We recently had the opportunity to speak to Marie-Josée Gagnon, CEO and Founder of CASACOM, who shared her thoughts regarding CASACOM’s second annual Elevate Study, how employer branding is essential for attracting, engaging, and retaining employees since most businesses rely on it to meet increasingly labor-driven priorities, how helpful is the implementation of ESG/CSR budgets, in assisting businesses with their strategic planning, her views on the majority of businesses that have hired external PR and communications consultants in the past two years, apparently to supplement inadequate internal resources, followed by the benefits businesses will receive from the diversity, equity, and inclusion principles.
Marie-Josée is recognized by peers and clients alike as one of Canada’s most progressive PR leaders. An alumni of Harvard Business School, she brings innovation and entrepreneurial flair into all she does. She is known for her creativity, sincere engagement and thoroughness, as well as for her leadership, and impeccable judgment.
Marie-Josée provides strategic counsel to support the business strategy of some of Canada’s and the globe’s best-known brands, including Etsy, Kiewit, Ultima Foods (iögo), Aimia, and Toyota to name a few.
How will you describe your journey, having held several key positions in major organizations and being the recipient of multiple awards over the years?
I’ve had a fantastic career, so far – the journey is far from over 🙂 After beginnings in politics, diplomacy, and private businesses, I opened CASACOM in 2001 and never looked back. I have spent the past two decades helping to elevate my clients, my staff, as well as myself. We’ve never been satisfied delivering the status quo. We’ve continually pushed the boundaries in communications, helping our clients increase their presence in their markets among the audiences that are most important to the actual success of their business.
My journey has been one of continuous learning, and I employ that in every interaction I have. Professionally, we take the time to really learn about our clients and their compelling reason for seeking communications support and question them in a way that removes the vain reasons some organizations are seeking awareness to help them get the most from their communications activities. We are committed to generating value.
What are your thoughts regarding CASACOM’s second annual Elevate Study? How well did the study analyze the Quebec and Ontario public relations and communications landscape?
We did this study because we wanted to provide the leaders of our profession with a portrait of the trends and priorities in the industry, so that they can benchmark themselves and, above all, make better decisions and grow within their organizations.
This year we had 177 respondents from Ontario and Quebec, with over 80% from leadership or Vice President positions. Capturing the feedback of so many PR and communications leaders has made this year’s findings extremely relevant, reflecting many of the key issues and concerns business is facing right now.
Among the top priorities for communications professionals this year, we found that digital communications and social media (54%), media relations (41%), and corporate branding and strategic positioning (38%) are top priorities for the leaders surveyed. Over three-quarters, (76%) of businesses have used external PR and communications consultants in the past two years. Sixty-six percent of them indicated that this was to complement insufficient internal resources. Among those that do not have an employer branding strategy, over three quarters (77%) plan to implement one in the future and most executives said that they integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion principles in their images and videos (90%) and use inclusive language (76%).
Why do you believe employer branding is essential for attracting, engaging, and retaining employees since most businesses rely on it to meet increasingly labor-driven priorities?
Employers need to walk their talk and talk is not defined by a few taglines or stock images. This kind of branding requires in-depth audits and interviews with key employees to understand what attracts them and makes them stay.
Then their feedback is aligned with the vision, mission, and values of the organization, ensuring a consistent organizational brand that is presented both internally and externally.
People are every business’s greatest asset. Employer branding helps businesses stand out among their competition and creates a motivation for current employees to stay. Think about your customer-facing brand online. A poor product description or a poor review will deter customers. The same holds true for your business’ brand as an employer. Poor reviews and an unclear employment offering will have the best talent looking elsewhere. We’re in an employee market, so it is the company with the best branding that is going to attract the best people.
This is also true for keeping employees. A brand is not only a theme or a design, it is how a business lives the promise that it makes to its employees every day. Today’s employee is looking to work for a company they support and believe in, and that offers fulfillment beyond a paycheque.
Since the majority of surveyed organizations prefer to increase their ESG/CSR budgets, how will their implementation assist businesses with their strategic planning?
ESG is at the core of strategic planning. When an ESG strategy is well-defined and communicated to all relevant audiences inside and outside of the organization, it becomes the special signature of a business. The organizations who come to us for ESG strategy will have to incorporate it into their overall strategic planning. It needs to become core to the business and part of the priorities.
What are your thoughts on the majority of businesses that have hired external PR and communications consultants in the past two years, apparently to supplement inadequate internal resources?
That’s one reason. Communications teams are overwhelmed with today’s needs. Everyone expects more from their brands and brands now need to comment on public issues, provide content for multiple social feeds, communicate regularly with their current and future employees, manage their ESG practices, and promote the products and services they offer.
We are engaged by our clients for all of the above as well as to provide a different perspective on a challenge or an unbiased opinion on a crisis or offer expertise in an area not available internally.
However, you asked what I think about it. I think it is great, and recommend that any communications department that is feeling overwhelmed reach out to me directly at [email protected]!
How will the diversity, equity, and inclusion principles benefit businesses, as the majority of executives have incorporated them into their images and videos using inclusive language?
All of these are great practices, but they need to be more than simply following the demands of the public. They need to be authentic. Businesses need to truly believe that diverse insights and innovative solutions come from a variety of voices. It should be part of every organization, not just a badge of honor, but a best practice in their business operations. In Canada, we are such a multicultural society that we have the opportunity to lead the way in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for the world.
Externally, DEI also makes brands more appealing. There is a far greater variety of voices, faces, and lifestyles appearing in all media and it is moving people to make choices that they never thought were for or available to them. But again, motives need to be authentic. Promises that are not backed up with action, ring hollow and will do more damage to a brand than good.
