‘I believe the greatest opportunity is enabling & training people to harness power of AI’

It is important for companies not only to train young professionals, but also to manage them virtuously. Millennials and GenZs have always put their time and energy into work, and in return they look for appreciation so that they can be sure of their fruitful contribution to work.

These professionals also thrive in an environment that fosters collaboration and adaptability and enables them to drive meaningful change.

The exchange4media’s PR and Corp Comm team spoke to Sunayna Malik, managing director, India and senior vice president, APAC, Archetype where she talked about the factors that prevent young PR professionals from being inventive, the contribution of artificial intelligence to their mentoring and how the problem of talent retention is being addressed.

Excerpts:

The PR industry welcomes young people from various backgrounds. They are seen to be enterprising and innovative, but what factors do the current generation lack?

India has the largest number of millennials and GenZ globally with 600 million people aged between 18-35 at present.

Deloitte’s Gen Z and Millennial 2023 Survey highlights that disruptive events like COVID-19, inflation and economic crisis have shaped their lives and views, and while Gen Z, millennials acknowledge some positive change, they remain deeply concerned about their future. They have entered the working world amidst concerns about the economy, climate change, geopolitical conflicts, rising inflation rates and recession fears. They are well-informed about practically everything, clear in terms of their choices and want to make career decisions based on their values. Additionally, they want to be empowered to drive change within their organisations.  

They continue to believe that business leaders have a significant role to play when it comes to addressing social and environmental issues. For this generation, business profitability is a given but it must translate into profitability for society, for the planet and for its people.

All in all, it’s a generation that’s much clearer about their goals, very focussed on their personal needs and keen to experiment and broad base their learning. They’re a generation in a hurry and get bored fast so we see frequent job changes, restlessness and impatience. This calls for greater understanding, empathy and redefined paradigms across the workplace and society as a whole.  

Factors like pay challenges make it difficult for companies to retain talent. How is this being addressed?

The past few years have had a lasting impact on employees, fundamentally changing how each one of us define the role of work in our lives. The pandemic and subsequent economic and political volatility has forced everyone to examine their choices about how they spend their time, energy and social capital. As per Gartner, employees increasingly seek value and purpose at work. They want employers to recognise their value and provide the same to them on a human level. Monetary compensation is important for surviving, but deeper relationships, a strong sense of community and purpose-driven work are essential to thriving.

A recent survey by CBRE, “Voices from India: How will people work in the future?” highlights that compensation remained the overriding factor in job selection; with more than 60 per cent of both sets of future employees (office and hybrid) across generations indicating this preference. However, L&D and training, trust in the management of the company, and the company’s commitment to healthy work-life balance are other crucial factors that play a big role in attracting or retaining talent. So it’s a more composite package that needs to be curated to encourage retention and loyalty.

How is artificial intelligence contributing as a mentor to help young guns adapt to the industry norms?

Today, technology is the single most transformative force that’s changing every industry as we know it. For communications agencies, it’s not an either-or future, but a future that will get built with AI integrated into it. Artificial intelligence is changing the public relations industry by providing new tools and capabilities to help PR professionals work more efficiently, effectively and strategically, resulting in greater ROI.  

I believe the greatest opportunity is in enabling and training people to harness the power of AI to enhance their own capabilities and productivity.

What are the other policies of the agencies taken into consideration for mentorship programmes?

Archetype encourages and celebrates diversity and we have devised people strategies to help us be more diverse.

We overhauled our whole people-first approach by creating a series of new initiatives and programmes and enhancing existing ones, be it the launch of the Archetype Academy, strengthening our regular culture activities or adding on to existing employee flexibility with Archetype Anywhere.

Under the Archetype Academy programme, we have developed a curriculum that has something for everyone. There are skills-based courses designed to equip employees with learnings that they can apply at work and sessions designed to create awareness as an individual. The Most Valuable People Programme (MVP), Best Work Showcase and Best You Sessions are open for everyone, while the Management Development Programme (MDP) and Leadership Development Programme (LDP) is cohort based. A large part of the programme is delivered by carefully selected external trainers and coaches based across the globe. 

Are there any other industry challenges causing hindrances for the professionals?

The biggest challenge in a disrupted world, across industries in a post pandemic realm, is the new world of work. Talent management and retention today is not just about compensation but one that transcends into a much wider gamut, therefore having a distinct EVP which is an absolute must for organisations.

Secondly, with a dynamic technology impact and proliferation of new tech, for instance generative AI, businesses need to be consistently ready to adopt, adapt and thrive. Be it seizing the opportunity or about workforce readiness, no single day is the same and to guide people through these shifts is a critical need.

Thirdly, ESG is now at the cornerstone of existence and not just profitability. Social relevance and impact are central to the idea of every industry. We, as an industry should look at this as a critical component of our future and plan for it today.

Finally trust, amongst employees, customers, businesses and nations will be critical for this industry to grow. As reputation engineers, we must continue to stay true to this overarching purpose.