By Sue Dewhurst and Liam FitzPatrick

Sue Dewhurst and Liam FitzPatrick are specialists in professional development for internal communicators and in communications-related learning and development for leaders and line managers.  Together, they developed the industry wide definition of a ‘competent communicator’

Sue led in-house teams for many years at organisations such as the UK Post Office, Barclays Bank and NTL before starting her consulting career.   

Liam’s background is in international communications consultancy has brought him to work with clients such as American Airlines, BP, British Airlines, The House of Commons, Marconi and the UK Government.

In the last decade or so, employers have changed how they think about internal communication.  They don’t just want their staff to be aware or informed, they want people to be involved and engaged.  And getting them there calls for a new type of professional – the expert advisor who can make sure communication is central to the organisation’s mission and not incidental to it.

 

This chapter looks at the competencies this new breed of communicator needs. 

 

Of course, there is no single model of the perfect internal communicator. Every organisation has its own problems, a different history, a distinct culture and a unique workforce.  A model that works for one company may well fail miserably in another, even if they are in the same industry and their two operations look similar.

 

With this in mind, this chapter assumes you will want to develop a model of desired skills, knowledge and experience that suits your particular organisation.  We have pulled together the core components in such a way that you can create the blend that works for you but, at the same time, those central building blocks should be recognisable and applicable across industries, countries and sectors.

 

Competencies - our definition

 Since we will use the word ‘competencies’ frequently, it’s worth defining what we mean by it.  Competencies are the characteristics – the skills, knowledge and experience - that drive outstanding performance in a role.  They describe the behaviours we would expect to see from someone carrying out their role to a highly effective standard.  

 

This means when we talk about a ‘competent communicator’, we are describing someone who has the right competencies to operate as a highly effective professional, performing their role in an outstanding way.

 

Understanding what makes a competent communicator

We started thinking about competencies some years ago when we were part of a working group sponsored by several professional associations in the UK.  We came together because we wanted to define a common competency framework, which defined what ‘good’  looked like, gave internal communications practitioners a framework for their professional development and brought clarity to recruitment and to career planning.  With colleagues in our associations we came up with a basic framework to inform thinking across the profession.

 

In 2007 we carried out an international research project to understand from practitioners themselves the competencies they needed to operate successfully.  We ran an on-line survey and we followed up with interviews and research groups.  The detail of our methodology has been published in several places – all we want to say here is that we tried to be as thorough as possible, to provide a definitive picture

 

Using the competency framework to guide your development

The competency framework is set out in full below.  To use it to provide a tailored framework for own role and a guide for your development, follow these three simple steps:

 

1.      Thinking about what your organisation needs from you and how you can add the most value, decide which competencies you need to perform your role effectively

 

2.      Assess yourself against those competencies and identify the gaps between where you are now and where you need to be

 

3.      Put together a personal development plan, which sets out how you will fill the gaps

 

 

Step one – use the framework to put together your individual competency model

 

 

Figure 1 lists the twelve core competencies in our framework and gives a simple definition for each. The fuller descriptions will help you establish where specific skills or behaviours fit.  The competencies are specific to internal communicators.  Your organisation probably already has a model for general management competencies, such as team leadership or time management.

 

 

 

Competency

 

Definition

 

Building effective relationships

 

Developing and maintaining relationships that inspire trust and respect. Building a network and being able to influence others to make things happen.

 

Business focus

 

Having a clear understanding of the business issues and using communication to help solve organisational problems and achieve organisational objectives.

 

Consulting and coaching

 

Recommending appropriate solutions to customers; helping others to make informed decisions; building people’s communications competence.

 

Cross functional awareness

 

Understanding the different contributions from other disciplines and working with colleagues from across the organisation to achieve better results.

 

Craft (writing and design)

 

Using and developing the right mix of practical communication abilities (e.g. writing and design management) to hold the confidence of peers and colleagues.

 

Developing other communicators

 

Helping other communicators build their communications competence and develop their careers.

 

Innovation and creativity

 

Looking for new ways of working, exploring best practice and delivering original and imaginative approaches to communication problems.

 

Listening

 

Conducting research and managing mechanisms for gathering feedback and employee reaction.

 

Making it happen

 

Turning plans into successfully implemented actions.

 

Planning

 

Planning communication programmes and operations, evaluating results.

 

Specialist

 

Having specific subject matter expertise in a specialist area.

 

Vision and standards

 

Defining or applying a consistent approach to communication and maintaining professional and ethical standards.

