What makes great modern corporate communication teams?

Being an agency that works with a number of different types and sizes of organisations, HMC has the opportunity to observe what works well - and what doesn’t - with modern corporate communication teams. And through our own decades of experience, we also have learned a few lessons ourselves! So what makes a great corporate comms team? It’s as easy as ABC…

A is for Adaptability

We all work in a constantly changing world. Great comms teams know this and are adaptable with internal and external comms strategies. They not only have a good understanding of what successful change looks like, but they also recognise they also have to constantly adapt to respond to the changing needs of their business, employees, customers, shareholders, and all other stakeholders. They have insight into how others respond to change, but also how they respond to change.

Adaptability means still keeping an eye on the ‘big picture’ the organisation is trying to achieve - and how the comms team helps them achieve that (see ‘B’ below) - while at the same time recognising that trying to plan too far in advance is a waste of time! They work in shorter sprints, but everything ladders up to a broader strategy.

B is for Business Acumen

Great comms teams show how they add value to the business by demonstrating a strong sense of business acumen. They can talk to senior executives about business performance, and demonstrate how their comms work helps to achieve business goals. They can:

• speak with confidence and authority on the measurement they undertake, and show how those stats relate to business goals

• show an understanding of the industry in which they operate, trends and current affairs

• demonstrate how the work they undertake - and their comms strategy - is directly linked to the organisational strategy; ie, everything is done with a purpose.

These teams earn the respect of senior managers because they can speak to them in terms that make sense to their objectives. They are more likely to be sought after as trusted advisors.

C is for Creativity

‘Creativity’ is about thinking differently. Great comms teams come up with new and different ways to tackle challenges or approach new opportunities. They are innovative thinkers, and just because they have done something one way for a long time - and it appears to be working - doesn’t mean they are content to stick with it. Whether it’s the channels they use, how they position messaging, or how they present their comms, they’re always challenging themselves. 

These teams are also life-long learners. They invest in their professional development, attend events and join organisations that help them to continue to build their skills and knowledge. They love learning and trying new things, and encourage others to think differently as well. 

HMC has helped many organisations to set up their internal communication teams. If your organisation is growing and changing, and you’re yet to set up your internal comms framework, give us a call to see how we can help make it easy. Whether it’s developing the framework, or building capability through communications training, we can help!