From the Outside In: How Others See us

Transcription

1 From the Outside In: How Others See us Peggy Simcic Brønn BIs Senter for Virksomhetskommunikasjon

2 Status for og betydning av virksomhetskommunikasjon i norske bedrifter

3 Thanks to Our Partners

4 The greatest challenge for scholars now is to learn how to institutionalize strategic public relations as an ongoing, accepted practice in most organizations. J. Grunig (2006)

5 Institutionalization When desired behavior is performed by multiple individuals, persists in time, and exists as a social fact, independent of any individual. A process where communication becomes an integral and self evident part of the strategic management of an organization (Tench) Extent to which strategic communication recommendations are taken seriously by senior management (Communication Monitor) Extent to which these recommendations and reputational considerations are factored into strategic decision making and planning in the organization (Communication Monitor)

6 1. Knowledge of the behavior 2. Performance of the behavior 3. Preferences for the behavior 4. Normative consensus 5. Value consensus.

7 USC Annenberg Center Measures of Institutionalization (Swerling) To what office does the communication function report within an organization? What qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods does the communication function use to demonstrate value to the organization? What are senior management s perceptions of the function? How well is the communication function integrated with and accepted by other functions within the organization?

8 Methodology E mail questionnaire Perduco Respondents: representativt utvalg av bedriftsledere i 5000 små, mellomstore og store bedrifter Geographic area: Data collected March April 2009 Response rate: 1343 usable answers (27%)

9 Types of Firms Børsnotert virksomhet, konsernnivå 2 % Børsnotert virksomhet, avdeling eller 4 % enhet Privat virksomhet, konsernnivå 24 % Privat virksomhet, avdeling eller driftsenhet 61 % Andre: 9 % Andre: Offentlig eid Stiftelse Statlig institutt Fagorganisasjon Studentskipsnad Oslo og Akershus Hedmark og Oppland Østland for øvrig Agder og Rogaland Vestlandet Trøndelag Nord Norge

10 Two-thirds of the firms surveyed had less than 20 employees Børsnotert virksomhet Privat virksomhet 9 ans eller færre 42% 1% 85% ans 24% 2% 92% ans 22% 7% 82% 100 ans eller flere 12% 25% 66% Total % 85%

11 NHO 75 percent of firms in Norway have less than 20 årsverk

12 Most firms do not have a separate PR department or person. Percent Ja % Nei % Vet ikke 10 1 Total 1343 Nearly one-third of firms with more than 20 employees do not have a separate communications department or function.

13 The bigger the firm the more likely they will have such a department or person employees: 28% More than 100: 54% Børsnotert more likely than private firms But only slightly more than half have department

14 Men outnumber women 3 to 1 as leaders of PR departments Women outnumber men 3 to 1 in PR practice PR leaders in DN200 are equally men and women

15 One third of PR managers have a title reflecting their role (direktør, sjef) One fourth of those responsible for communication are CEOs About one fourth have a title of marketing and sales

16 Most communication persons report to the CEO Slightly more than 10% report to marketing 4 out of 5 leaders believe that communications should report to the CEO Leaders believe that the different communications functions are well integrated 4 out of 5 leaders strongly support their communication functions

17 Contribution to organizational success Importance Influence

18 1 of 2 firms rank PR s contribution to organizational success as low. Firms with a separate department rate its contribution significantly higher. Function Contributes to a great degree Firms with/without Department 1 Salg 79% 2 Finans/økonomi 74% 3 Personal/HR 74% 4 Strategisk planlegging 69% 5 Markedsføring 65% 6 Informasjonsteknologi 58% 7 Sikkerhet 57% 8 PR/virksomhetskommunikasjon 9 Juridisk 25% 53% 73/49

19 Most see PR s greatest contribution to marketing and sales. Those with separate department rate its contribution to marketing and sales much higher Øke Markedsandeler Gode økonomiske resultater Opprettholde eller øke salg Strongly Agree With/Without Own Department 74% 88%/70% 70% 85%/66% 76% 83%/73%

