Partner Article

Top comms personnel anticipate growing influence

Communications professionals see the management of their organisation’s reputation as their most important function.

Research in the Business Leaders in Communications Study 2012, published by VMA Group, shows that media relations and advising the board on business strategy were ranked as second in importance.

95 directors of communications were surveyed to give a comprehensive picture of corporate communications.

41% of respondents had a seat on the board or management executive, and two-thirds of respondents reported into the CEO.

Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership was at the launch of the study, and urged senior communicators to think about their purpose and effectiveness, saying that he believed communication to be the most powerful lever to gain competitive advantage.

The launch evening also focused on the use of social media, as communicators identified websites, digital and social media as areas that would see the greatest rise in demand.

Only 15% identified the need to recruit in this area as ‘critical’ however, while almost one in ten communicators do not see social media as a challenge.

Some remarked that it was a “flash in the pan” and “not used by the shop floor,” yet senior communicators from the BBC, BP and GlaxoSmithKline said those who failed to embrace social media fully, would be left behind.

Julia Meighan, Executive Chairman of VMA Group who commissioned the research commented: “The debate arising from the launch of the BLCS last night demonstrates what a truly significant and timely piece of research this is.

“The study will play a critical role in helping communicators and CEOs underpin their investment in corporate communications, and better demonstrate the link between reputation and profitability that Charlie Mayfield speaks of.”

CEOs in the financial services sector were shown to devote a higher proportion of their time to communications, as the study suggested this was a result of the continued fallout from the banking crisis.

Overall, the study found that senior communicators expected their influence to increase over the next two years, but so far only report moderate board-level influence.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .