A recent survey from AB sought to uncover the barriers internal communications practitioners are facing as they look to bring creative solutions to their work. We asked IC pros a series of questions designed to provide insight into the common challenges in our industry.
Here’s a summary of the results.
Q. What does creativity mean to you?
Among the responses:
“Creativity means expressing ideas, thoughts or concepts in new, exciting or engaging ways. It means something different depending on what you’re trying to achieve.”
“Einstein said: ‘Creativity is intelligence having fun.’ I love that quote because, for me, creativity is about being imaginatively smart.”
“Creativity means being able to experiment, to try something new, to think about things differently in a way that both challenges and energizes me.”
Q. How important is creativity to successful communications campaigns? 1 being not at all important and 5 being very important.
Average response: 4
Q. What gets in the way of creativity at work or when delivering communication campaigns to your organisation? (Respondents could select multiple responses).
From most-to-least common response:
Budget constraints 58.33%
Too little time 54.17%
Lack of stakeholder buy-in 45.83%
Limits to resourcing 45.83%
Lack of inspiration 41.67%
Channel limitations 33.3%
Lack of own skills or expertise 25%
Differences in stakeholder opinion 20.83%
Q. What would enhance your creativity? (Respondents could select multiple responses).
From most-to-least common response:
Regular protected ‘creative time’, for discovery and exploration 70.83%
Collaboration with creative partners 62.5%
Inspiration through newsletters, seminars, workshops 50%
Senior management support 41.67%
Collaboration across your team and business 37.5%
The right creative tools and software 33.3%
A more creative physical environment 12.5%
Q. If you could do one thing to improve your creativity, what would it be?
Among the responses:
“Be bold, think outside of the box and propose new ideas to my team.”
“Have more time!”
“Be inspired by comms peers who can demonstrate real results from their creativity.”
”Leave my job…”
Struggling to unlock the creativity of your team? Get in touch for a chat with Katie Macaulay.
