The rise of the Chief Communications Officer
The need for a robust communications strategy has been acknowledged by enterprises for many decades. What’s different today is the expansive scope of a communication officer’s role, and the direct links to business success.
Managing a brands reputation is a high stakes job, and as custodians of the enterprise voice, it is the role of the Chief Communications Officer to protect and shape the way customers, partners, investors and employees view the business.
Social media’s pervasion into everyday life has changed the game when it comes to the rules of communication, creating an 'always-on' environment where every business interaction takes place on a public stage, in real-time. With this comes increased responsibility for businesses to gatekeep and control the message of their company brand - reacting to change quickly, concisely, and with sensitivity.
Customers – both current and potential – and other stakeholders are now able to determine a business’ reputation through their social and online presence. As a result, there is a growing need for a communications leader who can not only establish the company brand but safeguard it both internally and externally.
How the role of the CCO has evolved
While once the role of the CCO would have been seen as largely public relations-focused, the next CCO will be as concerned with internal communication as external.
The rise of hybrid working has placed new emphasis on the importance of employee communications. With the workforce now more dispersed than ever, the need for internal communications that bring employees together and align them against changing business visions is critical to the future success of an enterprise.
However, with these challenges have come positive changes. Accelerated digital transformations brought on by changes to the way we work mean that internal communicators now have access to better technology to engage, inform, and align the workforce. The gap between technology available to engage customers and employees is closing, and a key focus for future CCOs will be how to leverage these innovations to enhance the overall brand reputation.
The relationship between employee comms and brand reputation
To understand the changing nature of the CCO’s role, it’s important to unpick the relationship between quality employee communications and brand reputation.
In recent times, the term ‘employer brand’ has gained prominence. An employer brand refers to the way employees perceive their employer. This perception is formed by their experience of work – the culture of an organization, the policies and ethics in place, and the way they are communicated with both formally and informally.
Traditionally, employer branding was seen as an important part of attracting and retaining the best talent, sitting in the remit of HR. However, today employer branding is considered as much by customers, investors, and partners, as it is by employees.
Over the last year, in particular, we have seen increased interest from consumers surrounding how organizations treat their employees. Employees can be a company's greatest advocate if primed with the right culture and messaging. For this reason, the way a business communicates with employees is of critical importance.
Changes to policy, including the introduction of flexible working policies, must be communicated effectively and provide opportunities for employees to feedback on their views. If employees have opportunities to engage in open dialogue internally, it prevents the need to air grievances externally.
If employees feel that their needs are being carefully considered by their employer and that changes are communicated transparently and consistently, they can develop an invaluable sense of trust that is crucial to happiness.
The links between employee experience and customer experience are well documented. However, for those CCOs that need evidence to sway executive opinion, here are some key stats to bring to the table:
- Companies with highly engaged employees outperform their competitors by 147% (Gallup)
- Companies that excel at customer experience have 1.5x more engaged employees than companies with poor customer experience (Qualtrics)
- Companies with highly engaged workforces experience a 19.2% growth in operating income over a 12-month period (British Government study)
- Companies that invest in employee experience are 4x more profitable than those that don’t (Jacob Morgan)
The new responsibilities of the CCO
With the changing nature of the CCO role now established, what do the new roles and responsibilities of a CCO look like and what skillsets will be required to meet these demands?
CCOs now need to be effective and excellent communicators and collaborators, bridging all gaps between teams, employees, customers, investors, and corporate – all while keeping the collective culture and brand alive and consistent.
A typical job description for future CCO might look like this:
Objective summary:
To oversee the objectives and implementation of all communications strategies, and to strengthen and maintain the public relations aspect within an organization – building and sustaining the company’s reputation for quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction.
Key duties and responsibilities:
- Determine a communications strategy to deliver comms throughout the organization
- Engage with and develop strong relationships with external stakeholders
- Nurture and cultivate media relations
- Track analytics and create reports detailing successes and failures of communications approached
- Create rich and creative content that is optimized for search engines
- Drive corporate strategy and message development, pitch and announce strategies
- Create and launch press releases and marketing campaigns
- Develop escalation protocols for managing communication crises, should they arise
Key skills:
- Communications
- Digital know-how
- Empathy/leadership
- Relationship building/stakeholder management
- Analytical mindset
The 5 skills a successful CCO needs
According to Korn Ferry Institute’s report on the CCO, the role of the Chief Communications Officer is to:
"Anticipate risks and opportunities and get ahead of them. Build key relationships before those relationships are critically necessary. Deliver excellent communications that actually serve the needs of the business."
