Small organizations with two - or even 20 - employees have fairly simple internal communication needs. Information might easily be shared through informal conversations, email or weekly staff meetings. I've worked with large organizations, but at the smaller one I'm with now, it's not uncommon to simply shout an update to a nearby colleague. Once organizations begin to grow (or are large already) there's more of a need to manage the communication process. Otherwise you risk not tying your communications to your business goals.
In short, strategic communications – the plan and the resulting program - exist to help organizations meet their business goals. A strategic plan ensures employees will get the information they need to do their jobs (be it serving customers, making widgets or raising money for a charity) in the manner that is most effective for them. Consider whether your employees are going to receive and truly understand information if it's delivered in print, electronically or in person – or if maybe a combination is needed.
There are two types of communications programs and communicators available to organizations – tactical and strategic. Tactical communicators are worth their weight in gold. They can produce the company newsletter, create killer web content and put on an amazing customer appreciation event. Every organization should have a top-notch tactical communicator. Strategic communicators are usually more senior and can see the big picture. They look at the business goals and plan how the communications tactics (such as newsletters, websites and customer-appreciation events) can support those goals.
Let's look at an example of how strategic communications can increase sales. Your company makes high-quality pens that are sold to large office supply stores. Some production problems have resulted in many pens breaking within a few weeks of customers purchasing them. In addition, you've seen an increase in the number of lost-time accidents at your factory.
Because you're a smart CEO, you bring all your senior staff, including the head of communications, into your office for a meeting to sort out the issues. You decide your priorities are worker safety and reducing the number of faulty pens produced. Now that your business goals are set, your communications staff can design a plan to achieve them.
The key is to increase worker engagement, since engaged workers are more likely to care that their coworkers are getting hurt and that faulty pens are leaving the factory. Knowing that the company newsletter is a well-read publication, your communications staff write a number of safety articles for upcoming editions, which emphasize that management wants to make improvements to the factory to protect the workers.
Your communications staff also suggest giving factory workers communication tools to stop production if they see a manufacturing error or a safety violation. The communications team, working with the safety committee, decides on a direct phone line to the factory foreman and an attention-grabbing horn to alert other workers of the problem immediately. Within weeks, the accident rate drops and fewer faulty pens are leaving the factory.
An organization without a strategic communicator may decide to communicate in a manner that is convenient but not well read, such as email in the case of factory workers, or they might put an article in the newsletter about the importance of safety but without the link back to management caring about workers. This would result in the article not engaging workers as much as it could. In addition, without the supporting communication tools of direct phone line or horn to quickly communicate problems on the production line, workers may see the article as just the normal hot air from management.
To be effective, a strategic communicator needs a few things from the head of the organization. One is in the example above – the senior communicator needs to be on equal footing with other senior staff such as the CFO or COO. By regularly participating in high-level planning, the senior communicator can ensure that information communicated to employees, customers, partners, members, etc., links to organizational goals. The best way to do this is to be included in all senior-level meetings, but especially strategic planning meetings.
In addition, it's essential the head of the organization gives the communications department adequate financial and human resources support to get the job done.
Finally, listen to the advice of your strategic communicator. Regardless of your business need (managing corporate changes, weathering a crisis or, more importantly, dealing with an issue before it turns into a crisis), a strategic communicator can help your organization. He or she will come to you with a well-written plan that includes a SWOT analysis, goals, objectives, tactics, budget and timeline that will help to achieve your organization's goals. •
Amanda Brittain, MA, ABC, has been with the Association of BC Forest Professionals since 2005. As the director of communications she focuses on strategic communications planning, recruitment and advocacy work. Amanda has bachelor's and master's degrees in communications and has spent 17 years providing communications services to both corporations and non-profit organizations. She is also an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) with the International Association of Business Communicators.
For resources covering strategic communications, check out www.iabc.com <http://www.iabc.com> , the website of the International Association of Business Communicators, or to learn more in person, attend one of the many local events hosted by the BC Chapter, www.iabc.bc.ca <http://www.iabc.bc.ca> .
