Leadership Lessons with Tim Potter, Managing Director of Hunt & Gather

We recently sat down with Tim Potter, Managing Director of Hunt & Gather, London, who shared his insight into how the PR landscape is changing, the impact of AI for comms organisations, and the ongoing hiring challenges facing the industry.

What key global trends are you seeing in the PR industry in 2024?

Obviously, I can’t not mention AI. It’s fundamentally changing the way we work, and I think most of us in the PR industry are paying attention to that. We’re all looking at how this kind of technology can make our lives easier, allow us to work more efficiently, and help cut costs.

For us, it’s been interesting to see firsthand how AI can assist with tasks traditionally handled by our junior staff – pulling reports, creating media lists, and even drafting blog outlines. We’ve also been experimenting with design tools like Firefly or DALL-E, which are improving the visual impact of our presentations and, in some instances, reducing our need for external designers for basic tasks.

How has the shift toward AI impacted your hiring strategy?

It hasn’t impacted how we hire in any significant way so far. Yes, AI’s ability to take over initial tasks currently done by account managers could reduce the need for a large headcount in the long run, but equally it could create new roles for experts in AI.

As I see it, we’re always going to need people for the areas that require creativity or human connection, we just won’t necessarily need the same roles as we did ten or twenty years ago.

And, you know, it’s not just AI that impacts how we hire. We’re all working through the same economic cycles. For us, we’re seeing a slight shift towards project-based work, which has impacted how we hire, for instance, leaning more on freelance support rather than full-time hires.

What other hiring challenges are shaping your strategy right now?

For us, and many other PR organisations, I’m sure, recruiting outstanding junior talent has proven challenging in recent years. We all need to keep up with the changing demands of the workforce – particularly the younger generations, and that’s something we’re definitely having to work on.

Younger talent today tends to prioritise working on projects that align with their values, which can lead to departures when they feel a disconnect with their work. It’s a different mindset compared to when I started in the industry, where job satisfaction was more about the people you worked with and the creative and strategic challenge, rather than the ethical mission of the clients themselves.

We’re trying to offset the recruitment challenge in different ways, including working with Taylor Bennett Foundation programme, which has been great. Each year, we take on one or two interns with a view to hiring them at a junior level if all goes well.

Can you talk to us about the role of diversity and inclusion in your talent acquisition strategy?

Absolutely, it’s such a critical part of recruitment. We’ve made efforts locally through programs like the Taylor Bennett Foundation, which we’ve used for the past six years. Over in the US, we’re implementing similar initiatives, working with local schools or colleges to prioritise diversity in recruitment.  

And yet, there’s always more to do. We place a lot of focus on ethnic diversity, but I also want to make sure we’re considering other aspects like age, gender, and sexuality, so that’s something we’re proactively looking at going forward.

And what are your predictions for the PR industry over the next 18 months?

I do expect that AI has the potential to ultimately reduce the number of junior roles necessary within organisations. Various external pressures mean we’re going to see the traditional pyramid structure of agencies shift, with a leaner, more senior team structure becoming more common.

More generally, the PR landscape is still a challenging one, regardless of the successes we might see on LinkedIn. It’s tough trading out there. With this in mind, I think we’re going to see a lot more consolidation or liquidation of independent agencies over the next 18 months.

Thanks for your insight, Tim. Any final thoughts before we wrap up?

All in all, I’d say the PR industry is undergoing serious transformation. As leaders, we need to keep our ear to the ground and not be afraid to evolve with this change, rather than rally against it.