#1. Empathy is the most important leadership skill
Unsurprisingly, empathy is seen by most as being one of the most critical skills a leader can have. A recent study by Catalyst found that empathetic leaders resulted in greater innovation, engagement, retention, inclusivity, and work-life within the business.
Having someone in a position of power that is understanding and in tune to how others are truly feeling is extremely valuable, and this is no exception when it comes to the CCO. Having strong relationships with both the internal workforce and external shareholders are vital. A business is only as good as its employees, so the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all is essential. CCOs need to be in tune with how the workforce is truly feeling and be empathetic towards them. They then need to communicate this with leadership and corporate so that employee voices are being truly heard, creating an all-important feedback loop to continue innovating the company and keeping ahead of the curve.
For CCOs though, empathy is more than just a key skill with internal benefits. As the ones that are shaping and promoting the brand of the business, they need to be able to tap into the mindset, values, and considerations of external stakeholders too in order to get results. It’s vital that CCOs take this on board and learn that when it comes to being a successful leader and communicator, empathy – and humanity – is key.
#2. When it comes to communication, practice what you preach
Starting with the most obvious skills pertinent to a CCO role, communication skills are non-negotiable. According to Gallup, 74% of employees have the feeling they’re missing out on company news because the internal communication department is non-existent or doing a poor job. A well-placed CCO will not only possess the ability to communicate clearly and concisely with their team and the wider business, but they will also have a high-level understanding of modern communication strategies and principles.
One such way of ensuring effective communication is through the use of technology. Embracing the right technology can become the bridge between uniting stakeholders and uniting comms, both internally and externally. Technology can also be used to give employees a platform to communicate and share ideas, enabling cross-collaboration within teams. The CCO should take charge and encourage the workforce to utilize digital skills to their advantage, demonstrating its use through the success of their own team’s collaboration skills.
#3. Have the best digital skills at your disposal
The best way to cut through the noise and enable external and internal comms is to have tech-enabled processes and tools in place. The external market has robust tools that can engage customers and manage external messaging, but this has effectively changed the way we work.
Digital transformation within organizations has created new opportunities for leaders to apply the same tactics internally, and so many leaders are now turning to technology to assist with comms. The best digital tools will be the ones that counteract the usual communication barriers between employees, allows communication between departments, offices, and the alignment of your corporate message throughout the organization.
But with the constant pace of change, so too must technology evolve to stay ahead. Innovations in internal communications technology, such as engagement automation, should be embraced to bring about this change and close the gap between customer and employee experiences.
#4. Create a world-class strategy
Strategic analysis and thinking are skills that CCOs should have, as they are essential for not only building out a strategic purpose for the team but for the business brand as a whole. The lines between communication channels are becoming increasingly blurred, so CCO’s need to implement a strategy that focuses on multiple channels.
CCOs should have the strategic vision for the business in mind, using this to create and influence the mission, values, brand, and culture of the organization. But as the world of working evolves, so should the CCO’s communication strategy. As a collective, consumers are now ‘always on’ thanks to the ability to get online anytime and from anywhere through mobile devices. CCOs now must be able to reach both internal employees and external stakeholders through all preferred channels and devices, and their strategic vision needs to represent this.
How to supercharge your internal comms
In today’s workplace, effective internal communications are vital to business success. Engaged employees are a company’s greatest asset, but with the workplace transforming at pace, the way we communicate must adapt. This comprehensive guide offers a collection of insights to support internal communicators to supercharge their strategy for the future of work.
Learn More#5. Build, manage and preserve relationships with stakeholders
Corporate communications executives today have the responsibility for monitoring and managing messaging for a wide scope of audiences, requiring the ability to build relationships with various stakeholders and act as a conduit that represents and serves multiple stakeholder needs. It’s important to not only develop and publish engaging content for external stakeholders but to also analyze the data off the back of it to really understand how stakeholders view the enterprise.
Responsibilities for the CCO include looking after media relations, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, and corporate reputation, so having the skills to build and nurture these stakeholder views and relationships is essential.
The business need for the CCO
Whether you’re thinking of taking on the role of a CCO yourself, or considering hiring for one within your organization, the business influence is notable. Not only does the CCO act as the bridge for communications for both teams and leadership, but they will be the ones building and nurturing the brand reputation.
The influence of the Chief Communications Officer will continue to grow, and with that comes rising expectations from leadership. By taking into account the highlighted key skills a CCO should have, and by investing in the best digital tools at their disposal, the CCO of the new age can make successful and positive impacts on the business and its overall strategy.