Influence through insight
A new Wadds Inc. report explores the contemporary contribution of public relations and corporate communications to management.
Today, we’re publishing a report commissioned by NewsWhip. It asked us to investigate the role of public relations and corporate communications in supporting management with planning and insight.
We interviewed 20 senior communicators at organisations including Accenture, Adobe, BP, BT Group, Deloitte, Ford, Legal & General, Microsoft, Oracle, PayPal, Shell, Shopify, and Workday.
We’ve uncovered some original insights, particularly in relation to organisations taking a position on societal issues and a shift from public relations and corporate communications as a cost centre to a value creator.
Here’s a summary of the headline findings.
The outside-in view - The view of the corporate communication function is sought to provide a wider stakeholder media and public perspective. This is important as it frequently challenges the prevailing management view of external stakeholder perspectives.
Balancing business and society – Views are polarised within the corporate communication function on whether organisations should take a stand on social issues. There is a growing backlash against the expectation of the organisation to take a public position.
Measurement of the contribution to organisational success - The corporate communication function has traditionally been viewed as an operational cost. There is a growing case to support its financial role as a net contributor of value to the organisation.
Importance of data and insights - External perspectives are presented to management as data. A growing range of skills and tools enable this to be translated into actionable insight to support planning and decision-making.
Practitioner skills and competency - The modern corporate communication practitioner has unique strategic, analytical and technical skills. These are supplemented by business acumen, emotional intelligence, data literacy, cross-functional credibility and issues management expertise.
On a personal note, I'm really pleased with this project because it has uncovered some original insights and helped move me forward with my own PhD research. The relationship between public relations, corporate communication and management is under-researched.
As a next step, we plan to work with NewsWhip to investigate the business challenge of organisations taking a position on sensitive political and societal issues. It’s a highly relevant issue for corporate communication in the UK and US, with upcoming elections and public opinion increasingly polarised.
NewsWhip is a brilliant partner in its funding and support for this type of work. I also appreciate the time and insight of the individuals and organisations that participated in the project.
