What is the perfect structure for communications?

This is the latest in a regular series of blogs on Lessons from Communication Reviews, where Westco’s Director of Communications, Simon Jones, analyses key issues from Westco’s 40-plus audits across public service. This week, let’s focus on team structure and skills…

The biggest challenge for any Head of Communication is getting everyone in the comms team to work effectively as ‘one team.’ This issue often stems more from culture and working practices than from performance alone. In larger teams, we often see different groups working in silos with insufficient collaboration, especially when split between different competencies like media, campaigns, and digital.

The challenge of building a unified team

I often think that leading a comms team is like conducting an orchestra. The most effective teams are those where everyone is on the same page and understands their role in producing the symphony. Often, individual teams play a slightly different tune because they don't fully understand what other teams are doing day-to-day.

Success relies on the Head of Communication's ability to act as a conductor, instilling a culture where people think and work beyond traditional boundaries, particularly when it comes to the generation of ideas. In truth, there isn't a perfect structure for comms because what works for one team isn’t necessarily going to work for another.

The Importance of cross-team collaboration

As a rule, I advocate for integrating skills across media, campaigns, and digital teams to ensure communications are audience-focused rather than competency-focused. To get this model to work requires a laser-like focus on professional development.

Another structural issue often requiring change is business partner arrangements, where a team member is allocated to a specific service or directorate. Too often, individuals become far too embedded in that specific area. This results in a loss of corporate focus and flexibility as to how resources are used. If a service or department starts seeing that person as ‘their person,’ you know you have a problem.

Balancing flexibility and demand in resource allocation

I recommend designating a maximum of 70% of someone’s time to one area, with the remaining 30% used flexibly based on demand. I appreciate that this can be hard to manage, though, when you’re fielding constant demands. Another more effective approach is to assign people to strategic, cross-cutting business plan themes rather than specific services. This approach, by its nature, must be managed centrally and aligned with organisational priorities.

In some organisations, we see an increasing number of comms professionals fully embedded in services, sitting outside the corporate structure. This decentralisation is often less efficient. Occasionally, there’s a rationale for this, especially if the communications/marketing officer is fully integrated into the delivery of that service (an example of this might be foster care recruitment).

Striking the right balance

Overall, it is far better to have comms or marketing officers with at least one foot in the central team, receiving day-to-day support and direction from a line manager who is a professional communicator.

Author:

Simon Jones is the Director of Communications for Westco. He is a former Chair of LGcomms and worked as Director of Communications for London Boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Haringey over ten years.

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