Although communications professionals have attained a good deal of respect and influence in the corporate boardroom, they deserve more. The C-suite and board can benefit greatly from the perspective of an experienced communicator. PR and other communications can take steps to improve their access to C-level decision-makers and their impact on corporate policy.
A recent survey by APCO Worldwide indicates that:
- 89% of communicators can readily access the CEO when needed.
- 75% indicate the CEO understands the value of their company’s reputation.
- 62% say the increased importance of social media has made communications more relevant.
- Only 52% say they report directly to the CEO.
- Only 29% say they are a key business advisor to the CEO.
- Only 26% indicate they always feel their opinion matters when business-critical decisions are being made.
Best Practices for Gaining Respect & Influence
Tina-Marie Adams, managing director of APCO Worldwide’s Chicago office, recommends the following best practices:
Relate to the business goals. If the CEO isn’t automatically sharing his or her priorities, make a point of identifying them. Connect communications programs to those corporate goals.
Let the numbers do the talking. Numbers matter to CEOs. It’s critical to establish key performance indicators and quantify how communications is working. Do it persistently.
The CEO marriage takes work. Any good relationship must be carefully tended to over time. Be respectfully direct but also listen to, and hear, the CEO. Hearing well between the words is often what really earns notice.
Earn a seat at the table. You don’t have to come from operations or have an MBA. Learn the business as much or better than anyone else in the C-Suite. Make suggestions that help advance the business.
Be a business leader first. First and foremost, the chief communicator is a business peer who speaks to the business. When that’s accomplished, communications can be put in the context of the business.
Data & Measurement is Key
Other experts agree that applying data and measurement is the best way PR and other communications professionals can reach to a CEO’s heart and the boardroom. “Measurement should not be something we run away from,” argues Allan Dib, a senior vice president at MSLGROUP, in his blog post. “It should be something we run towards because the right idea and the right measurement plan can help us achieve our clients’ business objectives, win us awards and win us more clients.”
Leta Soza at AirPR offers three steps on how PR can communicate results to the C-suite.
- Determine how much the executives know about PR. Unless your CEO is a former chief marketing officer, you need to educate the CEO about the different channels, formats, and PR measurement. “Use examples to reframe the state of PR today for them, and make sure they know what you’re considering when you evaluate a piece of content or PR initiative,” she says.
- Report only what matters. Find what is important. That includes media or content that help convey key messages, reach your desired audience, generate top-of-funnel business leads, and link directly to business goals including lead generation and sales. Cite numbers, such as bottom-line figures, and figures on business goals.
- Reduce reports. Soza recommends the 70% noise reduction rule. Share just 30% percent of what you originally planned to report. Three slides will influence executives more than 10 slides.
Bottom Line: PR and other communications professionals have achieved progress in gaining access to the C-suite. However, much works remains to be done. Following these best practices can help you gain respect and influence with your CEO and other top executives.
Michael Kling is manager of public relations, marketing and social media at Glean.info, a media monitoring and measurement service that provides customized media monitoring and PR analytics solutions.