20 Communication skills most important for firms Very important With/Without Communication Department Kommunikasjonsferdigheter/ evner 74% 83%/71% Markedsføring/merkevarebyggin 69% 80%/65% g og forbrukerkommunikasjon Internkommunikasjon og endringsledelse 66% 82%/61% Personlig coaching, opplæring 57% 63%/54% Virksomhetskommunikasjon (Corporate Communication) 49% 67%/45% Bærekraft og virksomhetens samfunnsansvar (CSR) 37% 51%/33% Myndighetskontakt, 32% 44%/29% lobbyvirksomhet Krise/ issues management 23% 35%/18% Økonomisk kommunikasjon, 21% 27%/19% investor relations Internasjonal kommunikasjon 21% 31%/19%

21 Communication skills least important for practitioners Ranking by leaders Kommunikasjonsområder Ranking by communicators 1 Kommunikasjonsferdigheter/ evner 7 Markedsføring/merkevarebygging og 2 forbrukerkommunikasjon 1 Internkommunikasjon og 3 endringsledelse 5 4 Personlig coaching, opplæring 7 Virksomhetskommunikasjon 5 (Corporate Communication) Bærekraft og virksomhetens 6 samfunnsansvar (CSR) 7 Myndighetskontakt, lobbyvirksomhet 4 8 Krise/ issues management 2 Økonomisk kommunikasjon, investor 9 relations 10 Internasjonal kommunikasjon

22 Most firms see PR s contribution to success as primarily sales and marketing Business leaders and communication leaders don t agree on what is most important for the function Leaders value communication skills and want help in communicating better Communication staff don t find this particularly important DN200 firms rated internal training among lowest on budgeting

23 Influence of Communication Two thirds of all firms believe communication should influence an organization s strategy and policies. More than 90 percent of firms with a separate department believe this.

24 Influence of Department Personnel and Leader 1 of 2 firms say their communications department has significant influence 1 of 2 firms say their communications leader has significant personal influence Less than half of leaders believe communications directors should have personal influence

25 Leaders believe communication should have significant influence in strategy Communication department personnel and leaders not seen as having particularly strong influence Norwegian communicators believe firms have a high focus on communication

26 Reputation There is nearly 100% agreement that reputation contributes to an organization s success. Over 90 percent of firms with departments consider reputation when making decisions Only half of firms without communication departments consider it when making decisions

27 Leaders don t see the importance of issues management Communication practitioners rank this second highest importance DN200 communication directors ranked issues management extremely low

28 Participation in Decision process How often, at what point, with what expertise Communication director as strategic thinker

29 Decision Process The communications director regularly attends high level meetings Meetings dealing with strategic planning, but more where communication can be important Most firms include them early in the decision process Two thirds of the firms feel directors have broad expertise in several areas

30 Strategic Competencies (what they bring to the table) 2 of 3 firms believe their communication directors have considerable knowledge of the organization and its operating environment Only half of firms believe their communication directors have strong competencies in: Being proactive and encouraging new ways of doing things Identifying problems and causes Offering creative solutions Only one third believe their communication directors are able to establish priorities and visualize change

31 Communication directors are involved in taking up issues and in discussing alternatives, but when it comes to making a final decision, they are not that involved. % Foreslår alternativer 72 Tar opp saker 66 Evaluerer alternativer 55 Klargjør problemer 49 Velger alternativer 44

32 Communication directors are clearly involved in strategic planning meetings What they do there is another story

33 3 of 4 communicators say strategic and personal skills are most important for success Only one third of communicators believe they have high status in their organizations Most important for communicators: connecting organizational strategy and communication

34 Conclusions to Date Most conclusions on role of communication based on view of communication persons There is a tendency for communications persons to reflect a desired situation This study provides important new data regarding practice of communication One of first studies asking other leaders opinions Research on DN 200 communication directors does not represent general practice of PR/Communication in Norway Clearly, those with a separate communications department value communication more Leaders want communication skills: communication leaders want to do other things

35 Is Communication Institutionalized in Norwegian firms? In general Definitely not. Most firms don t have this function, regardless of size Its value is lower in firms without it For specific firms to some extent Reputation taken seriously as part of decision process in firms with dedicated communication departments Directors not really part of decision making

36 Is this a problem? Further research: Why don t the majority of firms have communication persons or departments? Are firms with communication persons/departments more successful? Is the Norwegian situation mirrored in other countries for example research from Spain