It is hard to overstate the importance of proper corporate communication for most organizations and businesses. It is through proper communication that customers learn more about a company’s services or products and what makes brands unique. It is how staff members and management coordinate their activities to ensure that the organization is marching toward the same goals. It is also how executives inform the media, their investors, and the general public about the important developments in the organization.
Communication underlies a lot of significant activities that most organizations must complete. Effective communication is so important that most organizations reach a point at which they realize they have to invest in building a proper communications team for various activities.
The functions of a communication department
Most organizations have a communications department that oversees a wide range of communication activities. Here are some of the top functions of a communication department.
Public relations and media
This is how an organization or company communicates with the general public and media by organizing product launches, news conferences, interviews and materials for such events. It also involves writing and distributing messages for press releases to the media, monitoring news for mentions of the organization, key employees and its products and devising a proper plan to address misinformation and unfavourable press coverage.
Marketing and customer communications
Most businesses differentiate between their communication and marketing but recently, the lines between the two departments have begun to blur. A public relations agency should understand that communication impacts the marketing strategy of a company and vice versa. This has increased collaboration and cooperation between the two functions.
Crisis communication
This is the specific messaging that companies portray in the face of an unanticipated event or crisis which has the potential to damage their existence or reputation. In the event of such a crisis, the communications department must create an effective strategy to address it.
What constitutes a crisis depends on the type of the organization and may include anything from violence and accidents to business struggles to chemical spills and product defects.
Internal communications
Most communications teams play at least some role in the organization’s internal communication including compiling employee resources, drafting memos and emails announcing initiatives and news, facilitating group brainstorming sessions, creating printed materials and managing internal newsletters, blogs and other publications.
Skills for communications professionals pursuing a career in communications requires a specialized skill set. Some of the skills important for communications professionals include the following.
Writing skills
Members of the communications department will likely spend most of their time writing in different formats, from memos and emails to articles and blog posts, to social media posts and website copy.
Public speaking and presentation skills
Presentation skills are very important. It is in the top 5 skills that companies look for when searching for new talent. Corporate communications professionals are expected to interface with members of the media and the public as well as internal stakeholders and fellow employees. They should be able to confidently and clearly present the organization’s information and ideas. Other important skills for organizational communication include communicating with data, research and critical thinking, and technical skills.
