Nearly all (90 percent) employees believe it’s important that the organization they work for promote social change, new research shows. Likewise, customers increasingly value personalized experiences and the sense of being treated as more than a number—at the same time they’re demanding higher standards for privacy and data security, data from Salesforce.com says.
Whether business can meet the rising tide of new expectations remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: Communications will be in the eye of the storm.
Faced with responding to the demands of customers, employees, owners, and society, companies are turning to communicators for strategic advice. In a survey, The Conference Board set out to investigate the burgeoning strategic influence of corporate communications and how companies have empowered the function to capitalize on the brave new world of louder, more diverse stakeholder voices. The resulting report, Corporate Communications Practices: 2019 Edition, included responses from 149 public and private companies.
What emerged is a picture of sprawling global organizations awakening to the need for communications expertise at the highest levels of strategic decision-making. The very largest companies led the way. Among firms exceeding $25 billion in revenue, nearly three-quarters (72 percent) reported having a chief communications officer (CCO) — a title that ensures permanent representation in the C-suite. Among all 149 responding companies, that proportion falls to fewer than half (48 percent) [see graphic].
At the same time, it found companies of all sizes continue to share blind spots—gaps that communicators will need to span as the bridge between bottom-line corporate performance and expanded stakeholder expectations shortens.
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When identifying communications recruits, it found that large companies prefer candidates with experience at other major global organizations, the company’s industry, or high-level business management. Overall, traditional communications talents like writing ability remain the most sought-after among all companies [see graphic].
This focus on building a strategy-oriented communications function could be leaving some communications teams lacking in more specific forward-facing skills. While business knowledge and writing are indispensable, other seemingly critical parts of the modern communicator’s toolkit fall conspicuously low on the charts of most sought-after skills. These include expertise in social media, graphic design, visual communications, and mobile platforms.
As corporate communications builds its profile at the upper echelons of business strategy, it can’t neglect growing an arsenal of frontline skills to further sharpen the function’s cutting edge.
Keeping Pace with Social Media’s Boom
Social media has revolutionized organizations’ ability to engage with all manner of stakeholders. The benefits are obvious in C-suites and boardrooms, and both public and private companies are ramping up the use of social media data to measure the performance of their communications function.
The problem? Too many are still relying on the easy-to-reach vanity metrics that social media platforms make readily available.
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Conversations with executives in The Conference Board’s Councils — as well as submissions to The Conference Board’s annual Excellence in Marketing & Communications Awards — confirm the need for more sophisticated data analytics to truly demonstrate and track social media’s strategic contribution.
As firms such as Hootsuite and others recommend, companies need to begin taking advantage of deeper and more rigorous data around awareness, engagement, conversion, and customer demographics.
Responsibility to Stay Ahead of the Curve
The work of corporate communications unfolds faster than ever. Often, companies have mere minutes to react to events. This pace will only accelerate as technologies like AI continue to come online and permeate the culture.
Communications teams need to be proactive in anticipating the additional qualifications all but certain to arise in the years ahead.
One obvious area is legal expertise, as governments around the world move to regulate how companies collect and use personal data.
Indeed, corporate communications can’t rest on the laurels of its newfound influence. The function needs to be multifaceted, adaptable, and collaborative to help companies manage heightened stakeholder expectations and capitalize on the opportunities of the modern business world.
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