While everything changes, one thing remains the same

The importance of the new communications professional for the organization.

@ChatGPT: Could you write a short piece for me about the importance of the new communications professional for organizations? And sure enough, a blog post appears shortly after. And it's a pretty good read, too. In other words: in a few years, that communications professional will be completely redundant. Right?

Just to be clear: this blog was not written by AI. But over the past year
AI in communications was promoted from assistant to full-fledged colleague. That was in the
Communications is certainly not the only change in recent years. Fake news, disinformation, big
Data and new media platforms also fit into that list. However, AI is the development that
further accelerates changes in the profession. And that is something that the communications professional sometimes
is keeping people awake at night. Because how will AI change their role? And what will be the importance of the
communications professional for the organization?

Digital and technical skills are becoming increasingly important

Communication professionals sense this themselves as well. For instance, 7 out of 10 professionals indicate that they believe technical and data skills are necessary to deliver good work, according to the European Communication Monitor (EMN) 2023. Tricky. Because the same study shows that 44.4% are not technically skilled enough—for example, in using computer programs. And that 40.6% are not data-savvy enough—for example, in interpreting data or deploying software to achieve business goals. A shame! Because the communication professional who possesses these skills is invaluable to your company. Especially if you deploy them in the right, most strategic way.

The role of the communications professional is becoming more strategic

And less about execution. It's less about "writing a text." And more about how this profession can contribute to your organization's strategic goals. The aforementioned data skills are essential in this regard. They can help find good answers to questions like: Who are we? Where do we want to go? And how are we going to demonstrate that? Yes, the core value of "putting the customer first" is wonderful. But how are we actually going to do that? And how do we get all our colleagues on board?

Communications professionals currently face the challenge of developing in this new role. But as an organization, you first need to recognize its importance. Think of communication less as a branding trick and more as part of the strategy. When developing that strategy, data skills are especially useful, as they are primarily a tool for creating robust analyses.

The importance of the communications professional remains the same

After all, the communications professional is needed to add the human touch. All those research results and data provide insight. For example, into the number of clicks and the reading time in your emails. But that data is only valuable if someone places it in the (right) context. For example, by answering the question of why recipients read one item but not another. That is where the value of the new communications professional lies.

Betteke van Ruler knows more about that. She is Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at the University of Amsterdam. In the COMPOD episode “Towards the future of the profession: communication then, now, and tomorrow,” she distinguishes between warm and cold communication. “Cold communication consists of all those endless messages we send. They are often technical and not very exciting. But with warm communication, things get exciting. That involves, for example, polarizing themes. And that always remains a human matter.”

Some topics are sensitive

This is also evident from the uproar at the end of last year regarding Coca-Cola's new Christmas commercial. The familiar image of the Coca-Cola truck driving through a snowy landscape was created by AI this year. And not everyone was happy about that. Especially not because it was for Christmas: “…a celebration centered on connection and people coming together.” This can be read in this report . Now, Christmas is not exactly a “polarizing theme.” But it is a sensitive subject, as it turns out. A subject for “warm communication.” A subject that calls for a human perspective.

Warm communication requires different skills

The European Communication Monitor lists the 4 most important skills for the new communication specialist:

1. Social and empathic antenna
   This is the skill of coaching colleagues and improving their communication. It also involves knowing how to handle ethical discussions and sensitive topics, such as those related to different cultures or gender.  
2. Create and deliver effective messages
   You want to know how to craft a persuasive message or strategy, and the impact of the medium you choose to deliver this information.  
3. Research skills and organizational management skills
   These are the skills to conduct research and interpret, analyze and evaluate the data.
4. Knowledge about society
   You want to know what's going on. And you want to know what your target audience expects from your organization at any given moment. And why.  

Points 1 and 4, in particular, are crucial for warm communication. You can have dry data and recognize broad trends in society. As a communications professional, you want to use your antennae to recognize what lies behind this. "There's much more to connect with if you know who these people are, what's going on, what their norms and values ​​are, and how they arrived at that position," Betteke explains in the podcast. 

Lotte Willemsen is a professor by special appointment of Strategic Communication at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). She complements Betteke: "We're increasingly using technology to identify target audiences or personas. But ChatGPT can't capture that, because it's trained on outdated data. As a result, context is less taken into account. AI also has a bias. People with a voice are better represented than marginalized groups." While organizations increasingly want to focus on these latter groups, your organization is quickly penalized these days if you don't communicate effectively with and about these groups. So it's crucial that you deploy your communication professionals at the right time and in the right way.

Shift the focus from output to impact

Too often, the communications department is an afterthought: "Oh yeah, I should really add communications too." And the communications professional in that department is seen as a mere spellchecker. It's important to view the communications professional more as a strategic partner. You can do three things to achieve this:

• Connect communication in time
  Have this department brainstorm beforehand about the most strategic play. Don't just have them communicate the score to the public afterward. Consider your organization's policy cycle for this. Don't just consider the moments you want to use your communication, but also the points where they can contribute substantively. 
  
  
• Let communication take on the role of coach
  The added value of the new communications professional also lies in coaching colleagues. This ensures that everyone in your organization is on the same page. And that these colleagues not only know which direction to take but also how to apply it in their daily work. 
  
  
• Work data-driven
  "To be able to demonstrate business value, you also have to measure what you do," Watson states in his paper "The Evolution of Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation." And that's exactly how it is. By working data-driven as an organization, you gain insight into where communications professionals can add value. And how well they're doing it. And for the communications professional themselves, that data is just as important. Because they're the ones who can give the raw numbers the right meaning. This changes the role of the communications professional, while its importance remains just as great. If not more so...