Fraser Likely is a management consultant specializing in the strategic management, organization and performance of the in-house communication function. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on the management of public relations. He’s also a long-serving member of SCM’s editorial board.
Results? Return-on-Investment? Value? Familiar terms we hear as we’re asked to prove the worth of the internal communication function to those in our organization who care.
Proving and protecting is not simply about metrics, outputs, outcomes, surveys or performance. It’s about the roles internal communication plays, the expectations others have for what roles we should play and for how we should play them. Proving and protecting is about seeing eye-to-eye on what internal communication can do for the organization. In turbulent times, this understanding is crucial.
The five roles expected from internal comms
Conduct a content analysis of this journal and other internal communication-related publications, conferences and forums and you’ll see that under “roles and responsibilities” generally come five roles. The five roles are:
- Communicator (reporter/facilitator/democrat);
- Educator (trainer/coach);
- Change agent;
- Small “c” communication consultant (operational performance and process advisor); and
- Organizational strategist (relationship manager).
Number one is the base role, with higher numbered roles increasingly being more sophisticated. They also increase in value to the organization from one to five, with five building on the responsibilities of the four preceding roles and thus the most valuable. All internal communication functions enact the base role, with lesser numbers of functions enacting higher-level roles with each subsequent number.
1. Communicator
The communicator role is one we all enact. We provide channels, vehicles and products for the distribution of information. We report management and HR information to employees. The better of us facilitate two and multi-way communication and employee involvement in the organization’s communication system. The best of us in this role champion the democratization of information and of communication channels by advocating a symmetrical and transparent communication climate.
2. Educator
A good majority of us enact the educator role. We train managers and supervisors to make them better communicators and to hold them accountable for cascade-type communication. We also coach senior executives on their responsibilities for leadership communication, honing their skills with vehicles such as web casts, town halls and site visits for example.
3. Change agent
Most of us play the role of change agent, as part of a major change management project in the organization.
This isn’t simply the communication of change goals and processes. It’s to make change happen, to change employee behaviors – with communication being only one of the drivers behind a commitment to acting differently. As change agents, we aim to change culture (norms; values; beliefs), marketplace and financial knowledge (business literacy) and organizational structure.
4. Consultant and advisor
Some of us perform as small “c” communication consultants, working with operational units on their unit’s performance and work processes. As advisors, we focus on improving operational communication that will bring business improvements to specific operational processes. This is the small “c” communication employees use every day on production processes. Improvements address process efficiency, product quality and unit productivity, ultimately saving time, effort and money.
5. Strategist
Finally, a few of us enact the organizational strategist role. This isn’t the role of communicator (or even change agent) around a management table. Playing this role is not about providing communication advice; it’s about providing strategy advice – a role equal to each and every other manager around the table. Advice on corporate wide strategy development and implementation involves ideas on governance, policy, stakeholder relationships, ethics and the process of strategic management itself.
Attain the highest level for the greatest protection
In tough times, I believe that our results, ROI and value are enhanced the higher the role number we play. The more sophisticated the role, the more we have proved and the greater the protection afforded the function.
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