Pagoda View

How PR can stem the alien invasion

5 Apr 2010

So the CBI is now warning of an alien invasion of sorts. Apparently aliens have been securing positions as chief executives of FTSE 100 companies for some time now. Back in 2000 they earned a mere 47 times the average wage, while in 2009 they started to display their full extra-terrestrial credentials by earning 81 times the average wage. When they reach 100 times the average wage they will shed their human exterior entirely and take on a fully alien form.

The CBI's concern is that their rewards are so out of step with the rest of society that they appear 'not of this planet'. There is a growing public feeling that some sections of society are not sharing the pain of the recession. This is evident in reactions to everything from bankers' bonuses to the expenses of public sector bosses.

I remember once discussing with a friend why nurses should earn only a modest salary while investment bankers needed to earn vast sums. The answer was that for the nurse, their job was a vocation in service of the public good. By contrast, we are told that that investment bankers, who also now serve the public good, require millions in bonuses to stir themsleves of a morning. Otherwise, they might just flee the country.

PR practitioners need to be more alive to these dilemmas than they are. Recently I heard a senior communications advisor from a large company talk about how he was faced with a situation where his chief executive was awarded a colossal bonus just as large scale redundacies were made across the company. We were treated to an explanation of how, through intensive communications, the workforce was persuaded that the CEO was just an ordinary Jo and quite a nice guy - not at all like an alien. I asked whether the communications advisor had suggested to the CEO that returning even some of his bonus might be worthy of consideration as a PR strategy. However, apparently that was not a conversation that could take place.

As PR practitioners we may have to be a little bolder in advising senior management about difficult decisions. Top tips on appearing humanoid might be a good start.

Ian Coldwell