What should you actually expect from a communications department? And more importantly: on what basis do you evaluate it? The honest answer is often too vague. And that is problematic. Because what you don't make concrete, you can't defend. So it's time to clearly define and make measurable the five core roles of a modern communications department. Based on data. No gut feeling, but proof.
The communications department takes many forms. Still, three main types can roughly be distinguished:
Large corporates focus internally; marketing speaks externally.
Small commercial organizations merge communications into marketing.
Civil society organizations use communications for reputation and positioning, often closely aligned with public affairs.
Whatever kind of organization you are: the communications department must visibly add value. And you must be able to substantiate that value.
Communications value: often too vague, rarely tangible
Sales is judged on revenue. HR on absenteeism figures and employee satisfaction. But communications? Often it lingers on vague indicators like media mentions or likes. By doing that, you sell yourself short. Because as long as you don't make your value tangible, you remain vulnerable.
Start with clarity on roles and tasks
To be taken seriously as a department, you must be clear on what your role is. And what it is not. A clear division of tasks is the first step toward substantiation. With that, you lay the foundation for a conversation about value.
The five roles of communications
The model by Körver, Bouman, and Van der Loo distinguishes five roles for communications. Each with a different kind of impact.
1. Brand leader
The communications department safeguards and builds brand and reputation. Think of corporate identity, tone of voice, reputation management, and public affairs. In this role, you work on recognition, trust, and distinctiveness.
2.Change accelerator
You accelerate change within the organization. By engaging employees in transitions, through training, campaigns, and good information sharing. And by identifying trends early and translating them into strategy.
3. Enabler
You help the entire organization communicate better. Through coaching, templates, training, and tooling. This role is internally focused: you empower others.
4. Linking pin
You are the antenna of the organization. You pick up signals from society and feed them back inside. Both opportunities and risks. In this role, you also dare to name uncomfortable truths.
5. Business partner
You contribute to the core process. Think of customer communications, lead generation, and conversion optimization. Here, communications sits close to marketing, with a direct impact on business results.
Which role do you have and how do you fulfill it?
Assess as a team which roles you are currently fulfilling. And more importantly: which ones you should be fulfilling given your organization's strategy. This gives you insight into your relevance and potential gaps. Only then can you also start proving your impact.
When do you make value measurable and visible?
In every role you can—with the right data—demonstrate:
How communications contributes to organizational goals
What your team focuses on
Which levers you can pull
What you are good at, and where you fall short
What is needed to improve
Making value measurable is a necessity, otherwise you remain invisible
Because communications often remains invisible. Or is seen as a cost center. Even while people often work hard and smartly. By making results visible, you also make the added value visible. That gives your team legitimacy as well as room to operate.
Start with the data you already have
Many departments already collect data. Page views, shares, newsletter open rates. Sometimes reports are made from these. But it often stops at measuring. The story behind the numbers is missing.
Turn data into evidence
Data is only valuable if you know how to interpret it. What do those metrics say about behavior, impact, or progress? And how do you use them to substantiate that your team contributes to organizational goals? Make data activating. Not illustrative, but strategic.
Make goals measurable: concrete is convincing
Formulate a concrete behavioral goal for each target audience. Link KPIs to it. Do you want people to register, download, share, apply? Make it measurable. That way you demonstrate not just effort, but results.
How to become a serious conversation partner
With hard figures, you stand stronger. You can then engage in a focused conversation about your positioning within the organization. Not based on gut feeling, but on evidence. This transforms you from an executor into a strategic partner.
Want to know more about how to cleverly use data and AI to boost your communications power? We'd love to think along with you.
