Corporate Communication: Need for a Re-defined Approach
Corporate communication is a voice of an organization that speaks in two different ways – internally and externally to various individuals such as investors, vendors, suppliers, and stakeholders. It is more of a conveying system that acts as a bridge which lies between the corporation and the community. The conventional ways used for communication with their consumers are not effective in the competitive market today.
Corporate communication is all about finding innovative ways to represent the message about their business and brands. In simplest of terms, the development of messages for a variety of purposes for inside and outside the organization.
Why is it important to deliver well-written documents in the corporate world?
Stay updated and have everything well documented – if you are to survive in business. Relevant Information about the market and the expectations of the industry is lifeblood for businesses today. Information , if not well written – then it can be misinterpreted negatively effecting the growth of the organization. When the documents are not well-written, often the employees would waste their precious time to check and reconfirm it.
Why need information real-time?
Business is dynamic in nature. Its a breathing entity which continuously changes and moves. Organizations, therefore require information on the fly. Wasting minutes or seconds signifies that you are gaining or losing millions of things, therefore waiting for updated information is not feasible.
Employability today, depends heavily on formal communication – both verbal and written. Some professionals think ability to speak fluently in English would land them to any corporate sector. But, this may not be necessarily be true, because informal communication might not suit industry’s needs and demands. Hence, Corporate Communication is a mandatory skill to be inculcated.
Way Forward : IT enabled tools/ Applications
Emails had been a effective communication tool, but it creates a lot of clutters. It’s simply a waste of time. Entrepreneurs have switched to applications like BaseCamp, Hipchat etc. These tools are slowly gaining inroads into more and more organisations. These tools are much more than the standard one-on-one messaging tool.For example, Hipchat lets you build rooms around functional teams and bring people together for ad-hoc conversations. It also comes up with API’s to automate tasks on most for communication among team members. Basecamp can be used for both – internal team communication and for bridging the gap between staff members and our clientele. Its good for people in different positions at the company, especially those who wear many hats, to easily share files and stay in the loop on projects and client information.
Often it is difficult to improve communication within an organization
Yes, its ture and one of the ways of improving corporate communication can be that of implementing a social intra-net software platform like Communifire. Social intranet software allows you to communicate in real time with your staff, regardless of where people are located. Think social media for business, and you’ll get an idea as to where software such as Communifire can take your organization.
Communifire is an intranet tailored for work with zero learning curve. There’s more to work life than email. Its also a Knowledge Management Software. One will never miss a milestone again because its also a Team collaboration software. Plus one can build a vibrant and thriving online community for the business – a real time communications hub for people inside and outside the organization.
Even outlook if used – can be a good communication tool for corporates. However the use of these tools do not guarantee effective communication. It boils down to individuals. Management students do undergo a Business Communication course which is different from other communication courses like,
business communication provides an opportunity to practice communicating with concepts and techniques from different areas.
- business communication teaches application / use of different forms including practice writing memos, letters and business reports.
- business communication is an opportunity to practice oral presentation skills.
Business communication is more of a different style. Its more of objective, systematic and concise than creative or personal communication. Business communication focuses on the response to be elicited from reader or listener.
Conclusion:
We know that products are designed, made and sold. Similarly people are hired services are rendered, policies are devised and implemented. Likewise jobs are learned and performed. All these events need efficient communication to happen.The 360 degree business communication approach is taking and inclusive approach to integrate all forms of communication that happens within and outside of an organization.
