Private sector organizations, non-profits, associations and government agencies face big issues from disruption, transformation and reputation challenges. The impact on their communications teams is formidable.
A recent article in PRWeek by editor Steve Barrett, chronicled multiple changes of Chief Communications Officers in big organizations over the past several months. Barrett cited a Page Society report calling the spate of departures an “existential moment” for CCO’s and perhaps for Chief Marketing Officer (CMOs).
Of course, it starts with the CEO, her/his priorities and needs from the C-Suite team. As we often see in professional sports, head coaches and managers are constantly juggling their line-ups to maximize performance. It’s now the same for organizations.
Depending on the number of hats the CCO wears and the chain of command in the organization, here are a few suggestions to help succeed in an ever-evolving environment:
- Promote and Protect the Brand. This is both a proactive and reactive job. Collaborating to enhance the positive image is essential; preparation and rapid response are critical to shorten the life of any negative narrative.
- Use More Metrics. Story telling comes with the CCO job. However, more and more decisions are based on big data and analytics – so let the numbers help tell the compelling story. Understand the figures presented by stakeholders and use data to support plans and stories.
- Expand the audiences you can influence. PR or internal comms doesn’t need to be expert on IR issues or IT, but understanding a financial statement gives a CCO greater credibility in C-Suite discussions.
- Bring the outside world in-house. Have an external footprint to keep the C-Suite informed on influencers, critics, third party supporters and allies and of course, media.
Transformation and culture change puts pressure on all disciplines. Take advantage of the existential moment and figure out new strategies to provide better counsel in your current job – and learn these skills to advance your career.