Advice for comms from the C-suite

In any business, communicating about the work you’re doing with the public and your internal stakeholders is critical. At the closing keynote panel of Ragan’s Future of Communications Conference last week, a panel of communications industry leaders discussed how communications professionals can better position their efforts and have a tangible role in decision-making company-wide. Hosted by Ragan CEO Diane Schwartz, the discussion featured thoughts from Michelle Russo, chief communications officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Amy Jaick, chief marketing and communications officer at the Columbia Business School and Jennifer Thurman, chief communications officer at Dow Jones. Each panelist had insightful approaches about how to further integrate communications functions into critical decision-making processes.

Changes in approach during COVID

Life has changed so much since the outset of the pandemic, and the last few years have also informed the way the panelists approached the roles of their communications departments. For some, the need for clear and frequent communication during uncertain times helped place more value on the comms function.