Karel Winkelaar is a Dutch consultant and author who specializes in helping communications consultants understand how they can work their way up from being mere executioners to highly strategic and respected communications counselors for their organizations. Winkelaar took 25 in-depth interviews from both CEOs and communications professionals for a new edition of his (Dutch language) book The Communications Consultant. In this article, Jo Detavernier writes that communications professionals lack sufficient business knowledge. As a result, an ever-coveted say in strategic company decisions continues to remain a distant dream for many. Read the article here.

Defining ‘Business Acumen’: A Delphi Study of Corporate Communications Leaders

Matthew Ragas, Ph.D., Associate Professor at DePaul University, and who also collaborated to our report The Next Level | The Business Value of Internal Communication, published the findings of his study under the title: Defining ‘Business Acumen’: A Delphi Study of Corporate Communications Leaders, in the latest PR Journal. Ragas writes, "The evolution of public relations into more of a strategic management function has resulted in additional expected competencies for PR and communications professionals. Business acumen is often now seen as an important contributor to the success of PR professionals and teams, but a formal definition of this key term has been lacking. Based on the evaluations of an expert panel of senior corporate communications leaders, the current study defines the term business acumen in a public relations and communications context; articulates what specific knowledge areas fall under business acumen; and identifies important perceived professional, organizational and societal benefits of this competency. The implications of these findings for future research, public relations education, and leadership training and talent development are discussed." Read the research paper here. 

Internal Communication Inside 9 Organizations

RESEARCH BRIEF SERIES

New Edition

This edition features nine in-house communication professionals from eight industries: Consumer Goods, Food & Beverage, Financial Services, Information, Technology & Services Insurance, Law Practice, Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, Oil & Energy. Each participant sheds light on the practice of internal communication in their own organization with an emphasis on five topics:

• Challenges and opportunities facing their communication team
• The intersection of internal and external communication
• Effective Internal Communication: mindsets, behaviours & practices
• How they help senior leaders understand the value of internal communication
• How they demonstrate the impact of internal communication on organizational goals to business leaders

Download 'The practice of IC | A Look Inside Organizations - Part 2 here. You can find the previous editions of the series here. 

FROM OUR INDUSTRY PARTNER | GOLD LEVEL

Infographic: Is Your Digital Workplace Actually Working?

IC Kollectif | Publications | Subscribe | Terms of Use | Privacy | info@ickollectif.com  

Follow us on Twitter @IC_Kollectif | LinkedIn | Facebook

About IC Kollectif

IC Kollectif is an award-winning global organization dedicated to the strategic management of internal communication as a business function. The independent nonprofit is based in Montreal and shares knowledge, insights, and research from around the world on the practice of IC with people in more than 165 countries. For more information on IC Kollectif, please see our website ickollectif.com.

Copyright © 2019 IC Kollectif. All rights reserved.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________