With corporate raiders, financial analysts and institutional investors all demanding "performance, performance, performance," CEOs are looking for creative communication executives who can help show that the direction they are taking the enterprise is guaranteed to increase shareholder value.
In other words, CEOs want every constituent group to understand the company's vision, its plans for the future and how corporate decisions are getting them there. They want their constituents to get to know the leadership team—from understanding their backgrounds to seeing them more frequently in the community. They want consistent messages that build the company's brand and bottom line with every press release, event, public appearance, and advertising and marketing plan. And they want communication executives who can craft communications for all these endeavors.
Those of us in the executive recruiting business see this renewed emphasis on performance every day. Chief executives, as well as their trusted advisers (including communication executives), are being held accountable for boosting shareholder value. As a result, communicators who have good track records in this department are in greater demand today than ever before.
So what qualities do CEOs look for from their communication executives to help them increase their company's performance? What qualifications are needed in order to fill these roles? And how do companies—and communicators—find a good match?
The answers to these questions depend on three factors.
- The CEO's communication style.
- The overall culture of the corporation and its specific industry, as well as the market it serves.
- The organization's strategic objectives.
In recent searches for corporate clients, we have seen several other common elements in both the types of responsibilities outlined for communication positions and the experience that CEOs require. Here are the top five trends we've noticed in the types of responsibilities expected of communication executives.
1. The communication executive's role today is much more comprehensive and complex than it was even five years ago.
For example, communication pros are the points of contact in helping build corporate images and brands. This is in addition to being responsible for communicating to shareholders, employees, government officials, media and other constituents. The corporate communication executive is now more appropriately seen as the "integrated communication executive."
2. The communication executive is far more visible today than in the past.
In addition to being responsible for supporting the CEO and other top executives, the communication executive now must also be a visible spokesperson, who uses his or her own persuasive skills to drive constituents to action.
3. The communication executive is increasingly responsible for global programs.
As the world becomes smaller, communicators are becoming more involved in coordinating global programs, helping organizations achieve higher levels of understanding, and addressing cultural and business diversity.
4. The communication executive is more and more responsible for understanding and influencing strategic initiatives as related to business and industrywide issues and trends.
It's no longer just about the individual company; it's about understanding the company within the context of one's industry and the business community at large—and being influential in these larger forums. More and more, we see communication executives being expected to testify before government about public policy issues and to speak at industry conferences about industry trends.
5. The communication executive today is a super-manager par excellence.
Roles and responsibilities now include oversight of the budgets, staffing and structure of communication programs throughout the organization, including how they integrate with other functions like marketing. This is another area where communicators now have more responsibility for affecting the bottom line. Communicators are increasingly called on to measure communication programs and to have a substantial impact on public opinion and profitability.
Trends in experience requirements
Not surprisingly, excellent communication skills are still highly valued by CEOs, including the ability to present, speak and write clearly and concisely; influence and persuade people to take specific action; manage staff and budgets; work as a team player; and handle internal branding, HR communications, crisis communications, financial communications, executive communication programs and others.
In addition, here are five new skills that CEOs are looking for.
1. Experience in change management
In their quest to increase shareholder value companies are changing corporate strategies more frequently than five years ago, including redefining missions, reinventing corporate culture, introducing new products and services, and entering new markets. Therefore, CEOs are looking for communicators who have experience with business transformations, downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, and takeover battles, as well as new product and new market launches.
2. Expertise with new media
Communicators now need to be adept at assessing, monitoring, using and evaluating web sites, blogs, podcasts, RSS (Really Simple Syndication), and wireless or mobile marketing.
3. Global and multilingual capabilities
Communicators who are bilingual or multilingual are viewed as an asset. At the minimum, practitioners are expected to have experience with and appreciation of cross-cultural and inter-generational communication, as more and more companies comprise diverse groups who prefer to receive information differently.
4. Marketing communication experience
Corporate communication executives are becoming increasingly responsible for overseeing customer and marketing communications, so there is renewed interest in those who have had experience in integrated marketing communication and have the ability to tie in all the communication functions.
5. Renewed emphasis on internal communication
In our experience, companies care more and more about internal communication programs for their employees. This reflects what Ernst & Young recently reported: A company's ability to attract and retain employees is a very important reason portfolio managers choose to invest in a company. Here are some of the programs communicators need to have experience with: town-hall meetings, grassroots campaigns and advocacy, videotaped sessions, closed-circuit TV, Intranets, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and call-in lines and pointcast channels, (proprietary channels frequently used by high-tech companies and others to push information over the Internet to their employee's desktops).
Finding a good match
The importance of finding a good fit between a corporation, a CEO and his or her communication executive remains as critical as ever. The fit is critical to the success of the CEO and the company's positioning and well-being.
Unfortunately, there is rarely a perfect fit between résumés and open positions. Sometimes hiring someone with the perfect résumé can be a nightmare if the "fit" isn't there. Résumés don't take into consideration the personality traits and styles of the individual, which also must mesh with those of the CEO and the corporation.
Barry Shulman founded Shulman Associates Executive Search Inc. in San Francisco in 1990, after four years as a vice president with the communications search firm The Goldman Group. He frequently speaks and writes articles on trends in corporate and integrated communication and employment practices, including executive searches. He can be reached at barry@shulmanassoc.com.
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