Gatehouse Blog
Insights from latest VMA career research (free download)
VMA, the specialist search and selection firm, recently canvassed the views of 1,000 candidates and clients on the current state of the internal communication profession. The aim of the survey was to identify key trends in the profession – focusing on salary benchmarks, skill requirements and team structures, as well as future challenges. You can download the full report here.
In terms of pay bands, heads of internal comms top the table with an average salary of £78k. Next up are internal comms business partners, averaging £60k, and senior internal comms managers, who average £55k. The average basic salary for an internal comms manager comes in at £45k, with entry level roles averaging £30k. Financial services is listed as the highest paid sector, through I suspect that may have changed in the last few months!
When it comes to structure, the research paints a slightly different picture to other reports (which usually show HR as the dominant home for internal comms), with the highest number of respondents saying they report into the Head of Communications. Interestingly, there are nine other typical ‘homes’ identified – another sign that we’re still tying to lay down our roots as a profession.
There are two particularly interesting tables in the report. One shows the skills deficits perceived by candidates, the other the deficits perceived by clients. What leaps out is the lack of commonality between the two, pointing to a misfit between the needs of practitioners and their employers.
Top of the list for candidates is social media, which appears at no.7 for clients. Other skills gaps flagged by candidates but not even mentioned by clients were intranet development, budgeting, presenting, change management and financial communication. I suspect that many clients would assume that some of these (presenting, budgeting?) are core skills and take them as read.
Top of the list for clients was measurement – suggesting that practitioners still aren’t doing enough to prove their worth (which I’d agree wholeheartedly with). Coaching skills, crafting corporate messages and strategy-setting were also highlighted as deficiencies, suggesting that not only are we struggling to be respected as business partners and senior leadership advisors, but that we’re still grappling with core skills like writing.
Another interesting finding is that more than half of those surveyed feel that ‘internal communication’ as a job title does not adequately reflect the breath of what they do. The most popular suggestion for an alternative, however, was simply ‘employee communication’.