 

 

Fig. Fitzpatrick 1 – The Twelve Core Competencies

 

 

 

Full descriptions of the competencies are set out at the end of this chapter. They include three separate levels

 

  • Level 1 – Basic

     

  • Level 2 – Intermediate

     

  • Level 3 – Advanced

     

 

In each case, we describe the behaviours you would typically expect to see from somebody operating at each level.

 

So, start by deciding which competencies are relevant to your role and then, which level is appropriate for each competency.  The aim is explicitly not to aim to climb to ‘advanced’ at every level.  Just look what is needed to perform the role well.  For example, the ‘advanced’ level in the Listening competency describes someone who is probably a highly skilled researcher – a talent relatively few organisations need.

 

Finally, use the ‘time focus’ column to set out which competencies may be called into use relatively more or less often than others.  This column essentially asks, “what do you expect to spend most of your time doing?” 

 

By the end of this process you should have as sheet of paper that looks something like the one in Figure X.

 

 

 

 

 

Job Role   IC Business Partner

 

Competencies

 

 

Description

 

Time focus

 

Current level

 

Building effective relationships

 

Level 3 - Advanced

 

High

 

 

Business focus

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

High

 

 

Consulting and coaching

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

Medium

 

 

Cross functional awareness

 

Level 3 - Advanced

 

Medium

 

 

Craft (writing and design)

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

Low

 

 

Developing other communicators

 

Level 1 - Basic

 

Low

 

 

Innovation and creativity

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

Medium

 

 

Listening

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

High

 

 

Making it happen

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

High

 

 

Planning

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

High

 

 

Specialist

 

Level 1 - Basic

 

Low

 

 

Vision and standards

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

Low

 

 

 

Fig. Fitzpatrick 2 – A simple competency model template

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step Two – Assess where you are now

There is a wealth of advice available on competency testing and we won’t try to reproduce it here.We recommend asking a colleague or your manager to help you make an assessment of your current position. If you assess yourself, you may miss important development needs or, if you’re having a bad month, underestimate some of your core strengths! 

 

 

 

 

 

Step Three- compile your personal development plan

The final step is to decide how you will fill the gaps between where you need to be to perform your role to a highly effective standard, and where you have established you are now.  Again, we recommend talking this through with your manager or a trusted HR colleague, who can discuss the learning and development options available to you.

 

 

 

 

 

In summary

 

 

There is no one model of the perfect internal communications professional. The key is to understand what’s important to your organisation, how you can add the most value to the business, and what competencies you need to enable you to fulfil this role outstandingly well.

 

 

Treat the competencies set out here as a set of mix and match building blocks enabling you to set out a clear and comprehensive definition of the skills, knowledge and experience you need. Read through the behaviours to understand what you could expect a knowledgeable, experienced professional to be doing routinely in relation to each competency. 

 

 

These are not founded on our personal opinions. They are based on the views of people working in our industry all over the world.   Based on all their combined experience and observations, these are the foundations needed by today’s professional internal communicator.

 

 

 

Competency:

 

Building effective relationships

 

Definition

 

Developing and maintaining relationships that inspire trust and respect.  Building a network and being able to influence others to make things happen

 

Typical behaviours

 

Ineffective behaviours

 

·        Focuses purely on achieving own objectives.  Fails to consider, or  inappropriately ignores, other people’s views

 

·        Relies on force or hierarchy to push initiatives through

 

·        Fails to engage or influence key stakeholders resulting in the failure to implement planned activities

 

·        Afraid to ask questions or challenge decisions

 

·        Being right matters more than getting the best result

 

Level 1 - Basic

 

·        Identifies individuals or groups that can help or prevent things happening and finds ways to work well with them

 

·        Appears confident and comfortable working with people at all levels

 

·        Respects and values other people’s views. Tries to understand what’s important to them

 

·        Listens carefully, asking questions to aid understanding and clarification

 

·        Seeks and uses feedback from clients

 

·        Does what they say they will

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

·        Takes a structured approach to identifying their stakeholders and understanding their relative influence and importance to making things happen

 

·        Builds a wide and effective network across their business area and invests time in cultivating relationships

 

·        Seeks to understand and respect even the most difficult clients.

