personal and professional life.

Memorable Passages from the conversation: 

👉🏾 Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be with 

👉🏾 So I graduated back in 2008 really at the height of the financial crisis. So I graduated in English at a time when there were very few jobs available, not just in public relations, but in the economy generally. So I undertook quite a wide range of internships, I worked on placements and internships in charities like Action Aid and also the Department of Works Press Office before going back to university.

👉🏾 So I went back to uni the following year and I did a master's in media and communications at Brunell and then a few months later, I moved out to New York and I joined an agency called Tiberend Strategic Advisors, who are kind of a healthcare/financial services firm. And I worked with them for about six months before moving back to London and then joining the CIPR where I stayed for almost I think seven years in total in various roles working in policy and then lastly as PR manager for three years, and then joined PRC Ain 2019. So it's been about 10 years in total now, since I started. 

👉🏾 It was a really interesting time. So I think obviously that the events of last summer really kind of accelerated the appetite for change and the urgency that everyone felt. I think to be honest with you, the industry has been well aware of the need for change on diversity, inclusion and you're asking specifically about race and ethnicity, and I think that the awareness of the need for change has been there. And it's been something that people have spoken about and committed to in various ways. But what we saw last summer was a kind of a massive accelerant in the urgency of it.

👉🏾 So I've worked on diversity inclusion issues and initiatives for the best part around eight years in various capacities. It was something that I worked on while I was at the CIPR as well. And as I said, I think there's been some good initiatives and some good work that's taken place, but last summer, just kind of really heightened the need for genuine and meaningful change.

👉🏾 So for us, what that meant was really creating something brand new. We wanted to create something that was not only championing best practice in the industry and making sure that we were providing all the opportunities for Black, Asian and ethnically diverse professionals that we could. But also something that would help keep us accountable as well as an association. And I remember, I think you were part of that. At the first meeting of REEB where we were discussing kind of ambitions and what we wanted to do and it was quite rightly pointed out to us by the committee itself, that our board was unanimously white at the PRCA and that was something that was indicative of the problems that we were trying to solve.

👉🏾 So it was down to us to address that situation and it's something that we managed to do quite quickly, although we're still at the very early stages of that process. I think we're now up to about 20% of our board who are from diverse backgrounds. So it's something that we are increasingly conscious of and REEB really has guided our efforts on that.

👉🏾 And I think that in turn gave those volunteers the confidence and the assurances that we were serious about this being something that genuinely grounded in creating meaningful change for the industry. 

👉🏾 I think it's important to know that everybody on the board, the board as it was and indeed as it's now, really acknowledged the gravity of the situation. And as I said at the beginning, I think what happened last summer was really a wake-up call. And I think people have been aware and cognisant of these issues for a number of years. There was a renewed sense of urgency, and that was felt by members of our board as well and as you quite rightly point out there were a number of people who made the decision to step down. People like Tony Langham at Lansons, is a good example of that and I think what that did was create space for other people to join.

👉🏾And those people, as you've quite rightly pointed out we owe them our thanks, but we are also increasingly aware that it's what should happen, and it's the change that needs to happen if the industry is serious about moving on and taking a real stride forward when it comes to race and ethnicity in PR. 

👉🏾 Yeah, there are many. Probably more scary than memorable. I would say, I mean obviously, we went through what every organisation went through at the outset of the pandemic, which was flat-out fear and uncertainty really. We furloughed quite a large number of staff members and unfortunately had to make redundancies as well. So that was a really tough time. Tough for the people that had been furloughed but it was also tough for the staff who are still there really, and delivering more output, more campaigns, more events than ever before but just with fewer people on hand. So it was a very difficult time. I've got two small children at home as well so it was particularly, when the schools were closed, it was a really, really tough time. So that was definitely the hardest point I would say. Another point that sticks out was not long after really our first major virtual conference, which was the international summit, which took place in May of last year. That was a real game-changer for us because it was the industry’s first virtual conference, there was a certain amount of trepidation over how it works and whether we'd be able to deliver it on the scale we wanted to with quite a depleted team.

