Is it time to leave higher ed?
Is it time to leave higher ed? I’ve asked myself this question more times than I ever thought I would. And right now it’s real.
In this post, I’m going to share perhaps more vulnerably and from the heart than I have at any other time when speaking about my business. It feels risky. But I trust that those who see the value that I and Pickle Jar bring to the sector will hold this post with the compassion and heart with which it is intended.
If you work in the higher education sector, I don’t need to tell you how hard things are right now. Universities across the UK and beyond are facing a financial crisis like never before. The headlines speak of deficits, cuts, and closures. The impact is real and raw. And for those of us who have dedicated our careers to serving this sector, it’s impossible not to feel it deeply.
At Pickle Jar Communications, we’ve been feeling it too. We are still recovering from the huge impact the pandemic had on our business – an impact we absorbed in our commitment to keeping our people in employment throughout as far as we could. But the reality is that we cannot operate as though nothing has changed. Change is here, and we have no choice but to respond.
That has meant asking some difficult questions. Do we need to pivot to new sectors? Is there still space for us in higher education? Should we leave? And - the most painful of all when I’m feeling especially down and whiny - are we still even wanted here?
Some of our team have chosen different paths, moving into new industries where opportunities feel more stable, and we fully respect and support those decisions.
But for me, there is no choice. Higher education isn’t just my work. It’s my life. It’s my passion, my vocation, my purpose. I believe in the transformative power of education, in the potential of this sector, and in the role we can play in opening access, building connections, and making a difference. So, even if it feels like I’m fighting against the tide, I’m choosing to stay in.
But staying in means change. It means reshaping our team, saying farewell to some valued colleagues, streamlining our work, redefining what we offer, and how we offer it.
We have to meet the sector where it is. We know that large consultancy projects - which make up the bulk of our work - are costly. While those projects are where we can create the greatest impact, we also recognise that institutions need support in ways that are more affordable and scalable. That’s why we’ve introduced a more product-led approach, launching ContentEd+ - a platform designed to share knowledge, build community, and provide practical support at a price point that institutions can still afford. By the way, that includes a price of “free” for basic access to the community.
Providing outstanding value for money through ContentEd
Through ContentEd+, we’re making high-quality content strategy insights accessible to more people, at a time when teams are stretched and under pressure. When staff are feeling undervalued, at risk, and uncertain about the future, investing in their professional development sends a powerful message: we believe in you, and we believe in your work.
But here’s the truth: if we are going to continue supporting this sector in the way that we do, we need your support too.
If you believe in what we do, if you value the work we create together, please consider:
Signing up to ContentEd+ Premium – giving your team access to a wealth of resources, insights, and expert guidance. It costs just £1,999 (+ VAT in the UK) for a whole year’s access for an uncapped number of your colleagues.
Joining the freemium version – and becoming part of a growing community committed to making higher education marketing and communications better.
Attending our events, like the AI in Practice conference – where we’re bringing together some of the brightest minds to explore the future of education marketing and content strategy.
Joining us for the ContentEd annual conference – fully online for 2025, making it more affordable, more globally inclusive, and more connected than ever before.
What about Pickle Jar?
Pickle Jar isn’t going anywhere. We are still here to support you in your strategic content and content marketing projects as the sector’s leading content strategy consultancy. But with a slimmed down team, we are working in a slightly different way:
You’ll see a lot more of me on consultancy projects. With a larger team over the past 8 years or so, I’ve contributed to many consultancy projects more from behind the scenes in leading, guiding and growing my own team and directing their work. I’ve kept my hand firmly in, and occasionally lead a project that really lights my fire. But now I’ll be even more present and client facing in my work.
We’ll be growing our associates network. This has been on the cards for many years. It was always my intention to run a small core team and support through a network of expert specialist associates. We’ve been building that network over the years and now are at a point in which we feel fully confident in delivering projects this way at scale.
We’re launching more of an agency-style offer alongside the consultancy work. This is designed to do two things:
Deliver actual content outputs (especially copy) at scale but at a more affordable price point that competes more clearly with freelance copywriting rates
Provide ongoing retained strategic partnership support to our clients who want to benefit by working with us strategically, but across multiple different projects, over longer periods of time.
We’re continuing to work on product development, to ensure that we keep innovating and offering new products (not just services) that the sector truly loves. Launching ContentEd+ in the last few months have showed me just how good we are at doing this. So, watch this space for even more.
How can you support us, while we support you?
I’ve spent so much time in the last five years holding space for compassionate conversations in our sector. Expressing my sympathy and support for how tough it must be to work in-house through a pandemic and now through this downturn. I’ve mostly kept quiet about the struggles within our own teams as we too have worked through it. Every so often a friendly client acknowledges that it must be hard for small businesses. But sometimes, in reality, the processes of giant institutions don’t offer the grace and support for small and micro business that I know they would like to.
So, while we want to continue to support you - and to hold all the sympathy, empathy and compassion in the world - we’re asking for something back:
Please revisit your procurement processes through the lens of compassionate vendor engagement. Being asked to submit a proposal because you’re trapped in a “three quote process” when the preferred vendor is already known to you is harmful to small businesses. It gives the illusion of a fair process, but in reality many of us know that the decisions have already been made. At those times, the presentation of a fair process turns into an abusive process - taking valuable time from teams who could be spending it nurturing genuine leads. We often are that “preferred vendor”. But when we’re not, find a way to subtly tell us or hint. We’re still happy to help you out with quotes. We know how the game works. But we perhaps won’t pour all of the blood, sweat and tears into it that we usually do.
Provide feedback and don’t ghost us. Over the last few years, we’ve had too many experiences of pursuing genuine procurement processes and partnering on proposals requested from us from a very real and strategic need, only to be met with silence and unanswered follow-ups. We know there might be sadness and shame for you when your budget has been pulled and you can no longer work on that thing you so very much wanted to work on with us. But please tell us. We won’t think any less of you. But transparency is the kindest thing you can offer us in those moments.
Recommend us. We’ve worked with over 300 education institutions. I can confidently say that folks love working with us and get so much from the work that we do. So, even if you can’t work with us because of frozen budgets, please do recommend and refer us to others. Because we don’t sell ourselves aggressively at Pickle Jar, we’re not always as front of mind in the sector as you might think.
Check in on us. Ask us how we’re doing from time to time too. We really appreciate it. We love staying in touch even when we know you can’t hire us. That’s okay. Just your connection and support are equally as valuable to us as your contracts and purchase orders!
I don’t know what the future holds for higher education. I don’t know when, or if, things will get easier. But I do know this: I am still here. I am still fighting for this sector. And I still believe in everything we can achieve together.
If you do too, let’s keep going.
With genuine love, compassion and connection
Tracy Playle
Founder, CEO and Chief Content Strategist
Pickle Jar, ContentEd and Utterly Content