{"id":97,"date":"2012-09-01T01:33:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-01T01:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/outgoing-iabc-executive-chair-talks-future-of-communications-profession\/"},"modified":"2013-08-14T18:35:00","modified_gmt":"2013-08-14T18:35:00","slug":"outgoing-iabc-executive-chair-talks-future-of-communications-profession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/?p=97","title":{"rendered":"Outgoing IABC Executive Chair Talks Future of Communications Profession"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<style><!--\nst1\\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } \n--><\/style>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b><a href=\"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blogger\/-im0sg0QNzz4\/UEC0nAY9fkI\/AAAAAAAABAA\/3C0gzEJsriY\/s1600\/Adrian.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blogger\/-im0sg0QNzz4\/UEC0nAY9fkI\/AAAAAAAABAA\/3C0gzEJsriY\/s320\/Adrian.jpg\" width=\"252\" height=\"320\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Adrian Cropley, ABC. <i>Photo: Leland Holder<\/i><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span>A<\/span>drian Cropley, ABC, fresh from serving the past year as chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) executive board, talked trends and the future of the communication profession during a special appearance with <a href=\"http:\/\/atlanta.iabc.com\/\">IABC&#8217;s Atlanta<\/a> chapter on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe landscape is changing quite rapidly for us,\u201d says the former food-chef-turned-communicator<span>. <\/span><br \/>\n<span>Cropley began his career in internal communications at Ericsson 20 years ago, when the CEO challenged him to improve communication with employees. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI became hooked ever since,\u201d says Cropley, whose career has included working with Unilever, Ernst &amp; Young, Shell, NAB, ANZ, National Foods and Kraft, as well as various government organizations. <\/span>Today, Cropley runs <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cropleycomms.com.au\/\">Cropley Communications,<\/a> a <span>global <\/span>internal communications training <span>firm <\/span><span>based in<\/span> Melbourne.<\/p>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blogger\/-t620leCEMI0\/UEFkdi8PVdI\/AAAAAAAABBk\/6gOHi23pAlg\/s1600\/IABCBoard_Adrian.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blogger\/-t620leCEMI0\/UEFkdi8PVdI\/AAAAAAAABBk\/6gOHi23pAlg\/s320\/IABCBoard_Adrian.jpg\" width=\"320\" height=\"213\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cropley with members of IABC Atlanta&#8217;s board. <i>Photo: Leland Holder<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>He observes that communications professionals are starting to take on more roles that encompass<br \/>\nengagement and culture \u2013 functions historically belonging to the HR organization \u2013 as well as embracing digital platforms for their communication messages.<span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn this day of communications, it\u2019s not just about internal communications that drive engagement; it\u2019s internal and external because the boundaries have completely blurred. We\u2019re crossing over boundaries and we\u2019re seeing this happen globally,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>While communications is going to get bigger on the agenda, we as professionals \u201ccould face an identity crisis if we don\u2019t clearly outline our value to the organization and continue to make ourselves relevant,\u201d he cautions.<\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blogger\/-B3PyVPUfzQA\/UEFlwizla1I\/AAAAAAAABBs\/l3gC-r-_r7c\/s1600\/Book_EmotionalCapital.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blogger\/-B3PyVPUfzQA\/UEFlwizla1I\/AAAAAAAABBs\/l3gC-r-_r7c\/s200\/Book_EmotionalCapital.jpg\" width=\"131\" height=\"200\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>One area we can\u2019t take control of is the message with citizen journalism and social media today.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>He referenced Kevin Thomson\u2019s book, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Emotional-Capital-Capturing-Hearts-Lasting\/dp\/1900961628\"><i>Emotional Capital<\/i><\/a>, which<i> <\/i><span>contends that organizations have two types of capital \u2013 intellectual capital that firms harness, and emotional capital, or the will of people in an organization to put their knowledge and abilities to the betterment of the organization. <\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span><span>An interesting insight is that the value of both of these to the organization is \u201cidentical.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cToday we are looking today that this blurring of the boundaries between on internal and external means we really need to focus on things like engagement no matter who the organization is \u2013 it\u2019s all about that emotional message- how do I engage people in a very honest, open way?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>In the future, we are all about multi-disciplinary communication globally because that\u2019s where the landscape is eventually going.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>That\u2019s the beauty of IABC, he adds, given IABC\u2019s multi-disciplinary focus.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blogger\/-MFoYLaXupqk\/UEFkVhlzfhI\/AAAAAAAABBc\/TGVK977r2C8\/s1600\/Graphic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blogger\/-MFoYLaXupqk\/UEFkVhlzfhI\/AAAAAAAABBc\/TGVK977r2C8\/s320\/Graphic.jpg\" width=\"320\" height=\"243\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nWhy should companies care about engagement? Communicating and connecting with employees can have a major impact on organization productivity, he says, citing the <span>Towers-Watson <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/goog_1028297055\">Change and Communication\u00a0 <\/a><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.towerswatson.com\/assets\/pdf\/5995\/Towers-Watson-ROI-Survey.pdf\">ROI Study Report<\/a>, which found that companies that are highly effective at communicating are 1.7 times likely to outperform their peers. He also quoted a study that found engaged employees in the UK take significantly less sick leave than those who are disengaged.<span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Three findings from the Towers-Watson report are that sustainable business performance depends upon:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clarity \u2013 having a clear direction for everyone<\/li>\n<li>Competence \u2013 competence in leadership and in organizations<\/li>\n<li>Community \u2013 it\u2019s all about giving everyone a shared experience<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>He cited the 2011 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.communicationmonitor.eu\/\"><i>European Communications Monitor<\/i><\/a> study that tracks the evolving role of the communications profession in Europe and where the field is headed. The report pointed to the changing perception of PR globally and whether \u201cPR\u201d as a title creates a negative connotation in the market. To illustrate his point, Cropley shared a press article in New Zealand that complained that the government employed too many \u201cspin doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to reposition communications to make it very clear that it is a business value to organizations: What is our scope? What is it that we deliver?\u201d Cropley says. \u201cWe have to start to clearly brand ourselves and what we do for the organization, then we\u2019ve got to measure the tangible of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cropley contends that communicators are at a key moment in their profession where they can play influential roles. What do we need to do today as communicators to thrive in the future?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Understand the cultural context in the global business world.<\/li>\n<li>Understand that our audience is different and it is we who must adapt our approach based on the audience \u2013 with honesty and a desire to build a relationship with our audience.<\/li>\n<li><span><span><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Broaden our skills as we converge \u2013 understanding the path for communications is knowing a lot of different disciplines.<\/li>\n<li>Meet our audience where they are.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t drop the tactics, including core skills like writing\u2013 \u201cfind the sweet spot between tactics and strategy,\u201d he advises.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Adrian Cropley, ABC. Photo: Leland Holder Adrian Cropley, ABC, fresh from serving the past year as chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) executive board, talked<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[96,359,340,360],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corporate-communication","tag-adrian-cropley","tag-changing-role-of-corporate-communicators","tag-international-association-of-business-communicators","tag-pr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":881,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions\/881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=97"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=97"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}