THE NEW ROLES OF THE COMMUNICATOR

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Yes, you: Are you in the field of communications? Rather do you know anyone who is in that field? Is your function at work interrelated with the communications department's function? If no, its okay. If yes, then read along.

Times when the communicator was employed primarily to oversee the creation and dissemination of information from management to employees or external publics is past. The business landscape has changed. This change has tremendously shifted  the roles today's communicators have to perform.

And as Jeff Zwier explains; 'Today's internal communicators must manage the intersection of high-tech and high-touch in a communications environment that is becoming increasingly global, integrated global, integrated with external efforts and steeped in more and more concepts from change management, negotiation, social psychology and political influence. Yet at the same time, they must also retain the creativity and skills to engage employees across an ever-expanding array of platforms.'

To gain competitive advantage as communicators Jeff advises of three areas we need to learn or re-learn. We need to gain mastery in these areas for us to thrive in the days ahead.

Accomplisher: Usually we were 'only' required to trigger change. Make follow ups to establish if the desired change took place or not was not expected of us. In the not so distant future, employers will need to see actual behavioural changes, instead of mere engagements.

If the idea behind a campaign is to garner 1,000,000 votes, then that will be the expected result. 'Change management is moving from a specialty practice to an expected part of many internal communication efforts in organizations of every size.' - Jeff Zwier

Days of initiating movements are past. You need to start and take it to the very end. Get tangible desired results.

Business Savvy: Employers want to be surrounded by people who know a lot more about business. Their business. People who can strategically give clear advice on how to move out of an industry challenge and stand neck and shoulder high above the rest. Gone are the days, when you were expected to be narrow minded: to only know everything about your role as a communicator and nothing about the business and the industry its in.

'Business leaders value the ability to contribute as a leader, project manager and business professional, with in-depth knowledge of both general business concepts and your company's industry. Those with 'non-traditional' backgrounds (e.g., non-journalism or communications degrees) are increasingly entering - and leading - the internal communication function.' - Jeff Zwier

Link: The role of the internal communicator is to be a conduit between the organization and the C-suite. By far communicators are in a better position to traverse all the functions in an organizations. 'We can identify opportunities not only for effective integrated messaging, but also strategic synergies, duplicated efforts and key non-management influencers who can drive change. Social doesn't end with social media, and more and more communicators are being asked to step up as individual change agents, cross-functional team leaders, and to leverage their networks.' Jeff Zwier

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