 

·        Can adapt their style to quickly inspire trust and respect from clients  and colleagues at all levels

 

·        Involves others in decision-making and planning as appropriate to make sure activities happen as planned

 

·        Stands up for their views without damaging relationships. Manages any conflict effectively

 

Level 3 - Advanced

 

·        Is a trusted and respected advisor to the most senior leaders

 

·        Works well with colleagues at all levels

 

·        Uses influence successfully to shape the strategic communications and business agenda

 

·        Not easily intimidated but knows where to compromise

 

·        Able to negotiate conflicting requirements from different stakeholders to build a coherent plan which is accepted by all

 

·        Helps others to resolve conflicts or difficult issues

 

·        Builds a strong network of relationships that can survive a change of direction, reporting lines or personalities

 

·        Develops external relationships that enhance their knowledge and bring best practice into the organisation

 
     

 

 

 

 

Competency:

 

Business Focus

 

Definition

 

Having a clear understanding of the business issues and using communication to help solve organisational problems and achieve organisational objectives

 

Typical behaviours

 

Ineffective behaviours

 

·        Does not make the link between communication activity and the business/organisational context

 

·        Lacks understanding of their business area, its structure or its operations

 

·        Has insufficient understanding of their core audiences

 

·        Shows a poor grasp of the business priorities or challenges in conversations with leaders and clients 

 

Level 1 - Basic

 

·        Has a sound basic understanding of their area’s structure, purpose, products/services, priorities and key measures

 

·        Makes an effort to understand their audiences, potentially through work shadowing or visiting different locations

 

·        Thinks about and clarifies the business purpose of the communication activities they work on.  Asks “why?”

 

·        Understands how their personal objectives relate back to the business objectives for their area

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

·        Demonstrates a good understanding of their area’s business strategy, targets and performance and uses it to shape communication strategies, plans and materials

 

·        Anticipates future developments or issues and is proactive about discussing how communication can help

 

·        Challenges where s/he is asked to undertake activity with no clear business purpose, or which seems to work against stated business direction

 

·        Regularly spends time with their core audiences to maintain their audience understanding

 

·        Can discuss business issues credibly with leaders and clients

 

·        Can identify the key issues from an annual report or set of  financial results

 

Level 3 - Advanced

 

·        Seen as a credible business person, who uses their communications expertise to help solve business problems

 

·        Talks the language of business with stakeholders, rather than the language of communication

 

·        Able to analyse complex business challenges and scenarios and formulate communication solutions

 

·        Maintains a good understanding of audience needs and issues, either through personal contact or through the communications network

 

·        Earns communication a seat at the top table and is seen as having an important contribution to make to business planning

 

·        Routinely sought for advice about potential issues and complex scenarios at an early stage

 

·        Financially literate. Understands and can debate financial measures, plans and performance

 

 

 

Competency:

 

Consulting and coaching

 

Definition

 

Recommending appropriate solutions to customers; helping others to make informed decisions; building people’s communications competence

 

Typical Behaviours

 

Ineffective behaviours

 

·        Constantly carries out tactical activity themselves, rather than helping others to do it when appropriate

 

·        Does not recognise or respond to opportunities to consult or coach

 

·        Does not understand what coaching really means. Confuses it with telling, advising or giving feedback

 

·        Fails to listen effectively to clients or customers

 

·        Does not clarify expectations

 

·        Afraid to challenge or question decisions and assumptions

 

Level 1 - Basic

 

·        Uses effective questioning and listening techniques to take a clear brief from clients or customers

 

·        Sets clear expectations about their own role

 

·        Provides sound advice about potential communications solutions

 

·        Negotiates with clients to help them choose the most appropriate solution

 

·        Can give basic advice and tips to help customers improve competence in specific scenarios (e.g. giving a presentation, holding a team meeting) or direct them to appropriate resources

 

Level 2 - Intermediate

 

·        Listens carefully to client or customer briefs, using questions to clarify understanding. Challenges the brief where appropriate to explore alternative communications solutions

 

·        Is relied upon to provide sound communications advice and expertise and recommend appropriate solutions

 

·        Is not afraid to say what people may not want to hear, and stands their ground when challenged

 

·        Anticipates and prepares for questions or objections

 

·        Sets expectations about their own role. Makes appropriate judgments about where they can add most value and where others are best placed to own actions and deliverables

 

·        Has basic coaching skills and can coach line managers and customers to improve their communications competence in specific scenarios

 

·        Gives feedback constructively and confidently when asked

 

Level 3 - Advanced

 

·        Helps colleagues’/clients’ explore their wider business needs and explores options in anticipation of a discussion about communications solutions

 

·        Quickly analyses complex scenarios to determine where communication can add value and recommend appropriate solutions and options

 

·        Can present their case objectively and authoritatively

 

·        Has well-developed coaching skills and the confidence to use them

 

·        Identifies and takes opportunities to coach senior leaders and project managers to enhance their skills and improve performance

 

·        Trusted and respected as a coach at a senior level

 

·        Able to flex their style between directing, advising and coaching and identify which technique will be most appropriate in the circumstances

 

 

 

Competency:

 

Cross functional awareness

 

Definition

 

Understanding the different contributions from other disciplines and working with colleagues from across the organisation to achieve better results