8 lessons communicators learned in 2021
The communications industry has fundamentally changed . . . for the better.
The value of communications has never been clearer than it has this year. Specifically, leaders relied on their comms pros to move their organizations from a state of constant crisis communications towards more stable, reliable messaging.
Here are eight communications practices that will serve you well in 2022:
1. Collaborate and cooperate.
Stop thinking of HR and Legal as the twin princes of darkness, and make them your partners in effective communications. No department is an island; embrace these colleagues to tell your best stories and deliver consistent messages to internal and external audiences. Move together or you won’t move at all.
2. Adapt or perish.
Whether you launched a new intranet, developed an employer branding campaign or a thought leadership strategy for your CEO, you likely had to change your original blueprint to account for all that has been happening in our world, from COVID-19 and social unrest to hybrid work and “The Great Resignation.” Resiliency at its finest.
3. Data, the new influencer.
Just as our colleagues in IT, marketing and sales are held to their numbers, communicators need a strong measurement plan that delivers metrics for quick decision making. At least if you want to keep your seat at the table.
4. The crap can’t come back,
You can’t go back to the way things were. Or, at least, you shouldn’t. Too much has changed, and your audiences are demanding more targeted, concise and engaging content. Be merciless in cutting what no longer serves the organization.
5. Allyship, the word of the year.
For leaders, the word for 2020 was empathy. This year it’s all about action. With your aid, leaders can better understand their employees, customers and partners. Then they must show up and do the hard work to advocate on their employees’ behalf, transparently and empathetically. If they don’t, you’ll likely to make news – the wrong way.
6. Know your numbers.
Everyone can get better at finance. A strong understanding of the organization’s financial goals will help you go far. Tie your strategic plans and initiatives to the bottom line and use your company’s abundant data to tell your story to all audiences. Did someone say, credibility?
7. Everyone cares about ESG.
Even people who don’t fully understand Environmental, Social and Governance have discovered they really care about it. Employees, customers, communities and media all want to know how your organization is being a good citizen of the world. It’s your job to tell that story a lot better in 2022.
8. Customize your culture.
Where’s your culture? Is it in your office? We hope not, because many of you aren’t there. Creating “on-the-go” cultural moments that all employees can enjoy—near or far—is the future of employee engagement. Break through the busy, noisy world with snackable content. Actual snacks are good, too.
And here’s a lesson we learned at Ragan Consulting in 2021: Virtual consulting works, in training, focus groups and strategic planning. Still, there’s nothing quite like being there and working with our clients face-to-face in their own shops. We may not travel as much in 2022 as we did in 2019, but we’ll be back on the road (and in the air) when it makes sense. Until then, we wish you a happy holiday season and a great New Year. We hope to see you in person next year!
RCG specializes in corporate communications training, consulting and strategic counsel. Schedule a call with Kristin Hart to learn how we can help you improve your communications. Follow RCG on LinkedIn here and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
A ninth lesson is that what happened to Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos could happen to any of us in PR. You could be arrested by police, released on high bail, then put on trial facing years of prison on this charge: you exaggerated!
A new product doesn’t work as well as you were told.
It is “beyond a reasonable doubt,” a prosecutor could tell the jury, that you believed what the client told you just as college dropout Holmes shouldn’t have believed what was told her by her COO and boyfriend, a PhD.
In a case of “People of the United States vs. You,” a prosecutor could tell the jury that yes, sophisticated investors did “due diligence” and then some
before investing millions in your company, they consulted top scientists before investing millions, but you fooled all those veteran investors and their science advisors. The product isn’t as good as you were told and reported so you are GUILTY as charged. Off to prison with you for years!
In today’s Wall Street Journal, a five-column head on page B-11 says TECH STOCKS DRAG DOWN S&P 500. So should investors know from WSJ and stock market history that what looks good one day may look less good the next? Should prosecutors admit to a jury that investors in a new company know damn they are taking a risk?
That an exciting new product may not be as good as company leaders say?
Holmes facing jail isn’t just her problem just as it wouldn’t be just our tough luck if we tell the press what science experts tell us. If even shrewd investors could be fooled, isn’t there a “reasonable doubt” that a company spokesperson was fooled by a trusted PhD exec who said a new product really works?
This could happen to us!