â–¶ CCOs Becoming More Prominent: New research suggests that the rise of digital media has led to greater responsibility on the part of corporate communications executives despite the current economic instability. The survey, conducted by Spencer Stuart, Weber Shandwick and KRC Research, polled 159 participants, 84% of which worked for Fortune 500 companies.
Spencer Stuart’s head of corporate communications and investor relations practice, George Jamison, said that the data may indicate that during critical periods, CEOs turn to their chief communications officers (CCOs) for their crisis management expertise. The study also found:
• 58% of global chief communications officers surveyed report to the CEO, compared to 48% a year ago;
• Not only do more CCOs call the CEO their boss, but 40% of CCOs consider the CEO to be their biggest ally in the organization;
• In 2008, CCOs’ average tenure was 65 months, compared to 54 months in 2007;
• According to CCOs surveyed, the need for crisis/issues management experience has increased 45% since 2007;
• 18% of communications departments in North America relied on social media/blogging in 2008 as communications tools/resources, compared to only 7% in Europe;
• 62% of CCOs at Fortune’s Most Admired Companies report to CEOs, compared to only 39% at less esteemed contender companies; and,
• On average, North American CCOs have been in their current positions for approximately two years longer than European CCOs (five years, 10 months versus three years, nine months, respectively).
Source: Spencer Stuart
â–¶ And You Thought Weddings Were Bad? While business meetings are notoriously time consuming, a new international study reveals that planning the meetings themselves may take longer than we realize.
The report, released by Doodle and conducted by research group LMRMC, estimates that business professionals spend an average of 4.9 hours of their workweek planning meetings. In addition, e-mail remains the most common way to organize meetings for both managers and administrative professionals. Other notable findings include:
• Business professionals organize seven meetings a week on average, with the mean length of each being two hours and 45 minutes;
• Most meetings have at least four or five participants;
• Across Europe and the U.S., 34% of administrative staffs use calendar systems, compared to 27% of managers;
• 34% of managers prefer using e-mail to arrange meetings, compared to 30% of those on administrative staffs; and,
• Managers typically need to rearrange more meetings than their assistants, with 69% of managers needing to reschedule get-togethers, compared to 46% of administrative arrangements.
Source: Doodle
â–¶ Economy on Rocks, Heads Roll: According to a report released by Deloitte, high-ranking executives and talent managers worldwide are restructuring their workforces in order to stay afloat in today’s economy.
The survey, which polled 397 senior business leaders and human resources executives, indicates that most managers fear that the worst is still to come, with each successive round of layoffs both deeper and more difficult than the last. The report also showed that:
• Nearly half (47%) of the 397 international executives questioned reported layoffs over the last three months, markedly more than those who had predicted layoffs (38%) in Deloitte’s January study;
• 43% of executives surveyed list “role necessity” as a key factor in making decisions about workforce reductions, a 17% drop from January;
• Executives surveyed reported that over the next 12 months, their companies are more likely to decrease rather than increase compensation levels (25% to 15%, respectively), benefit levels and packages (32% to 14%) and discretionary perks (39% to 12%);
• Corporate bonuses are being pared back, with 35% reporting they expect bonuses to decrease this year; and,
• By a ration of 2:1, executives in CFO/treasurer/comptroller roles were more likely than overall respondents to disagree that employees in their firms knew how to identify fraud and other behaviors that could endanger their companies. PRN
Source: Deloitte