What is Communication Worth?

In the mid-nineteenth century, an interesting debate on economics took place involving activists Karl Marx, David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. Basically, the discussion revolved around Mill's theory that the value of a good was set by the amount of labor needed to produce it. A big part of the discussion revolved around the matter of the actual value of labor itself. How could labor, both Marx and Ricardo wondered, be valued as well as serve as a measure of value? This and other interesting ponderings set in motion even more interesting debate as Marx, Ricardo and Mill and sought to reconcile the challenge businesses have of paying people their true worth while trying to generate as much profit for themselves as possible.

The point of this entry is not to discuss economics matters, particularly ones began over 160 years ago. Rather, it is to use it as a lead-in to a conversation about the value of communication - an issue that continues to be the subject of conversation today among public relations practitioners and those that hire them to perform specific outreach tasks on their behalf. I should note the focus of this entry is driven by my current foray into the world of consulting. What should I charge for my so-called expertise? What are my skills and time worth?  Presently, while I do have a set hourly range, attaching a dollar amount to communication is not as easy as it may seem.

What is communication worth? For mid-level managers or directors working in public relations, a few years ago Fortune magazine listed the average annual salary at $84,000. My question revolves around the calculation of such a sum. Communication itself is both a tangible service as well as an act that generates certain emotions and attitudes. Without doubt, feelings are difficult to measure. Their value, of course, when positive is immeasurable. Many rank those feelings as high as any profit that communication efforts might generate. Perhaps this is one reason employers struggle with providing their communicators with adequate compensation. It is not as if they do not want to pay public relations workers a decent salary. It is just they, too, are struggling with the intangible value of communication.