Sharing our insight - Building a world-class communications team while creating a comprehensive long-term strategy
- Article
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Many of the organisations that we’re working with are experiencing a new challenge – how to prepare the functions and job roles of the future even though they don’t quite know what the future looks like. What we do know is that AI is no longer an emerging technology, it’s here and it’s developing at pace.
So, when one of one of the world’s leading financial services companies approached us to help them future proof their communications team we needed to delve into their business strategy, the skills and capabilities of the team and what was needed for the future.
Getting into the heart of the challenge
Our client’s business model and strategy had evolved significantly in response to a range of external factors including disruptive technology, geopolitical factors and climate change. As a result they have significant ambitions for business growth and because of this the global communications team needed to assess their current capabilities, structure and resources to align with the business needs both now and in the future.
What they needed were recommendations that would help build the communications capabilities, business performance and culture within the business. A key requirement was identifying where the team needed to be reskilled or upskilled – potentially through the use of new tools and technology including AI.
Discovery
Where better to start with understanding what the business needs than speaking to the senior leaders and subject matter experts? We needed to understand their strategies and goals and their expectations of the communications team.
In addition, we needed to delve into the existing culture of the team to understand their strengths and what could be improved in terms of ways of working. We undertook interviews with all members of the team to assess their skills and capabilities and plotted this output against our communications maturity model. While recognised for their effectiveness around content development and delivery our research suggested low levels of maturity where they were seen as a delivery function as opposed to strategic trusted advisors.
During this discovery phase we conducted 30 interviews – all online which alleviated the need for any travel nationally and globally. We were clear that all feedback would be anonymised to make sure they felt comfortable in being truly open.
Analysis and Evaluation
In conjunction with the interviews we undertook a thorough desk-based investigation assessing the effectiveness of the team’s infrastructure and messaging, identifying gaps, themes, issues, risks, and opportunities, and benchmarking best practices. This was in addition to reviewing data such as the people survey, annual reporting and website messaging.
Our recommendations provided an executive summary, findings, evaluation, action plan, and ideas for improvement, innovation, and investment. We then used this output to create a three-year communications and brand strategy which would help the business to achieve its growth.
Within this strategy we gave them two potential target operating models with detailed guidance to help manage the transition in both the short and long-term. We also identified opportunities for increased productivity and efficiency through recommending the utilisation of specific AI and data tools to get them closer to their brand and clients and improve planning.
Outcomes
As a result of the communications review and subsequent strategy the CEO and senior leadership team approved an increased budget and headcount to continue building a world-class communications team that supports business growth and the delivery of strategic priorities.
The team addressed capability gaps in the short term as well as scoping requirements for external capabilities on significant campaigns that will drive business growth.
Alongside this, the team now has a clear purpose and objectives, which are being translated into personal development goals which supports the career growth of all team members and advances the team through the communications maturity model.
About Marlowe
Change can be complex but the approach to it doesn’t need to be. At Marlowe we partner with organisations to deliver large scale, complex transformation and change. We deliver business change solutions, change capability, assurance, training, leadership effectiveness and cultural change.
Our focus is on your people to ensure your change is delivered practically, successfully and sustainably. Please contact us if you would like to know more about delivering exceptional business change.
