We know the value of benchmarking: It provides us with a frame of reference, whether we’re assessing the effectiveness of a communication tactics, or, on a much larger scale, the evolution of a profession. Hence, the interesting insights yielded by the Conference Board’s recent study, Corporate Communications Practices: 2016 Edition, based on a survey of 45 U.S. public companies.

Survey respondents identified the top three responsibilities for corporate communications officers as being oversight of the company’s reputation, providing advice directly to the CEO, and supporting employee relations and engagement.

While the full report is only available to Conference Board members, the press release states this: “Growth in corporate communications department budgets, team sizes, and leaders’ compensation, as well as the organizational choice of having senior communications officers report directly to the CEO, point to the fact that corporate communications is becoming increasingly critical to strategy execution and business growth.”

Check out the Conference Board press release.

Posted by Carl Zangerl, Ph.D., Faculty