Amid the Great Resignation, PR agencies must redefine what excellence looks like

The Great Resignation is squeezing companies across sectors and industries as they seek to recruit and retain the talent they need to sustain growth and deliver value. PR is no different: Agencies find themselves in fierce competition for a shrinking pipeline of communicators, struggling to retain new hires and fighting to keep their best performers.

Surviving and thriving in this environment is not just about adding staff. It’s about understanding the reality that when people quit, the team members who stay find their workloads reaching unsustainable levels.

Between limited resources and client expectations, it’s increasingly clear across the PR industry that something has to give.

How we got here

PR pros thrive on pressure and competition. The industry has long demanded more and better output faster, and for most agencies, a culture of excellence is a point of pride. Every comment, every pitch, every client email must be polished and proofed until it meets the highest standard of quality.

Rising through the ranks of an agency traditionally requires mastering a ladder of skills. Junior staff start with mastering the simple—for example, writing a client email without edits from a manager—before graduating to more complex tasks like crafting content and strategy.