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Staffing the function
Communications/public relations manager, government/public affairs manager and internal communications manager: these are three of positions making up the framework of a modern communications department. They radiate from a central pole - or corporate communications department - at headquarters into the different markets on a national, regional and increasingly global basis.
Communications manager
The communications manager can be the person who produces, or supervises the production of, the communications materials (position papers, speeches, articles/videos for media placement) that affiliates will use to make known the company point of view. Communications support to above- and below-the-line marketing programmes in different countries should be part of this person's responsibility. Combining marketing and corporate communications under one manager at headquarters is the only way to get the synergy the company needs to make the most out of both types of communications in different markets.
The communications manager should have an international outlook and an understanding of the different cultures and languages that make up his/her area of responsibility, as well as a good understanding of the business and a good rapport with the people marketing products/services for the company. The communications manager at regional headquarters - in Europe, for instance - necessarily should have close ties to - and the support of - counterparts in other parts of the world, as well as at corporate headquarters.
Corporate media relations and advertising can come under the responsibility of communications manager - with or without the help of an associate.
Internal communications manager
Depending on the size of the company and the extent of its presence, an internal communications manager can ensure consistency of corporate information to employees. Some companies farm out such tools as employee newspapers and bulletins. Others delegate employee communications to country/plant managers.
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Government affairs manager
If the manager of communications is an inside job, the manager of government affairs is an outside job. It means being on the road, lobbying and helping company affiliates coordinate their own lobbying efforts. Most companies lobby nationally in the company name and through the country manager. The government affairs manager at regional headquarters is the linchpin that ensures there are no contradictions and that what emerges in the end is a seamless position on key issues that affect the company's business.
This is particularly important in Europe, where the European Commission is in the midst of formulating directives that can have serious implications for companies. An important part of the government affairs executive's job is thus keeping senior management at corporate, as well as regional, headquarters informed of developments in the EU and at national level that are relevant to the business.
Public relations on the board
Whether corporate communicators should be elevated to board level i~ beginning to be an area of some debate as the role becomes more reco! nized for its strategic input.
Tim Halford, then group public affairs director at Grund Metropolitan and now at Trafalgar House, is a fervent adherent or (hI' argument that communications people should not sit on the board- 'I believe in small effective boards whose objective should be to /1111 the company strategically and clearly.' His ideal board would cOIIII" 1~I' the chairman, chief executive and finance director along with 1111': Sl'lIilli operational executives and strong non-executives. While he COlIl'l'dl'1I that there could be a general purpose executive on the board who 1I(('w together all the strings of areas like management dcvclopun-nt 111111 external affairs, he shied away from the American concept 01 IHlllIlIll corporate communications people on the board: 'They have hlHII II~ of 20 people. That's not lean effective management.'
The Vickers' solution was to give the director of corporate lIffllir~ 11111/1 seat on the executive committee. Not only did this confcr status, hili It /lIHt I allowed him open access to what was going on - which, Vickers hl'lIl'vl'lI was essential in a job where information plays such a crucial rule,
John Lavelle, director of the UK's Institute of Public Relill ions (II'I~) and ex-Nestle management, has made getting public rctui ions 11110 1111 boardroom one of the IPR's leading issues. He said: