While almost every industry and market vertical has seen significant change and flux in recent years, policy and public affairs have borne the brunt of much of this turmoil, largely driven by wider political and socioeconomic events. These sectors have been at the coalface of the complexity of the last decade, adapting to changing government priorities, shifts in focus, wars, pandemics and more. This evolving environment has led to significant uncertainty, with many professionals considering switching roles, or even industries, as a result.

To better understand this complex environment, we’ve launched our inaugural Policy and Public Affairs Salary & Employment Report, which aims to provide an overview of this shifting landscape and delve into what this means for hiring plans and candidate motivators. So, what did the report reveal?

Turnover rising

The key finding from our survey of over 4,000 professionals across policy and public affairs is that many are considering seeking new job opportunities. Almost one in three (31%) specialists across both markets revealed that they were planning to change roles in the next six months, with the majority of that group (68%) working in public affairs. For employers, this potentially poses major issues, and it’s likely that many may struggle to source the skills they will need to replace their departing talent.

Interestingly, transport is seemingly going to be the major focus of this turnover. This industry was listed as the number one choice for those weighing up a change of role, however, conversely, more professionals currently working in transport said they were considering leaving their roles than in any other market. This uncertainty within the market could be related to wider challenges within the industry at the moment and ongoing uncertainty related to public ownership of leading travel providers, particularly in rail.

Director departures

While the scale of the movement we are anticipating is concerning, what is perhaps more of an issue given the current political environment is the sentiment from the senior end of the market. Our research encompassed professionals across all levels, from entry-level through to C-Suite leaders, but it was those at director level who are reporting one of the highest levels of career move intentions. Over one in four (28%) stated they were considering leaving their jobs in the next six months. The driving factors behind this trend are unclear, however, pay is unlikely to be a leading factor for many of those in these senior positions. Indeed, our report showed that director pay within policy and public affairs remains high, with some sectors – including travel and financial services – reporting salaries of over £150,000 per year.

Flexibility is key

That doesn’t mean that pay isn’t influencing others, though. In fact, when we look at candidate motivators overall, remuneration was the leading factor across all market segments. However, flexibility also plays a key part. Over one in three professionals said this was a very important part of why they were drawn to their current role, and 83% said they considered this as important or very important when looking for their next position. The lesson for employers in both policy and public affairs here is key; offer hybrid working models and listen to employee demands for more flexible contracts if you want to secure the talent needed.

Benefits need updating

Another key finding related to the benefits packages being offered by employers. We asked professionals what additional benefits they are currently offered by employers and which they would want to be offered in the future.

The most common benefits available today were above statutory pension contributions, followed by extended parental leave, private healthcare and life assurance. While many of these ‘longer-term’ perks are sought after by employees, a large proportion of our respondents were actually seeking further options that help them manage short-term finances, like gym memberships. Only 15% currently receive this as part of their employment package, but 39% said they would like to.

The same trend was also seen with demand for childcare vouchers; only 7% across policy and public affairs receive them, but 20% said they would like to in the future. Interestingly, many of the more commonly available perks being offered by employers are those that support overall financial wellbeing, and help reduce expenditure that has grown as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. This suggests that employers can still do more to develop benefits packages that appeal to their public affairs and policy professionals, which will be particularly important at a time of increased turnover.

This is just a fraction of some of the findings outlined in our inaugural study – Click here to access the full Policy and Public Affairs Salary & Employment Report.

Follow us on LinkedIn

Read more of our blogs

Take a look at our policy jobs