👉🏾 But in the end we put on a really great event. We had 700 people join across two days from all around the world and that was unprecedented for us. And I think, more importantly, it proved that this model could work and there was a future in the virtual events space and that really was a lifeline for us, so that is another one to put out. And finally, probably the most positive memory was just a couple of weeks ago when we had our summer reception in London, which was just a lot of fun, we had around 200 people come along for that and to see people face-to-face again, and to meet people who I'd met online for the first time was a lot fun and yeah, that was a really happy memory. 

👉🏾 So I think one of the great things about working for a professional is body is that when a crisis hits or when there are hard times, I think you see the very best in the industry. You see people volunteer their time and fundamentally I think crises like these bring out the whole point of a professional body because it's all about community. It's all about networks, support, development, learning, and these are all the values that really come to the fore during a crisis.

👉🏾 And they absolutely did for us last year within days really of the pandemic being declared, we were really inundated with requests from people who wanted to support. And as a result of that we created our "COVID-19 communications task force", which was really the vehicle for support that ran for the rest of the year and it delivered a whole number of webinars, free consultation services to any businesses that needed help and then alongside that, it also produced some really practical guidance on how to steer your agency through a downtown like this. And for many it was a lifeline and since then we've been contacted by a lot of people, who've been really grateful for the support that they've provided and that was led by I mentioned Tony Langham earlier, who's been hugely helpful in that regard, but also by Rachel Friend and Rod Cartwright as well. So yeah all of those people I think deserve an immense amount of credit.

👉🏾 So that came about through us speaking with George Coleman. So George is the CEO of Current Global, he's incredibly passionate about accessibility and inclusion. So George grew up with a deaf father and really have been kind of pivotal in creating and driving best practice communications in terms of accessibility. So we've worked with George's team to produce quite a comprehensive guide about 34 pages long and it's really just packed with insight tips and templates that you can go away and apply to your own day to day role. But I mean it is such a massive issue and it's one that I feel like the industry the is sleeping on at the moment. You have 15% of the world's population that have some form of disability of one form or another. And when you consider all of the collective buying power, you're talking about a massive audience, which is currently being excluded. So for comms professionals that's a real opportunity to engage a new audience and that hopefully will be supported by the guidance that we've developed in partnership with Current Global. 

👉🏾 Yeah I would just add that a lot of the changes to that are just really straightforward and simple and I'll hold my hands up, that I wasn't aware of quite how simple some of them were, so for example, we've now put on in excess of 200 virtual events since the pandemic began. But we only since working with George we've realised how easy it is, for example, to include live audio captioning on zoom events, which is something that we now advocate. Similarly, Microsoft accessibility checker, which is a really great free tool that anyone can use and you can use it just in the way that you would with the spellchecker. So there's lots of really simple and easy steps you can take to improve your comms and your accessibility. 

👉🏾 So Kickstart launched earlier last year, I think it was on March last year. Fundamentally it's a scheme that's designed to support young people aged between 18 and 24 who had been to the most at risk of long-term unemployment as a result of the pandemic. Essentially the scheme involves employers creating six months placements and then being reimbursed for the salaries for those young people by the government. So essentially the government is funding these placements, it's a really brilliant initiative. It's one that our members have responded to incredibly well. We've created over 80 roles for young people who would otherwise be on universal credit and yeah, it's something that, we're incredibly proud of.

👉🏾 Obviously the government is seeing the urgent need to kind of help young people because whenever there's a big crisis or an economic downturn on this scale, invariably it's young people who come off the worst and we've got good relationships with the DWP and with other government departments and we quite quickly recognised the benefit, not only to society for this, but for the PR industry. And we became a gateway organisation very quickly. So we are essentially helping members to take advantage of this scheme. 

👉🏾 It is and it's something that I think globally is respected as kind of a hallmark or a Kitemark because of excellence in our industry. So those that aren't familiar with, the CMS stands for the Communication Management Standard, and it combines various elements of ISO 9001 and 'Investor in people' with criteria that is specific to PR and communications, it's available to consultancies, it's available to in-house teams, and it's also available to virtual teams as well. So it was introduced a long time ago, it was introduced in 1998. It's been continually updated, it covers various aspects, kind of business planning, financial management, client satisfaction, diversity, et cetera. But I think the good thing about CMS is that it's always kind of developing and it's always learning because best practice itself is always moving, particularly in this industry.

