On the PRmoment Podcast today we’re chatting with Katie De Cozar, director of CCgroup about how to improve the DE&I of PR agencies.

CCgroup has made major changes to its business over the past 5 years which has seen significant improvements in the diversity of its employees.

CCgroup is a £6m revenue PR firm based in London with 46 employees. In 2020 17% of CCgroup's employees were BME, in 2023 that has increased to 37%.

Some background stats for our listeners:

According to the CIPR State of the Profession Report 2022 89% of the PR sector is white, 11% black, Asian, mixed or other ethnic groups. (All UK-wide)

Government data from the UK Census 2021: 82% of people in England and Wales are white, and 18% belong to a black, Asian, mixed or other ethnic group

So we as a sector need to do better when it comes to encouraging a greater representation of people to work in public relations.

Before we start, if you haven’t already do take a look at our new event PR Masterclass: The Agency Growth Forum. Katie will be joining a panel at the event on “Building partnerships to help shift the diversity of communication campaigns and the teams that create them.”

At this one event, 22 experts will give 11 Masterclasses on essential elements of managing a modern, profitable and successful PR firm.

Finally, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.

4.30 mins “We know that diverse teams outperform non-diverse teams.”

5 mins Where do PR leaders need to start their journey towards increasing the representation of minority groups within their PR teams?

5.30 mins “Representation in London of BME is around 46%.”

7 mins Katie talks about what data do you need to know when it comes to your company's diversity.

“Our gender pay gap has improved significantly, we’ve got work to do on our ethnicity pay gap.”

12 mins Katie talks about the need to communicate your diversity data in a transparent and fair way, both internally and externally.

13 mins Here is the link to the WIPR podcast with Jo Carr Ben mentioned in the show.

14 mins The other areas that are critically important to making progress on diversity are recruitment, bonuses & benefits and staff surveys. Katie talks us through why they are such important areas and gives an insight into the changes that CCgroup made.

“Importantly we got rid of the words ‘cultural fit!’”

“We have full transparency within pay bands within the business. One thing agencies must do is include pay bands within the job description… There’s a real danger to hiding that information.”

20 mins Katie talks about how CCgroup changed its recruitment processes to improve the diversity of candidates.

23 mins Katie describes how CCgroup has democratised its approach to rewarding staff bonuses - to make it a fairer and more transparent process.

26 mins Katie talks about the role of staff surveys in helping understand how its staff are feeling.

28 mins How CCgroup’s 360 appraisal process works.

31 mins Is CCgroup producing a different type of work than before it had a diverse team?

33 mins How has the culture of CCgroup improved?

35 mins Have clients noticed CCgroup's improvement in its approach to diversity?

37 mins CCgroup is a member of Blueprint - how has that scheme helped during this process?

“Blueprint has provided a bedrock for our talent plan.”

“I would urge anybody thinking about improving or starting work in this place to look at Blueprint, it’s an incredible source to get you off on the right foot.”

“You need to show the receipts…it’s not about we will be doing this in x. You have to show evidence.”