SEATTLE, Wash. - June 12, 2002 - Workinpr.com, the leading PR recruiting and career site, today announced the results of its state of the industry survey targeting 800 public relations professionals in the U.S. One of the key findings revealed that 70% of PR employees are "not at all" satisfied or are only "somewhat" satisfied in their current positions, and over half (58%) plan to leave their current employer within a year. When asked why, the majority (21%) indicated it was because of a lack of challenge.

"The fact that employees are planning to leave within the year even in this uncertain market is a bit of a surprise," said Renee Dunn, President and CEO of Workinpr.com. "It is obviously a good time for CEOs and VP's to check in with their top performers."

Another notable trend from the survey revealed that 85% of employers would use freelancers instead of hiring full-time PR positions. "From a business perspective, this is not surprising. Now more than ever, agencies and corporate communications departments have to show ROI. Cost-cutting has been a big focus during the last year, and the cost-effectiveness of hiring freelancers is really attractive to PR leaders right now," continued Dunn.

Other Key Findings:

• Project management skills highly desirable for senior-level PR hires Employers indicated the top four skills/characteristics they seek in senior-level hires include:
  1. Project management skills - 23%
  2. Business development skills - 18%
  3. Personality/culture fit - 17%
  4. Management experience - 15%
• PR employers' biggest challenge? Sales growth. Employers indicated their top three challenges for business this year are sales growth (33%), proving ROI of PR efforts (25%), and cost-cutting initiatives (23%).
• Using Freelancers 85% of employers said they would hire a freelancer versus filling a full-time in-house position for following reasons:
  1. Cheaper, less expensive, less overhead
  2. Flexibility
  3. Best for short term situations, employment and projects
• Job Satisfaction - employees are "somewhat" or "not at all" satisfied in current positions
  The majority of employees (54%) stated that they are only "somewhat" satisfied in their current positions. 19% of employees are extremely satisfied, while 16% are not satisfied at all in their current positions.
• Majority of employees plan to leave within a year
  The majority of employees (58%) plan to leave their current employer within a year and cite the following top three reasons: 21% indicated it was because of a lack of challenge within their current position. 15% said they would leave for a higher salary, and 11% cited poor leadership/lack of company direction.
• Majority of employers are not currently hiring
  Almost three-quarters (72%) of employers claim their company is not currently hiring, and 37% do not project any headcount growth for the next 6-12 months.
• State of freelancing - many are freelancing, perhaps not by choice
  56% of PR freelancers have been freelancing for less than one year, and 75% of freelancers are currently seeking full time employment. 51% claim that finding consistent employment is the hardest aspect of freelance/consulting work.
• Compensation levels at industry average, according to employers
  More than half of employers (58%) feel they compensate their employees at the industry average. 26% believe they compensate above the industry average, while only 16% feel they compensate below the industry average. (Note - the majority of employees (52%), however, feel they are compensated below the industry average.)
• Employees cite competent leadership/executive management
  After rating the quality of their executive management staff, the majority of employees (53%) stated PR executives were "good - competent leaders". 25% felt their leadership was "excellent - strong and visionary leaders", while 23% indicated executive management was "poor - lack leadership".

Audience Profile
Survey respondents included 798 public relations professionals (131 identified themselves as employers, responsible for managing and/or hiring teams, and 667 identified themselves as PR employees). Survey participants were garnered from the Workinpr.com opt-in subscriber list, and via the Workinpr.com website. Participants included professionals of all levels from small and large PR firms, non-profit and government organizations, freelancers, and corporate communication departments of Fortune 500 companies.

For more information, call 206.956.4200 (or toll free 877-625.9125) or send email to info@workinpr.com .