As an industry, Public Relations experiences quite high turnover rates. In the US, Entrepreneur magazine reported it at 55%, whereas a 2008 study from the Institute for PR at NYU puts the American average yearly turnover across all specialties is 20.5% and 24$ of firms have rates higher than 30%. The industry average in Canada follows suit at 30% per year.

What is the key to reducing turnover in the PR industry? According to Edelman's Lisa Kimmel, innovation in PR has sprung from innovation in HR. Kimmel reduced turnover at Edelman to 15% by making employee culture and retention her top priorities when she became manager of the Toronto office in 2009.

"My vision was that we needed to create a really strong, unified culture across the office, develop a really strong employee engagement program, and get employees to be motivated to come to work each day, which would then result in them being motivated to do great work for our clients” - Lisa Kimmel

From corporate social responsibility programs, to convening every Thursday at 4:00 PM for a themed social gathering, Lisa Kimmel created an environment recognized as one of Canada’s Best Workplaces. In addition to the social engagement, Edelman has also committed to training and education for their employees, ensuring their constant professional development and the company’s commitment to their existing team’s success.

To learn more about managing your talent and providing professional development to your employees, access TPD's HR Cycle E-Book below!