Leadership Lessons with…  Johannes Heuser, the Head of Public Affairs at Grayling

We spoke to Johannes Heuser, the Head of Public Affairs at Grayling, about his thoughts on the future of Public Affairs, and how to operate and integrate a Public Affairs team. Take a look.

What significant industry trends do you foresee in 2024? And what are some of the most anticipated changes?

In Germany, across Europe and the UK, I see a lot of increasing demand from clients for both high-quality services and close counsel. There is a lot of uncertainty around this year of elections; we have 70 democratic elections happening worldwide this year. In Germany alone, we have three state elections, we have the European elections in May, and we have a number of local elections. Any business with an affiliation to politics is going to go through changes caused by political decision-making, which is why business leaders need prepare for these changes.

At the same time the elections are creating insecurity, which means clients are asking for more intimate, informed, and confident counsel. Companies associated with the public affairs sector really need to reassess their stakeholder strategy and management to make sure they’re equipped for this year.

There is also increasing demand for high quality products. Clients are asking for a lot of advice this year, and one of the ways we’re helping them is by using AI, which has noticeably helped us increase the quality of our deliverables. We already had clients asking for our internal AI policies, which showcases their awareness for the limitations of those tools and reiterates at the same time the need for advice and counsel on how to use AI tools.

How can leaders take advantage of these upcoming transitions?

Don’t rely too heavily on AI. AI can be a useful tool, but you need to make up your own mind as a leader and have your own stance on political issues and developments in the industry. Nowadays we’re seeing the uprise of far-right parties in several jurisdictions, an issue a lot of companies are asking us for advice on how to deal with.

Leaders need to have a clear stance on political issues, and they need to reassess practices that may be outdated or ineffective. It’s about looking at the bigger picture and creating scenarios for what companies need to do in times of uncertainty, as well as giving your whole staff the chance to use new technologies to reach a certain level of high-quality services delivery.

How do you think AI will impact the industry itself, in terms of benefits, concerns, and challenges?

I would describe myself as being a bit of a sceptic – I don’t believe all of the hype around AI. I still believe that what we do is primarily a people’s business. I think it will make us more efficient, it will perhaps make us a bit faster, but in the end, it will always boil down to the human factor. Getting the right assessment out of the data, verifying the data, and deriving the right counsel and advice from that – there always needs to be a human involved.

I think it’s good to have AI, and we will need to use it to increase efficiency, but I wouldn’t say that it will lead to working with less staff. I don’t think that it will cut jobs in our industry, it will just change the way we think about quality, assessments, and the human factor.

What are your recommendations for leaders on how to incorporate ESG strategies?

This issue is obviously not a new one. This discussion has been around for a while, but now we are coming to the crunch time in terms of legislation. We currently have discussions in the EU about the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, as well as reporting structures for companies. I would advise all leaders to see this as an opportunity.

On the reputation side, you need to have combined thinking about ESG factors, how you can take a proactive stance on issues, and showcase that your company is conducting due diligence ESG processes. When it comes to the to the Public Affairs side, I think it’s a case-by-case assessment for leaders. Are the ESG changes going to be an issue for the supply chain? Should companies consider ESG issues as risk management or as an opportunity? Is it an issue for the investor or shareholders of the company? These are the main questions leaders need to consider.

Either in terms of Germany or even globally, what are your recommendations to public leaders?

I think the same advice applies for Germany as well as globally – it’s two major things. The first one is to make sure you’re engaged – you should make sure you take a stance on relevant political issues. We have a lot of new joiners in our state parliaments this year, so it’s important to engage with those newcomers.

But it’s equally important to engage with your own team, and with the people behind your business. What we talked about in terms of AI and changes to the industry – I think it still needs a lot of explanation and this is what leaders need to do: explain.

My second recommendation is “don’t believe the hype.” There is a lot of exaggerated coverage around issues like AI, so get down to the to the real details and to the nitty gritty in terms of legislation and regulatory details. Really think about how AI can help your team at the current moment, and how can you use that as a positive factor to stand out amongst competitors in terms of quality.

What is your outlook for this year?

Overall, it’s very positive – it’s a really exciting year. Naturally, any Public Affairs professional is going to find elections exciting. It underlines the value of our work and our profession – the Public Affairs’ “Why.” Luckily, we don’t have that fundamental questions anymore, as our market is very mature at this point, but we still have to showcase why Public Affairs, as a profession, is needed, and how you can measure our impact. I am very confident that we will take a further step in this year in terms of measuring our impact and further maturing the industry.