The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, now nearing its one-year mark, has transformed how public relations practitioners operate. It has also significantly altered the expectations and demands placed on this profession.

Unbeknownst to us, we have reached the end of 2020. This year has left its mark in history as, after a century, the world once again faced a devastating pandemic named COVID-19, claiming many lives.

The pandemic has brought significant changes and transformations in various aspects of life, including how people work and the rapid acceleration of technology. The public relations industry has experienced new trends and shifts due to the pandemic. Predictions and PR surveys conducted before the pandemic have been rendered obsolete within just a year.

According to the ICCO World PR Report 2020-2021 findings, the COVID-19 pandemic has led CEOs to focus more on corporate reputation and the role of Corporate Communications. The report is based on a survey conducted among 268 PR professionals worldwide.

This finding is intriguing. According to the 2019 Global Communications Report survey notes, PR still had some work to do to persuade CEOs to view PR as a strategic management function. However, in the previous year, CEOs acknowledged the importance of communication between sales and services in the coming years. Overall, these findings are intriguing.

They were not interested in communicating social issues related to business at that time. However, according to the ICCO survey, CSR is predicted to grow and require PR/communication expertise.

Local-level research has produced similar results, as Jojo S. Nugroho, Chairman of the Indonesian PR Company Association (APPRI), states. He believes this is a crucial time for the future of the PR profession and that this opportunity must not be missed.

The PR profession will shine even brighter if it can address challenges and meet the expectations of companies and their stakeholders—and vice versa. “The key aspect of PR is its ability to adapt, learn quickly, and foster collaboration,” he explained. He emphasized that PR should prepare various crisis scenarios, regularly monitor and mitigate issues throughout the year, and support the company’s efforts to review corporate purposes.

SEO and “Big Data” 

Meanwhile, Sari Soegondo, co-founder and Executive Director of ID COMM summarized at least five major factors affecting PR trends in 2021. These factors include climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, global political shifts, economic recession, and post-truth. These factors force communication professionals to become experts in issues and crisis management.

Communication teams must also have the capability to build internal communications. They are also predicted to work more closely with HR teams and become more integrated with marketing.

PR will also utilize search engine optimization (SEO) for issue management as part of proactive crisis communication strategies. SEO is no longer used only for marketing purposes but places PR content at the top of search results.

Meanwhile, according to Gollin Group Asia Pacific CEO Darren Burn, PR practitioners must sharpen their “pencils” through data and analytics next year to listen to and understand more about stakeholders’ needs.

Ultimately, PR can solve problems through communication strategies that impact business results. Data and analytics also help PR work faster, more efficiently, more relevantly, and more accurately and anticipate what will happen.

Another predicted trend for next year is the increasing use of artificial intelligence in decision-making, as stated by Drone Emprit founder Ismail Fahmi. Moreover, the growth of big data has been very rapid in the last two years, and it’s accelerating with the pandemic.

However, according to Accenture Development Partnership Lead Indonesia Nia Sarinastiti, only some organizations and human resources are ready to utilize and implement artificial intelligence. Besides the need for companies to invest funds in training and reskilling human resources, the next issue also requires a change in leaders’ mindsets regarding artificial intelligence.

According to Ayu Kusuma, co-founder of THINK PR, the demands on PR in such a way will make PR work next year colored by the 3A issues (adopt, adapt, adept). PR practitioners must be willing to adopt new technologies and working methods and adapt to the changing environment. At the same time, a PR practitioner must be adept at managing the skills needed to adjust to a new setting. Next year will also be an era of collaboration and mergers.

Meanwhile, Asmono Wikan, founder and CEO of MAW Talk, highlighted the importance of leadership in PR. The reason is that good leadership patterns will make communication a strategic management function.

New Competencies

The pandemic has also driven the emergence of the need for new competencies in the PR industry. According to Forbes Magazine, professional workers, including PR practitioners, must possess at least eight new skills. These competencies include adaptability and flexibility, tech savviness, creativity and innovation, data literacy, critical thinking, digital and coding skills, leadership, and emotional intelligence.

Due to the pandemic, even academia has yet to be spared in its efforts to prepare the next generation of PR professionals. This circumstance has impacted the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) at the University of Indonesia. To help students be ready to face challenges, the primary teaching approach is to bring real-world problems into the classroom for analysis and evaluation during teaching and learning activities.

According to Ummi Salamah, a Department of Communication FISIP UI lecturer, this effort aims to make students accustomed to problem listening. She also always emphasizes the importance of instilling a growth mindset—a mindset that is open to all possibilities. On the other hand, rather than meeting industry needs, she tends to build her students’ entrepreneurial spirit.

This approach prepares future generations to become problem solvers and contribute to job creation in society. “In the future, the needed generation might not be skilled workers but creative and innovative individuals who dare to build their own companies, or what we know as startups, which create job opportunities,” she concluded.

Sectors Predicted to Continue Growing:

– Health

– Technology

– Finance and Professional Services

PR Services with Increased Demand During the Pandemic:

– Crisis consultants

– Digital, social, online communications

– Corporate communications

Most Relevant Skills for Future PR:

– Data, measurement, analytics

– Creativity

– Research, insight, planning

Social Issues Likely to Be Addressed More by PR:

– Sustainability and climate change

– Diversity and social inclusion

– Health

Source: ICCO World PR Report 2020 – 2021
Author: Ratna Kartika
Source: PR Indonesia, “2021 PR Trends: Mastering Data, Sharpening Analysis”, Edition 94 | Year VIII | January 2023