Our latest AB Thinks Live event, held on the 18th June, was packed full of opinion and insight. A broad range of speakers and discussions covered hot topics including trust, cutting through the noise and transformation.
It was also a chance for our agency to launch our new brand, and our new offerings. These are based around the five elements we consider to be essential for a high-performing internal communication function:
- Strategy and planning
- Channels and platforms
- Content with purpose
- Impact and measurement
- Skills and development
Why should strategy and planning be a top priority for any internal communicator?
The answer is coddiwomple. In my presentation at AB Thinks Live, I introduced this as my favourite word. It means to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination and it really resonated with the audience. I argued this word applies to internal communicators who have no defined strategy.
Put simply, strategy and planning give communications purpose and focus. Without it, we’ll be busy doing stuff – but we will never be able to define if that stuff is delivering real benefit to the organisations we work in, or the audiences we communicate with.
Unfortunately, it is an area too many of us continue to neglect.
A quarter of us do not have a defined purpose (begging the question, how do we sell what we do to our senior stakeholders if we don’t know what it is?), while only 38% of us have a written strategy. It’s little wonder that a third of senior leaders still fail to grasp the value of internal communications*.
Just as worrying, if we have no defined strategy – how can we measure progress? If we cannot measure progress, how can we create a robust business case to retain or increase our resources?
In September, we’re running our first workshop on strategy and planning. It aims to give participants the confidence, tools and techniques to make sure their communications have purpose and focus. It will align their activities to match their business priorities, and better engage their audiences.
I’d love to see you there. We’ve restricted numbers to keep the session intimate and interactive, so please grab your place today.
*Source: Gatehouse State of the Sector, 2018
