Where do you think IC should sit?

Much has been written about this topic in recent years and, whilst I could wax lyrical about it for hours, I'm not going to labour the point any longer here.

My own view, which I hope shines through in my previous post, is that if you have the right practitioners in place internal comms can be made to work whether it sits independently, within HR, Marketing, PR or elsewhere. My own 'ideal home' for IC is within a stand-alone joined-up internal/external communications function which reports to the CEO or equivalent, but I recognise that that may not always be possible or appropriate. What is clear, however, is that internal comms cannot operate effectively unless it partners proactively with HR, Marketing and PR and has a strong relationship with the leadership team. That means putting aside our petty functional disagreements and getting on with the job in hand.

What do you think?  If you've got 30 seconds to spare why not zip over to www.internalcommunications.co.uk to cast your vote in its latest online poll. We'll publish the results exclusively on this blog in a month or two....

Comments

[Annie Waite]

We've published an article from Fraser Likely on this topic at:
http://www.internalcommshub.com/trial/professional/casestudies/internalcomms.shtml - here's an extract:

"Internal communication at the beginning of the 21st century is about relationship building.

Where it technically resides is less important than that it builds solid working relationships with those responsible for each of the company’s stakeholders – be that with HR, PR, investor relations, government communication, or any other communication discipline. Various functions working sensibly to leverage the crossovers in their roles could include:

* joint policy development;
* strategic planning;
* initiatives on training and employee development;
* shared expertise on printing and writing; and
* shared expertise on web development.

Ultimately, however, the forecast is that communication will complete the journey from these working alliances to a single, integrated internal/external function. It’s the only way to really drive value – when they operate together, they can join forces, integrate and coordinate to act as strategic liaisons between employees, stakeholders and other organizational departments in order to help the organization achieve its goals."

[LeeLee]

Hi Annie

Thanks for the link. Fraser is clearly a man after my own heart! The Melcrum stats I mentioned here are from 2006 - has the situation changed much since then?

Lee