Research shows top communicator role is expanding – and issue critical

A large-scale new international study says top communicators are absorbing more corporate functions and increasing the strategic importance of communication within organisations.?

One outcome of this development may be an increasing role for communications professionals in key decision-making areas such as issue and crisis management.

Research by the Observatory on Corporate Reputation (OCR) found that while the role of Chief Communications Officers has traditionally focused on managing a company’s reputation, public relations and internal communications, there is a recent trend towards CCOs taking on additional, strategic responsibilities such as HR, Marketing, Corporate Affairs, Branding, Investor Relations and the nexus of CSR/ESG/ Sustainability/Social Impact.

The OCR says these?“CCO-plus” roles are steadily increasing, and for the first time now outnumber?“traditional CCO roles”.

The report identified four strategic implications from the expanding role of top communicators:

Broader Strategic Integration: CCO-plus roles signify the critical importance of communications in driving strategic initiatives.

Talent Management: Rising demand for communication leaders with diverse business skills.

Visibility and Influence: Explicit inclusion of “communications” in job titles suggests greater organisational focus and resource allocation.

Organisational Prioritisation; Explicit job titles elevate communications functions within the corporate hierarchy.

This emphasis on job titles reflects the methodology of the new study. It analysed?the senior leadership pages on the websites of the Forbes Global 2000 (the world’s largest public companies), and the Fortune 1000 (America’s largest companies, both private and listed), searching for all job titles which included communications; public relations; public affairs; and corporate affairs.

But do job titles alone reflect a communication professional’s actual role and influence within an organisation?

The report’s author, Dr Craig Carroll, concedes that a CCO’s influence on strategy and outcomes is more dependent on the responsibilities they manage rather than just having “communications” in their title. “The real impact,” he says, “comes from how well their role is integrated with other key functions.”?

Moreover, he could have added that titles within the broad area of communication vary between different countries, and also vary with whatever happens to be popular, such as the current disfavour towards “public relations” and the rise of alternative terms like “engagement” and “outreach”.

The study author said among his?considerations?was?that the presence of communications roles on leadership pages serves as a proxy for how much the senior leadership team values communications as a strategic function. And that the absence or lower visibility of these roles might?indicate a lack of perceived importance within the organisation.?

That may or may not be true, as companies without listed communications executives on their leadership page may manage that function under different titles. Or may have experienced communication professionals who are not considered part of the senior leadership team.?Yet despite this new analysis suggesting a growing influence of communications functions, there is still a long way to go.?

For example, analysis of boards and management teams of the FTSE 100 top listed companies in the UK by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in 2022 found just three?had a dedicated communications director; only twenty-nine had a non-executive with clear communications experience; and only just over half (52%) had a dedicated communications or corporate affairs expert in their executive leadership or management teams.

Clearly, what’s needed is not just more people in the executive suite with “communications” on their business card.?

What’s really needed – if we are ever going to manage issues and crises better – is more top executives who have genuine communication skills and awareness, regardless of their title.