Survey: 40% planning comms strategies 1-3 months out
Most communicators aren’t planning beyond 2020. Many more predict they’ll continue working in a constant state of crisis, and collaborate most with HR, according to a new Ragan survey packed with insights into what’s ahead for the rest of the year.
World events have made looking past tomorrow a challenge. With so many unknowns, it’s hard to plan—or know what to plan for.
To help you navigate the rest of the year, Ragan, on behalf of The Communications Leadership Council, surveyed communicators to gain insight into what lies ahead from now through the end of 2020 in the report: Ragan Survey of Internal Communicators: Where We’re Heading.
It reveals communicators’ predictions around planning, spending and setting priorities through year-end.
Most communicators are not making plans around internal communication strategies beyond 2020. Forty percent are planning one to three months out, while a significant 20% are planning week to week. Just six percent are planning one year out—quite a difference when this is typically budget season for the upcoming year.
Planning for the short-term makes sense given the “new normal,” which means working in stressful conditions.
Operating in a constant state of crisis communication and responding to rapidly changing world events were tied as top challenges, according to 65% of respondents. Those external challenges are compounded by two key internal challenges—effectively reaching employees and managers. Managing employee burnout and managerial communications were the second and third top challenges cited by 57% and 55% of respondents, respectively.
Among the top three issues communicators expect to talk about most this year is diversity and inclusion, which might explain why HR was the department they plan to work with most.
Budget dollars will be watched closely over the next few months, but the area communicators plan to invest in might surprise you. It’s not video or virtual.
Download the full report to learn if—and where—communicators plan to spend their budget dollars, technologies worth investing in over the next six months, the state of returning to the office, which departments with be collaboration partners, top challenges, key issues, and more.
