The top table. It’s a funny phrase isn’t it? It reminds me of family weddings I’d tried to dodge. Or, worse still, being sat at the top table at a wedding and feeling detached from the rest of the guests.
by Darren Caveney
In the world of local government communications it’s a mixed picture in terms of whether the most senior comms person is sat at their senior management team’s top table each week.
Councils as we know come in many shapes and sizes. No two structures are identical. Some comms leads – be they directors, heads or managers – report directly to their chief executive (and very often to the leader too). Whatever the job title I believe it’s important that they have a weekly seat at the senior management team’s meeting. But, it isn’t always the case – some comms leads are there by invite only (often because something has gone wrong or there is a crisis looming) and a handful never really attend at all, which is a concern.
I’ve worked with over 80 councils now - whether consulting, training or supporting – and a pattern emerges: Those organisations which have comms as a key member of their SMT tend to have better communications fundamentals, approaches, outputs and outcomes.
What does the data tell us?
During the austerity years communications team were hit hard, harder than many other service areas. Many of the top roles were removed due to the tough savings targets which most councils faced. Director of comms roles and head of comms roles were often downgraded and the seniority lost. There was a drift of senior comms talent out of local government and that was a worrying trend.
Covid saw a fresh reinvestment in communications in a lot of organisations, and many councils reinstated more senior comms roles back into their structures realising that a strategic gap had appeared.
Each year the Local Government Associations conducts a very useful heads of comms survey to benchmark the state of the profession within the sector. Looking back through the data we can see how many comms leads do actually sit at the top table. Back in 2018 only 39% of respondents sat in on their SMT meetings. In the most recent survey the figure had increased, but only marginally, with 43% at that important table.
That figure is too low in my view.
Why am I telling you this?
Because there are many reasons why your comms lead should sit on your weekly senior management table. Here are three of the key ones:
1. Being the grit in the oyster. Have you ever been sat in a meeting where an idea or suggestion is floated and you’re wondering if anyone is going to step forward and point out how it could go very badly wrong? I have and I bet most comms people have too. We sometimes have to be the unpopular voice in the room pointing to the red flags which flurry. Comms consultant Paul Masterman refers to it as ‘being the grit in the oyster’. And that captures it nicely. Comms people aren’t perfect but a definite strength we have is having a nose for things which could play out badly. If your comms lead isn’t at your weekly meetings you could be missing the benefit of this questioning voice.
2. Communications is a strategic business function. All good leaders know this and understand that comms is much, much more that just sending our press releases and whacking some good news on to Twitter. Your comms lead will prioritise precious comms resources to the councils largest priorities and support the delivery of the council plan. Having them in your inner sanctum can only help in the delivery of this sensible approach.
3. Define your story, tell it well. Local government does wonderful things. Individual services can have great reputations but councils on the whole are a little bit unloved. So, it’s important that your comms lead is tasked with the development and delivery of a compelling and authentic narrative – for both council and place – taking a strategic lead and working with colleagues and partners to define your story and tell it well. We no longer rely on the media to tell our stories for us – we have our own powerful channels and platforms with significant reach. Giving them a strategic role and allowing them to shape the direction of your narrative really can help your reputation.
So cherish your comms team and your comms lead and make sure they’re a key member of your senior management teams if they’re not already.
You’ll be rewarded with better comms, I’m certain of it
Darren Caveney is owner and creator of comms2point0 and specialist consultancy Creative Communicators Ltd
Article first kindly published in the MJ magazine.
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