2023 Best PR Agencies to Work For, EMEA

Best Agency to Work For is possibly the only predictive PRovoke Media award. Over the years, we’ve noticed a direct correlation between the agencies on this list and those that take home our biggest honor (often at some point in the future) — Agency of the Year recognition. That's because building a great workplace culture—diverse and inclusive, flexible enough to accommodate a continuum of home-office preferences, respectful of employees’ mental health—has never been more critical than it is today.

In 2022, the aftershocks of the pandemic continued to rumble through the industry as firms wrestled to balance the demand for flexible work schedules with the cultural cohesion that is perhaps easier to realize in a shared office space. While the “great resignation” and “quiet quitting” were perhaps overstated, there was a “great renegotiation” around what employers can reasonably expect from employees.

At the same time, diversity, equity and inclusion remained a critical issue. For the PR industry in particular, this is an existential challenge: to create communications campaigns that reach all citizens, agencies need to look more like all citizens; the same is true whether the audience is a diverse employee population, communities of color, or specific marginalized populations too long neglected.

Mental health compounded these challenges. There is a newfound understanding that mental health issues need to be accorded the same degree of respect and understanding that has long been expected in physical health terms. And there was perhaps the beginning of a new understanding the long hours and demanding clients that have long defined consultancy life might not be compatible with caring for employees’ well being.

If all of this sounds like managing a people-centric business like PR is getting increasingly complicated and challenging (and make no mistake, the value chain of communications consulting is clear: attract, develop and retain good people and they will bring in good clients, who will in turn deliver long-term growth and profitability) it is.

But the good news was there too: a mounting body of evidence that suggests a strong link between employee happiness and job performance. (As a result of this research, we tweaked out Best Consultancies to Work For survey questions to place greater emphasis on employee happiness rather than just satisfaction).

These five Best Consultancies to Work For will be presented with their trophies at the 2023 EMEA SABRE Awards dinner, which takes place in Frankfurt on March 23. Full details of the awards ceremony and our EMEA Summit which accompanies it can be found here.

Best EMEA Network to Work For

Winner:

BCW Global (WPP)

Backstory

Five years after its mega-merger, BCW has evolved into a formidable player in EMEA, with the synergies between Burson-Marsteller’s corporate and public affairs heritage and Cohn & Wolfe’s consumer and healthcare expertise paying off in ways both predictable and unexpected. In the latter category, BCW has demonstrated an agility and propensity for innovation that you might not expect from an agency of its size. Its ‘integrated earned plus’ proposition took much of its work past PR into digital, film, creative, research and influencer marketing. The EMEA region has also been an intellectual pioneer for the global business.

Performance

Fee income for Europe and Africa (the Middle East is its own region for BCW) increased by very high single digits in 2022—the best performing region in the BCW network—with markets such as Brussels, the DACH area and Turkey among the top performers and practice areas as diverse as consumer, digital and public affairs showing impressive strength. There was organic growth from a number of key clients, including Vinci, Polestar, Amazon, Clearpay, Centrica, Henkel, Boehringer Ingelheim, and IKEA, as well as new business from the likes of Swissport, Grundfos, Unilever, FIFA, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Bacardi, JDE, Ipsen and Klarna.

Workplace Culture

BCW’s employee value proposition is: "We are designed to cultivate your growth and momentum." The firm believes performance management helps team members grow when it is continuous and year-round. The BCW E&A Growth Academy provides every employee with easy-to-access and on-demand training opportunities, and learning and development programs (both internally and externally led) are designed to underpin both the ongoing strategic goals of the agency and the personal growth and development of staff. BCW MovE is the firm’s approach to post-pandemic work pattens and is designed to allow individuals to adopt a work rhythm that suits them while also creating the in-office collaboration necessary for collective success. Rather than focusing on hours, location, and mandated days in the office, people intentionally decide where, when and how they want to work based on what they need to achieve. Finally BCW provides unlimited access to its Employee Assistance Programme and has invested in a mental health champion program with many staff across the region trained in mental health first aid.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Three years ago, BCW introduced “Destination Inclusion,” a topic-driven global framework to encourage an inclusive, open, and collaborative culture. In the EMEA region, there have been weekly live discussions on topics such as “Being an equity accomplice” and “Inspiring equity in client work.” Destnation Inclusion has been the most successful employee activation in BCW's history, resulting in a 90% “recommend” response, as well as a self-reported shift in opinions among 85% of participants. In Brussels and London, the firm has been a supporter of the Pride movement.

What Employees Say

Collaborative, inclusive and open are the most common adjectives used by the employees responding to our survey, along with supportive and caring. “Great leadership, great integrity, and cares about the employees' career growth,” says one respondent. “An immediate second family,” says another, who adds: “ I've been at BCW just over a year, and have never felt so welcomed, embraced, and valued by a team.” When asked their favorite thing about working at BCW, by far the most frequent response is either “the people” or “the team.” Says one respondent: “They put in the effort to do better. Once they are aware something is an issue or could be improved, they try.” Asked what they don’t like, “long hours” and “money” are mentioned most frequently.

The top five:

BCW Global
APCO
AxiCom
Milk & Honey
Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Best Continental Consultancy to Work For