👉🏾 So we're always talking with industry experts and outside the industry on how it can be improved. And accessibility is certainly one of those areas that we're doing that one as well. But you quite rightly say I think in this day and age, businesses are looking for more ways than ever to prove that they are not only committed to making profit but actually just committed to being good businesses around and having a positive impact on society.

👉🏾So the CMS is really a powerful vehicle for organisations of all types to be able to do that. And to be honest with you, it's proved very popular, particularly over the pandemic. There are a lot of agencies, large and small, and in house teams as well, who are taking advantage of it. And the good is that once you are accredited and you've completed it, you're eligible for our matchmaker service, which is an opportunity to win new business as well. 

👉🏾 I think the first thing to say is that there's never been a better time, I think to enter the industry. Personally, I've been hugely passionate about diversity and inclusion, since I started working in the industry. I think that this is a great time because I think agencies and in-house teams have never been more aware of the need for change. So I think the fact that we have a new generation now, who are able to come in and help create the change that this industry needs is really exciting. So my advice would be, be a hundred per cent committed to yourself and to your own personal values, don't feel the need to assimilate or adjust because it's in your interest and it's in the industry's interest for you to be true to yourself. And then on a more practical note, I think this has always been the case in PR I think as much as you can try and develop your networks, blog, access communities, use the PRCAs networks and services to try and build your profile. And yeah, I think it's an incredibly exciting time to work in the industry. So that would probably be my advice to the next generation. 

👉🏾 That's a good question, there’s probably like a professional and a non-professional example. On the non-professional side, I'd probably say my dad is probably My biggest inspiration. He's now 82 but he is in great shape, touch wood. So he's just an incredibly driven person who is incapable of standing still and always doing something. So he was born, in quite primitive circumstances in the 1930s in Cyprus and worked his way to London and built a small business and even now to this day is still working hard and in various capacities. So I'd have to say him. 

👉🏾 And then in a professional capacity I'd say Scott Galloway, he is a marketing professor at NYU, I'm just such a huge fan of his and I find him really inspiring to listen to because a lot of his advice is just about life and happiness and making sure that we're keeping sight of the things that are really important in our lives and I think that is a really important one for those of us who work in a fast-paced industry like ours.

👉🏾 It's a pleasure. Thanks very much for having me and thanks for all your help on REEB and with the various PRCA initiatives and of course, for all your leadership on the EIAC as well, we're really grateful for all the brilliant work that you've put in.

Follow Koray Camgoz on: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/korayc/?originalSubdomain=uk

Twitter: @KorComms

Read more about Koray: 

👉🏾 https://www.prweek.com/article/1591923/prca-poaches-ciprs-koray-camgoz-head-communications-marketing

👉🏾 https://commshero.com/commshero-week-event/koray-camgoz/

👉🏾 https://www.vuelio.com/uk/blog/koray-camgoz-appointed-head-of-comms-and-marketing-at-prca/

👉🏾 https://wadds.co.uk/blog/2020/5/27/pr-will-re-emerge-from-covid-19-leaner-smarter-and-better-connected

PRCA DEI news and links: 

👉🏾 https://www.prca.org.uk/REEB

👉🏾 https://wadds.co.uk/blog/2021/4/21/accessible-communications-guidelines-published-by-prca

👉🏾 https://www.allthingsic.com/prca-publishes-new-accessible-communications-guidelines/

👉🏾 https://www.prca.org.uk/membership/groups/sectoral/eiac

👉🏾 https://www.prca.org.uk/event/4930/change-for-good%3A-building-an-equitable-%26-inclusive-pr-industry

👉🏾 https://www.vuelio.com/uk/blog/prca-gateway-for-dwp-kickstart-scheme-greenlights-60-new-pr-jobs/