Where should Corporate Communication sit in an Organization?
The communications function is often orphaned within companies because it’s frequently placed under unrelated leaders (like strategy, COO, HR, or admin) who lack communications expertise and bandwidth to advocate for it effectively. This structural misalignment is especially common in small- and medium-sized organizations and can create damaging splits between internal and external communications unless the nominal leader ensures the comms team has autonomy and direct access to senior management.
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
9/15/20261 min read
Why is the communications function often orphaned within companies?
Not long ago I had some dealings with a company where the communications function reported into the head of strategy. It's a small company, so organizationally for them it made sense to place communications under one of the leadership team members.
The issue is that this person had a full plate with a lot of other priorities, coupled with no knowledge of corporate communications. As such, they were neither able to effectively lead the function, nor to adequately represent it in leadership team meetings.
The situation I saw is unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence, particularly in small- and medium-sized organizations. I've frequently seen communications falling under the COO, Human Resources and even the Admin Manager. Particularly when it comes to internal communications, companies of all sizes often have a penchant for placing it under Human Resources, in the process creating a split between internal and external communications that in and of itself causes problems.
It may not be ideal, but I can understand why some companies may need to place communications under another function. However, in such cases, the person nominally in charge must give the communications professionals space to do their jobs, and must also allow them access to senior management and to leadership team meetings so they can make their own case for their plans and achievements.
Fares S Ghneim
Stratetic Communications & Corporate Affairs
Dubai Media City
Ground Floor, Buiding 8
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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