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I am reminded of ‘The Blind Men and the Elephant’ picture when I encounter an organisation that follows a disjointed and non-integrated model of corporate communication.
According to Sage, a global academic publisher of educational resources, “A non-integrated corporate communication model is a traditional structure where different departments, such as public relations, marketing, investor relations and human resources, manage their own messaging independently with little co-ordination or shared strategy. This often results in fragmented or conflicting information sent to clients or the public.”
Add to that mix, AI, and it only gets more complicated.
In an article, ‘AI impacts brand trust – here’s why’ (GDN, August 15), May Neama, an expert and brand communicator par excellence, says, “Fragmented data lets different parts of the business run on different, disconnected pictures of who their customer is, diluting the customer experience. Customers expect the brand to know them consistently across all touchpoints... What’s changed is that AI tools have complicated the first step. Marketing sees one version of the customer, and sales sees another, as they are looking at different data fragmented across various departments.”
This explains how it affects the customers. However, the issue is far more serious and widespread than most organisations realise.
Many organisations begin to trivialise internal communication, employee engagement and stakeholder feedback channels, but unsparingly spend huge amounts on external PR and brand marketing that end up becoming a white elephant.
In addition, a non-integrated model of communication gives rise to an asymmetric system of how different stakeholders are assessed, valued and treated, irrespective of their place and contributions in the process that determine the final outcome. The organisation splits into silos, ends up losing cohesion, trust depletes, each group pulls in a different direction, decision-making slows down, and execution is severely impacted.
When corporate communication is non-integrated, fragmented, and imbalanced, it fails to use the power of communication optimally, comprehensively and beneficially.
But, how does it really matter when it does not stop the operations, and it still shows profits?
Fair question.
The fundamental truth is that corporate communication is integral, and no organisation can exist or function without it.
As a matter of fact, every communication and interaction – formal or casual – with any internal or external stakeholder of an organisation falls under its purview.
What is the optimal use of corporate communication?
The purpose of clear and effective corporate communication is to connect all the internal and external stakeholders of an organisation – employees, customers and partners – to build trust and win confidence through transparency, boost productivity, morale, loyalty, strengthen brand reputation, manage crises effectively, and align everyone with shared corporate goals and objectives.
That is why, not only does the quality of the communication matters, but the kind of communication model an organisation follows affects it positively or negatively.
Basically, every organisation follows one of the two corporate communication models:
- Integrated Corporate Communication Model: This corporate communication model is based on a strategic decision to unite all its stakeholders with trust, respect, judicious transparency, shared vision, purpose and responsibility. It uses the full scope, power and potential of communication in a single, unified and clear brand voice, integrating all available channels, dimensions, and methods to convey a message to all its internal and external stakeholders. There is a core common thread present in all its communications, be it public relations, marketing, investor relations, business associates, customers, or the employees. This communication strategy substantially increases the organisation’s ability and capability to succeed.
- Non-Integrated Corporate Communication Model: This is a restrictive, disjointed, ad hoc, and mostly one-way communication approach. The communications, messages and information shared with different stakeholders are fragmented, inconsistent and lack a single overarching objective, brand voice or a core common thread. It causes confusion and frustrations among its stakeholders. The organisations that follow this model of communication sacrifice organisational cohesion and all its benefits.
Causes and effects: The non-integrated corporate communication model is usually adopted on purpose by the management to control, restrict, and monitor the flow of information. However, it is also quite possible for an organisation to begin with a well integrated communication model, but drift into a communication model that is less and less integrated and more and more restrictive and disjointed. In any case, it affects the organisation negatively in multiple ways and causes it to bear the costs that are extremely hard to identify or measure.
As a result, organisations consistently miss out on the immeasurable benefits of well integrated corporate communication. It costs immensely, but organisations often do not even realise it.
Ranjit Gorde
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