Meet the Expert
Sarah Martin
Managing Director - Corporate Communications, KM Systems Group
- 25 years experience as a communications executive providing strategic, brand and crisis communications support.
- At KM Systems Group, advises companies on communication strategy and execution for enterprise transformation, planned and unplanned CEO and executive transitions, M&A, divestitures, reductions in force and other significant change events.
- Extensive research and knowledge on values, characteristics and motivations of Millennial workers. Advises companies on strategies to attract and retain millennial employees while achieving performance expectations.
- Former vice president of corporate communications for CSC and BearingPoint, responsible for developing and executing global communications strategy and directing worldwide internal and external communications functions.
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- One-on-One Call with Expert
- Meeting Summary Report
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Building, Upgrading and Embedding a Successful Corporate Communications Function
Managing Director - Corporate Communications, KM Systems Group
Key Trends
- Frequency of CEO and senior management turnover requires prepared and agile communications in order to address change and quickly establish strategic priorities.
- Whether a management change is planned or unplanned, it is an event that affects employees, customers and shareholders. Management changes can lead to confusion and uncertainty if not communicated properly with consistent and timely information and outreach to all key stakeholders to convey key facts, explain the rationale for change and address potential questions. The goal of communications in any leadership change is to confirm management priorities, minimize disruption and quickly return to normal operations.
- Social media has blurred the lines between work and personal communications, requiring enterprises to monitor and mine these new sources of data, and effectively manage employee and public feedback.
- Through social media, employees, customers and other stakeholders have access to information about the company from both internal and external sources in real time. These stakeholders also have the ability to broadly share experiences and opinions about the company via social forums.
Companies must embrace social media and create the capability to monitor what is being said and written about the company. Then, use this data to improve products and services, enhance customer and better understand employee concerns. Employees should be encouraged to be a part of social media conversations and be provided guidance on how to use social media responsibly to protect themselves and the company. - The onset of large numbers of Millennial workers is creating new dynamics for interaction and engagement among multiple generations of workers and requires adoption of nontraditional communications styles and channels.
- Millennial workers (by most definitions, those born between 1982 and 1996) demand true, relevant information in real time. By the year 2020, Millennials will be nearly half of all workers. They prefer texting and instant messaging to more traditional communications methods, including email. Social media has always been a part of their experience and the lines between work and their personal lives are blended.
Most importantly, Millennials want to feel valued and informed. Communications plays a key role in articulating the company's vision and strategy and how the employees' roles contributes. Employers who best respond to Millennials' preferences and values have a competitive advantage in attracting this important source of talent and innovation. - The retirement of large numbers of older workers, combined with increased diversity in the workforce, requires companies to rethink core messaging, recruiting and talent retention strategies.
- Baby Boomers are retiring from the workforce at unprecedented rates, a trend that will continue beyond the next decade. As organizations can no longer continue to hire large numbers of traditional workers, they must be prepared to acquire and retain talent from new workers who communicate and consume information in vastly different ways than their predecessors. In addition to creating new channels for delivering communications, organizations must develop messaging strategies that appeal to a multi-generational workforce.
- Shareholder/Wall Street expectations increase pressure on a company's operational and financial performance. Strategies to achieve performance targets must be connected to corporate vision and mission and articulated throughout the company to eliminate disconnect between internal and external expectations.
- Fair disclosure requirements mandate that publicly traded companies disclose the same information to internal and external stakeholders (employees, customers, investors and analysts) in a timely fashion. The shift toward more disclosure necessitates that the corporate communications function be closely coordinated and informed of company positions and previous disclosures. Corporate communications, in partnership with key functions such as legal, finance and HR, plays an increasingly important role in managing corporate disclosures to promote and protect the organization.
Building, Upgrading and Embedding a Successful Corporate Communications Function:
Key Trends
Expert Topic