Why it’s important for comms folks to package and elevate their business results
We’ve all been told it’s not nice to boast. Add to that, comms pros tend to be a humble bunch. I know many professional communicators who are thrilled to serve behind the scenes, quietly helping leaders and organizations shine. That’s why so many comms folks can be overlooked when it comes to recognition. (I once saw a 60-person team win a major award without even acknowledging their comms partner.)
If you’re providing strategic guidance, drafting messages, crafting articles, producing videos and polishing the CEO’s remarks, there’s not much time left in a day to formally package and highlight your own wins, am I right? So, let me briefly share some of the dangers of not regularly championing your (or your team’s) great results:
- Others can forget to acknowledge (or worse, take credit for) the great work your team is delivering. I can’t count the times I’ve watched folks revel in the glory of a project’s success–only to forget to acknowledge their comms counterparts in the moment. I’m reminded of a quote from philosopher Lao Tzu: A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. Over time, when functional teams are publicly acknowledged for their wins while the comms folks quietly slide out the back door to set up for the next big event or initiative, partnerships can suffer.
- Your team misses out on leadership visibility. I once noticed in a meeting that a particular leader seemed to know most of the male comms folks by name, but none of the female comms team members. I also observed that these men were far more apt to actively highlight their work, talking in terms of business results versus activity. When a leader casually asks how things are going, a humble, “We’re working on your town hall. It’s going great,” is a far different response than, “We’ve found a way to make your next town hall more interactive, since we need to lift employee engagement numbers.” The latter response takes the same amount of time but connects an individual or team directly to driving business results in a leader’s mind.
- Your contributions aren’t valued until you’re gone. I’m often surprised by how many folks urgently say, “I had no idea she was responsible for [X work], and we need it now! What should I do?” after a comms team member exits a role. This signals to me that the work was valued but the process and owner was overlooked. When work is completed quietly, efficiently and with very little fanfare, folks sometimes don’t understand the behind-the-scenes effort it takes to get things like videos, emails or leader letters over the line. Comms insiders know great work doesn’t “magically” happen, but often our partners don’t understand the work or time involved until it’s on them to deliver.
- Your portfolio doesn’t reflect your work. I know outstanding, seasoned communications experts who, if asked today, would be hard-pressed to quickly share tangible work results. They’ve delivered years of exceptional work–supporting wildly popular promotional campaigns, intense crisis situations and billion-dollar acquisitions–but their results are in their heads or told as pub anecdotes. Packaged results can act as a powerful tool when you’re engaging in a performance conversation, asking for a promotion, requesting a budget increase or more resources, or are called up to the CEO’s office. A stack of one-page result reports that clearly show your team’s ROI beats any war story.
Capturing and packing your wins doesn’t need to be showy. A brief one-page recap, a quick business results meeting with leadership, or a business partner conversation showcasing the value you/your team delivered is all it takes. Share growth numbers, reach increase, complaint decreases, compliance targets met, positive employee comments…whatever metrics you use to define success. Just don’t miss the opportunity to elevate your work simply because you’re moving too fast or don’t want to brag. It’s not bragging if you’re doing excellent work that’s going unacknowledged.
With more than two decades of communications experience spanning agencies, Fortune-100 organizations, non-profits and academia, Kristi Hinck Mills today brings her passion for employee communications to CommsLede Consulting, where she delivers strategic solutions for her clients. Visit the CommsLede blog for more tips.
