Where we're headed: in advance of a new Research Foundation study, IABC's panel of experts highlights the successes and the challenges for communication departments today

Communication World, March-April, 2007 by Karen Vahouny, Natasha Nicholson

Imagine this scenario: You head a communication department. One day the CEO walks into your office and tells you that the company is initiating a detailed analysis of its overhead functions, including yours. The communication department's structure, mission and effectiveness will all be under scrutiny, and you'll need to come up with some common metrics and measurements that show the department's value.

A dream, or a nightmare? You may be totally prepared, thanks to careful benchmarking, or you may have no idea where to start. No matter which camp you're in, assessing the value and potential of your department will soon be easier thanks to upcoming research from the IABC Research Foundation.

"IABC members have asked for data on structuring a communication department in order to get overall summary data and trends, and to benchmark their organizations against others in similar businesses, geographic locations and size," says Kellie Garrett, ABC, chair of the IABC Research Foundation. "They want to be sure they're directly linking the efforts of their department to their organization's goals, reinforcing vision and culture, while maximizing the staff's skills and strengths."

This year the IABC Research Foundation will begin a study of members around the world that will focus on communication department structures, functions, budget, staffing and competencies, covering centralized versus decentralized models, reporting relationships, integration with other functions, budget trends and outsourcing.

To preface the project, the IABC Research Foundation hosted roundtable discussions with industry experts to pinpoint and discuss trends, obstacles and successes in the field. The panel included senior communicators representing a diverse set of organizational responsibilities. The first meeting was held in San Francisco in September; in the months that followed, IABC members from five countries outside North America joined the discussion virtually. (See the facing page for the list of panelists.)

What follows is a synthesis of key trends and issues facing the industry today based on those discussions.

What are the mega-trends you have seen over the past five to seven years in the communication field?

1. A need for strategic communicators.

Panelists agreed that there is a growing need for strategic communicators. According to Karen Horn, companies are moving toward using strategic communicators internally while outsourcing more specialized, tactical work. As Kristen Sukalac pointed out, "Serious communicators are gaining more credence as they focus more on serving the organization's strategic interests."

Juan-Andres Rincon Gonzalez added that what he sees communicators doing well is "focusing on strategy more than ever and avoiding the fast-tactic, mainly-just-creative-solution approach."

2. An increased focus on return on investment (ROI).

Supporting the need for more strategic communicators, Paul Sanchez and Gordon Rudow cited ROI as another critical issue. Sanchez said the questions he keeps hearing from management about communication are, "What's the real payback? We've given them a budget, but are they producing results that have an impact for our shareholders?"

According to Rudow, organizations want increased measurement around communication--how it's driving business initiatives, speeding up implementation, translating behavior change and leveraging the investment of the enterprise. "It's not about the quantity of things that we produce anymore. It's about what impact we are making," he said.

"Communicators are trying to relate communication strategy and image management to reputation or real value," explained Abraham Nosnik. And Pablo Casares called "selling the true impact of communication to higher management" the No. 1 problem facing communicators today.

3. Increased credibility.

New efforts in strategy and measurement in communication are being met by growing respect and validation from other departments. "For a variety of reasons, organizations are paying much more attention to communication in this environment, because they know they can go down in flames in 30 seconds if they're not aware and trying," Sanchez said. Such crisis situations have enhanced top-level attitudes in what Rincon Gonzalez called an "evolution of the view of CEOs about the power of communicating with others."

Sukalac pointed out that the "professionalization" of communication still has a long way to go in France, but that European integration and globalization--along with recent business scandals--have been important in convincing organizations of the profession's value. "Communicators who only speak a company's official language are [now] at a disadvantage," she said. "Knowledge of local language and culture is a plus, and deployment must take into account the fragmentation of audiences."

4. Rethinking the customer experience.

Kellie Garrett noted the growing emphasis on all employees to deliver a brand and engage customers. "I think many [companies] are moving to the customer intimacy model and the differentiated customer experience," she said. "That means that their reliance on their employees to deliver the brand is more and more important, which means communication, marketing and training need to work together."