***It is important that corporate communications maintain a professional tone. Such communication helps companies shape and mould corporate presence,identity and reputation in the minds of customers***

DELIVERING a message across to all the employees in an office is a lot like trying to control kids in a

classroom: some will hear; some will listen but will misunderstand at the end. And some will close the eyes to the message when all is said and done, and will later complain: "I didn’t get it," or "Nobody told me."

Effective corporate communication involves at first the message itself, and then the medium that carries and delivers it. These two components of a communication dictate whether the employees will get and understand it. Most corporate communications will be able to grab the attention of an employee for no more than a few seconds, if at all. It is within that very thin window of opportunity that they will think and decide whether to read the message or just toss it aside.

Nowadays, employees process more information than ever before — information dealing with their projects, their clients, their industry, their markets, as a whole. With all this information competing for the employees' attention, it is hard for a single corporate communication to stand a chance of making it through.So, organisations have struggled for years to find the best and suitable way to get company communications to their employees. Such communications can vary from notices of service interruptions to announcements of corporate events or media briefings. Communication is often a two-way street: it needs a sender and a receiver. If no one is paying heed, or you fail to grab the attention, there is no point of communications and you are just a crazy person talking to yourself.

The way a corporate organisation, body, or institute communicates with all its publics is corporate communication. Publics are both internal such as employees and stakeholders (share and stock holders) and external such as agencies, channel partners, media, government, industry bodies and institutes, educational institutes and general public.

Here a communications expert in Bangladesh comes up with his advices and insights.

Corporate communication communicates and ensures the consistency of relevant messages of activities taking place inside and outside of the company to all stakeholders, says Kazi Monirul Kabir, chief communications officer of Grameenphone, the leading corporate house in Bangladesh.

For effectiveness of any communication, Kabir says knowing the objective of communication, knowing the audience, choosing the relevant mes-sage and media are the primary elements.

However, effective corporate communication relies on much more.

Kabir stresses transparency for effective communication. This means being straightforward, informative and honest in all communications.

Also, the most effective communications at a corporate level will be well-structured, meaning the message will be organised and presented in an easy-to-understand fashion.

Energy is another key factor, according to the chief communicator of Grameenphone. Effective corporate communication will take on a sense of energy and urgency: the messages presented will convey a sense of importance and give the recipient a reason to take the information seriously, he says.

Frequency in communication strikes a working balance when it comes to frequency of messages. “On one hand, too little communication can lead to confusion and frustration.On the other hand, too much communication can be irritating and produce apathy," says the Grameenphone official.And it is important that corporate communications maintain a professional tone.

Such communication helps companies shape and mould corporate presence, identity and reputation in the minds of customers, important stakeholders and other audiences, Kabir says.

The most important thing is anyone involved with corporate communications needs to know the recipients' habits and behaviours before deciding on the types of message and medium. It will not make sense if one uses technology-based communications with a receiver who is not tech-sawy; or to post an important message or announcement on their intranet when most people of the targeted group are used to relying solely on notice boards. An understanding of the target group will help decide on the best ways to use to get the message across.

And so communicating with hundreds, if not thousands, of staff mem-bers within an organisation or among the stakeholders and clients is no small task. This challenge is further stiff in organisations that have a global presence, where corporate head office is in charge for delivering the same message to satellite offices in dispersed locations. So it is not enough to just create the message.

An organisation has to deliver the same message to all of its stakeholders, in order to maintain consistency, trustworthiness and ethic. If one of these points is missing or broken, the entire community can make the organisation dip into crisis. Corporate communication helps the organisation generate its message, combining its vision, mission and values, and will also support the organisation by communicating its message, activities and practices to all of its stakeholders.

So Kabir says it is important for an organisation to invest in corporate communication initiatives to perpetuate its long-term corporate image and brand identity, as corporate communication is often a key strategic enabler in today’s highly competitive and information-driven business environment.

"Sensible, thoughtful, consistent and well-articulated communication

messages reinforce a positive image about a professionally run, wellmanaged enterprise or business."

About the mindset of a successful communications team, Kabir says focusing on the objective of communication is an essential element for success.

Great flexibility and adaptability are required for the communication team to act swiftly for which a good understanding of the competitive and external landscape along with industry knowledge is crucial, he says.

Kabir distinguishes between corporate communication and that in other traditional office or division.

'Tn Grameenphone, corporate communication is a separate function within the communications division of our company."

It closely works with investor relations, employee communication, government relations, corporate advertising, public relations and media relations, he says.

khaled@thedailystar.net