Technological breakthroughs in the communication realm have bamboozled many a people. The communication practitioner too has found it modish to employ gizmos in the trade of winning hearts and minds. That’s fine. Yet, we human beings are inherently social, therefore, those lifeless platforms do not truly resonate well with our primal urge of interpersonal rendezvous.
It is therefore prudent that communication experts need to be alive to this reality and make efforts of resisting the tide of heavy technological usage at the expense of interpersonal. Indeed, the good old aspect of interpersonal communication must remain an integral part of corporate communication.
Though technology is seeking to mechanize man, interpersonal communication allows the very spirit of the human soul to ooze out and be experienced during interaction. There is no technology that can replace the charm of a smile, the magic of a handshake, and the power of natural vocals of a human being in tittle-tattle over café latte. If well handled, interpersonal communication creates a lasting impression about the organisation.
That is why your experts need to create a stakeholder map before even attempting to utter a word about the brand. This map will enable your team to understand needs, concerns, preferences, influences, interests of different actors who may influence, or be influenced by the organisation. Smart experts are always like a barometer continuously measuring shifting stakeholders and mapping them appropriately. This will guide you toward meaningful and productive engagement with your stakeholders. The map will allow you to appreciate which communicative platforms to engage with which stakeholder.
But the game-changer is having the right technocrat to steer the communication agenda. This way, you will have success with your stakeholders including the media, government, financiers, communities, policy-makers and employees. The biggest folly of organisations is to mistake PR and Communication for beauty and smiles. You are dead wrong if you belong to this archaic school of thought. Folks, communication require brain; leave beauty for the catwalk.
In the corporate world there has always been a tussle. More often than not, communication plays second fiddle in many organisations. This is a gross error. Just like in Virgin Group, communication need to be in its rightful place – the table where decisions are made.
The communication function should report directly to the chief executive and the head should sit in high level decision making meetings with unlimited access to the decision-makers at the management and board level. This model allows the communication person to be integrated in the corporate fibre and eventually give the organisation the character that is fitting.
Rather than use communication technocrats as fire-fighters, allow them to play a proactive role in shaping the direction the company takes. When they speak on your behalf, they speak from a point of knowledge having participated in the discussions.
Sadly, in many organisations communication does not feature highly. However, the obligation is on the part of the expert to educate the management of the unique nature of communication and how its value is calculated towards the bottom-line.
But to cap it all, as social beings the ethical creed should not be lost on us. Ultimately, what separates a professional from the charlatan is the crucial aspect of ethics. PR is a noble practice whose actors must walk the talk and ultimately work for the greater good of mankind, and not merely for the capital owner. Ethical behaviours earn the organisation trust and respect, attracts repeat supportive behaviour and even testimonials and referrals. Simply put, ethics is by far, perhaps at the crux of bottom line.
We know that every day PR is confronted by ethical dilemmas. There is loyalty to the employer, to the profession, to personal values and even to one’s religion. This is a reality that cannot be wished away. It calls for Solomonic wisdom to navigate through these intricate realities.
The temptation to deceive or propagate half-truths is ruinous in the long term both to the organisation and the professional. Management needs an understanding of the social, even legal implications of actions or inactions. This way, they are able to act in a manner that will benefit the company while operating within the acceptable societal social norms. As the conscience of the organisation, PR practitioners must always operate ethically.
Communication is the oil that lubricates the organisation, the creator that breaths life to organisation, the advocate that defends; it is what all smart organisations need to succeed. And so, as a critical component of corporate success, communication is too significant to be left to actors who lack the requisite intellectual rigor or those whose fibre is made of a different material. Let communication experts do the communication and you will never ever regret.
And one last small issue – ignore this, almost intangible discipline, at your own peril.
