By Emmanuel Munyarukumbuzi (Rwanda)
Faculty Member, African Leadership University, Rwanda
The technological disruptions such as the proliferation of social media platforms, the increase of access to mobile phones in general and smartphones in particular, as well as the imminent widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI); Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR), the PR profession has got to up its game. Luckily, DEI could offer some possible solutions to this ever-changing landscape.
One may start by defining PR – many definitions include aspects of creating, maintaining and developing good relationships between organisations (or eminent personalities such as movie stars or religious leaders) and their audiences. With the changes mentioned earlier, there is so much confusion about what the PR function is today, especially in Africa where many professionals still see it as a less sophisticated/mature PR market. Let’s begin with all the job positions including keywords such as “information”; “Communication”; “Public Affairs”; “Digital…”, etc. Most of these are part of or related to PR. It has become very common to group PR with sister professions, creating phrases such as “PR and Marketing” or “PR and Advertising”. Furthermore, think of other job titles that do not contain “PR” but still have a lot to do with the function. These include among others: content creators, social media managers, and event managers for some organisations. It is not strange if one is confused about the definition and the function.
In his article published on Linkedin Dr Ajihson Joseph, has outlined challenges that hinder the practice of PR in Africa. These include among others: a lack of understanding of PR as a central function in an organisation. Lack of specialisation in the PR profession is another – generalists can only do so much. The multitude of languages spoken on the continent sometimes complicates the transmission of messages, since some meaning is lost through translations. In addition, the lack of technical know-how, questionable ethical/professional standards by some practitioners, infrastructural limitations and some cultural beliefs might clash with some company values.
Moreover, the image of Africa as a dark continent still prevails and perhaps the main challenge for professionals is to change the African Narrative as initiatives such as The Africa Soft Power Project and Africa No Filter are doing. But for this to happen, maybe there needs to be more DEI in the African PR industry.
DEI in African PR teams – a panacea?
The case for DEI in PR teams in Africa comes from the fact that many people in the industry work in silos and this has resulted in some guesswork as exemplified by the below example regarding the production and monetization of mobile apps:
Everyone is guessing. Publishers don’t know what apps to build, how to monetize them, or even what to price them at. Advertisers & brands don’t know where their target users are, how to reach them, or even how much they need to spend in order to do so. Investors aren’t sure which apps and genres are growing the quickest, and where users are really spending their time (and money) (apptopia, 2018).
Whilst communication processes have drastically changed, PR teams tend to lack diversity, to date. On one side, young graduates who understand the use of Tiktok lack the analysis of current affairs and the copywriting prowess of seasoned PR professionals who are yet to embrace the latest social media platforms – this speaks to the need for more diversity and inclusion regarding age.
On the other side, tech gurus from IT understand the ins and outs of the latest technological innovations such as mobile Apps, VR, AR, AI and the like. They are conversant with data mining and visualisations of all sorts and this knowledge often sounds like Greek and Latin to many PR professionals. Yet they would benefit from this to enhance the efficiency of their campaigns – this raises our need to see more inclusion of technology.
People often think of Public Relations as an industry dominated by ladies. However, when you look at decision-making power such as approval and financing of the profession, think CEOS, board members, etc., one quickly realises these seats are largely dominated by men. A 2020 article in The Guardian on women’s leadership in PR, points out that though women account for more than 50% of PR specialists and managers in Africa, large PR associations on the continent have been disproportionately having men in the top leadership positions and the largest firms and corporate communications departments are still overwhelmingly led by men. How do we help companies and individuals develop communications strategies around gender if our workplaces do not reflect them?
Additionally, diversity is needed in PR teams: professions, disability, religion, language, sexuality and all the differences in a given community/audience to ensure no one is left behind and available capacity, nuance and knowledge are used to the maximum to achieve the full potential of the deployed efforts.
The importance of multidisciplinary collaboration or DEI to reach desired PR goals
DEI is pivotal in increasing efficiency and effectiveness. Innovation is usually a result of the collaborative and cross-fertilization of ideas by people with different professional backgrounds and beliefs (see Bizcommunity.com).
According to Steinheider and Legrady:
Studies on interdisciplinary collaborations in organisational and scientific research-and-development teams have revealed that three processes—communication, coordination and knowledge-sharing—significantly influence their efficiency and effectiveness.
Perhaps DEI would solve issues of defining PR, ensuring companies stay on message as they strive to catch up with technology and meet seemingly insurmountable goals such as changing the African Narrative. Would DEI help PR professionals deal with specific challenges facing the PR function in Africa by having all hands on deck? Certainly, DEI would account for something. DEI will help to grow the industry in Africa and help it to evolve as the industry globally continues to quickly evolve.