Corporate Communication by Dr. Ashutosh Karnatak

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

– ISSUES & CHALLENGES

Dr. Ashutosh Karnatak

PRESENTATION OUTLINE Communication

Basics of Corporate Communication

Issues & Challenges in Corporate Comm.

Case Study

Conclusion

COMMUNICATION

The most important thing in communication is hearing what is not said.

Peter Drucker

The biggest problem in the communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

George Bernard Shaw

Information and Communication are often used interchangeably, but they signify different things. Information is giving out and Communication is getting through.

Sydney Harris

Of all our inventions on mass communication, pictures still speak the most understood of languages.

Walt Disney

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION???

It is the process of sending and receiving of information among people.

Sender ReceiverCommunication

Channel

Feedback

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Effective Comm.

Simple Words

Body Language

Summarizing Comm.

Checking for understanding

Seeking participation

Connecting with Audience

7 C’S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Completeness

Conciseness

Clarity

Concreteness

Correctness

Courtesy

Consideration

Ex. Food Bill in Parliament by Smt. Sonia Gandhi in Hindi

BASICS OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

60% of all the management problems are due to poor communication.

Peter Drucker

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Till 1970’s Public Relations function used to prevail, which mainly communicated with Press.

Due to subsequent demand from internal & external Stakeholders about more information about Organizations, Corporate Communications function evolved.

WHAT IS CORPORATE COMMUNICATION???

Managing internal & external communications for gaining favorable view among stakeholders.

It is the link between Organization and its Stakeholders.

Can be broadly classified into:

Management Communication to Internal & External Stakeholders. Ex.: Financial results

Marketing Communication. Ex.: Advertising, Sponsorship etc.

Organizational Communication, EX.: Public affairs, Investor meets

WHY CORPORATE COMMUNICATION???

• To maintain constant rapport with employees and external Stakeholders

• Advertising of Products / services to keep brand presence

• Highlight performance through periodic News letters to create positive impact.

PURPOSE OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

Corporate Communication is the voice of Organization to:

Explain Organization’s Mission & Vision to Stakeholders.

Gain competitive advantage over competitors

Improve relationship with Stakeholders

Branding of Organization

Delegate tasks

WAYS (HOW) OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

• Face to Face Meetings

• Press releases

• Websites

• Letters / Emails

• Advertisement

• Social networking

MAJOR COMPONENTS IN CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

• Corporate Identity (Branding)

• Employee Communication

• Government Relations

• CSR

• Issue Communication

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

CORPORATE IDENTITY • Corporate Identity is how the Organization sees

itself. Corporate Image is perception of people about the Organization (Ex. How do you perceive IOCL?).

• Corporate Identity motivates people, creates sense of pride and belongingness in employees, provides

direction to employees etc.

• Major challenges with respect to Corporate Identity:

Negative perception about the Organization

Inferior identity Projection by Organization

WAYS (HOW) TO IMPROVE CORPORATE IDENTITY

• Vision and Mission of Organization to be clear to all Stakeholders

Ex.

A powerful vision statement: There will be a personal computer on every desk using Microsoft software

A bad vision statement: To be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in the markets we serve (Dell)

• Always use the language that is understandable to Stakeholders.

• Maintain consistent Corporate Identity to gain credibility among Stakeholders.

WAYS (HOW) TO IMPROVE CORPORATE IDENTITY

• Company’s logo, building design and even ring tones would display Corporate Identity.

Ex. Logos of few reputed companies

Ex. Tag Lines of few reputed companies • Just Do it• Eat Healthy, Think Better• There is a little bit of steel in all of us• Gas and beyond

WAYS (HOW) TO IMPROVE CORPORATE IDENTITY

• Periodic Corporate Branding exercise.

• Proactive engagement of Print and electronic media.

Case Study - 1: ABC Company Branding Exercise

Case Study- 2: While executing Kochi – Bangalore / Mangalore Pipeline in Kerala, some of the groups spread rumors among farmers / public about the loss of crop yields subsequent to Pipeline laying as well as safety threats. Due to this farmers got aggravated and started disrupting construction activities. How would you deal such situation?

EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

• More than 75% time of the manager is spent in communication with employees.

• Employee communication is all about maintaining relationships.

• Employee communication is essential because:

Generates enthusiasm in employees about Long term objectives of Organization.

Assists in establishing and maintaining positive relationship between employer and employees.

7 CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH EMPLOYEES• Confidence and trust between employer and employees.

• Open communication in all directions (up / down / side ways)

• Satisfying participation status of each person during meetings.

• Continuity of work without conflict.

• Healthy and stress free work place. (Ex.: Constraint monitoring)

• Success of enterprise

• Optimism about future

VARIOUS MEDIA FOR EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

• Induction / Orientation literature for new joiners

• Periodic House Journals / News Letters

• Video Conferences

• CMD Open House / Suggestion boxes

• Periodic Face to Face meetings between management and employees.

•

MAJOR ISSUES WITH EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

• Insensitivity of Lower / Middle management level executives towards constraints / requirements of

other Departments.

• Lack of established communication procedures.

• Conflicting interests among different Departments.

• Lack of structured communication. Ex. Meetings taking place without proper agenda.

MEASURES TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

• Structured Periodic Interdepartmental meetings to identify and resolve issues.

• Establishing a proper line of communication.

• All the participants to be given equal opportunity to put forward their views / ideas in review meetings.

• Identification of training needs through SWAM / GAP analysis and providing necessary training.

• Grievance redressal system to be in place.

MANAGING GOVERNMENT RELATIONSHIPS

• Managing successful relationship with Government essential for corporate success.

• For lobbying & influencing policy making on behalf of industries, various Bodies (FICCI, CII, ASSOCHEM etc.) have been set up.

• Liaisioning with Government is essential to ensure favorable policy decisions, timely clearances forprojects etc.

• Typical challenges involve: Meeting challenging timelines for replies to queries

Untimely change in policies may have commercial impact on Organizations

Slight deviations in media briefings may cause troubles. Ex. Press Statement about DBPL (Ph-I) attracting attention of MoEF.

Contact

DevelopCollaborate

Sustain

Relationship

Building

CDCS METHOD FOR RELATION BUILDING

Good relationship with Government would be useful in mitigating the challenges to a great extent.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• 2% Profit After Tax is spent on CSR Activities by all PSU’s.

• While meeting Social responsibility, CSR Activities also help in Stakeholder management.

• Typical challenges involve:

Lack of participation from local communities

Lack of transparency from the implementing agencies

Non-identification of real needs

narrow outlook towards CSR

INNOVATIVE MODEL OF GAIL TO IMPLEMENT CSR ACTIVITIES

• Well defined CSR Policy

• CSR Need Analysis through survey

• Specific Coordinator for each CSR Activity

• Take up CSR Activities in Project Mode

ISSUE COMMUNICATION

• Issue is an adverse event occurred which needs immediate addressing. Based on its severity, the same may become

crisis. Ex. DUPL Wash Out, gas supply to many customers impacted / fire accident at Goa Terminal

• The four important principles of Issue Communication:

Organizations can withstand issues / crises if it has healthy relationships with Stakeholders

Organization should accept responsibility even if it is not at fault.

Organization should disclose all its knows about the issue / crisis

Public interest should be given equal priority while handling issues / crisis.

CRISIS COMMUNICATION

• To subsidize the negative impact the media creates, constant communication with media is essential in such situations.

• Parallelly Organizations may also webhost crisis updates as soon as new facts emerge.

TAKE AWAY • Corporate Communications emerged as a

specialized function over the years.

• Vision & Mission Statements of Organization to be known to all Stakeholders.

• Maintain consistent Corporate Identity to ensure credibility among Stakeholders.

• Effective Employee communication is essential to meet objectives of Organization.

• Managing media during crisis situations is very essential to protect organization’s reputation.

THINK POSITIVE THINK POSSIBLE

THINK OPTIONSTHINK SOLUTIONS

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