There is plenty of evidence suggesting that close cooperation between HR and communications functions is a win-win deal. Internal communications, core values-issues and employer branding are areas where the benefits are obvious. Cooperating also makes both professions more receptive to each other and thus better equipped to support and promote communicative leadership at all levels.
Not so long ago, leadership meant issuing orders to subordinates and employees rather than guiding them towards common goals. Today, leaders are expected to lead by sustaining core values and creating alignment towards common goals. The role of today´s leaders is rarely to issue orders but to build effective teams, ensure common understanding and acceptance of objectives and promote a strong desire to reach the goals set by management.
The difference between now and then is huge and the challenges facing today´s leaders compared to yesterday´s are related much more strongly to communications.
Therefore, high quality internal communication is crucial for employee satisfaction and for people´s inclination to act as round-the-clock ambassadors for their company or organisation.
Combining the competences of HR and communications is critical from an employer branding perspective. HR lays the foundation by establishing good personnel policies and routines designed to attract competence and promote professional leadership. By adding communicative skills to the HR function the results will become much better.
For example, processes under HR´s umbrella, such as wages and salaries, recruitment and talent management, working environment and legal issues can all benefit from support from communications. Making such processes clear and understandable to all will undoubtedly strengthen leaders in their role and employers in their loyalty and commitment. At the same time it strengthens HR´s position as a strategic partner.
Communicators are usually people who appreciate clarity and structure. They know how to plan and conduct communications activities step by step and are good at target group analysis, message writing, channel selection, etc. The result is often good, but it depends largely on the communicator’s ability to connect with stakeholders and understand their problems. Strategies and plans are fine as long as they are in line with the stakeholders expectations. A professional communicator’s most valuable trait is the ability to listen and quickly adjust to different situations and needs.
A mutually-beneficial arrangement
Communicators and HR specialists have plenty in common, but also a lot to learn from each other. Together, they can be strong combination. The juncture between HR and communications is where the good, communicative leadership shapes up. It is where well structured communicators join forces with specialists on human behaviour.
Leaders of today are supposed to be knowledgeable, brave and creative, but also patient and strong. Their challenges are of a communicative nature since most of today´s leadership relies on effective communications, not instructions and orders. To succeed they need to know plenty about both HR and communications, in addition to possessing personal traits such as maturity and confidence.
Coaching can be a helpful tool to prepare leaders for today´s demands. By systematically addressing questions of personal nature old behaviours can be influenced. The purpose of coaching is to bring up dormant issues that are relevant to leadership, such as:
I need to strengthen my self-esteem
I feel a need for a working structure which allows me to set aside more time for my staff
I want to clarify my role and objective as a leader
I want to become a better communicator
Successful business requires leaders firmly grounded in corporate brand values steering towards clear goals and a vision. To lead through the combination of HR and communications is to bring life to strategies and goals in a way that stimulates employee engagement. Motivated employees perform better and embody the success of an enterprise.
Finding the juncture between HR and communications and establishing close cooperation between those functions will multiply the impact of both disciplines. All stakeholders will benefit.
