What is Corporate Communication? Top Careers and Skills to Succeed

Simply put, corporate communication refers to the juncture where strategy meets storytelling. It is the skill of giving shape to organizations’ statements in a manner that is easily understandable, convincing to their target audience, and memorable.

In other words, how a company is seen and heard by its employees, media, customers, investors, and the general public depends on corporate communications. This blog takes a closer look at this thriving domain, highlighting some of the best opportunities for a promising career in corporate communication  and the essential skills that can not only help you land a job in the field but also make it to the top.

What is Corporate Communication?

Corporate communication arises from the need for brands in today’s competitive landscape to engage their target audiences, understand how they perceive the brand, and reinforce a positive brand image for the long term.

This communication can be both internal and external—internal for the company’s employees and external for its customers and other relevant stakeholders. Corporate communications teams are responsible for designing the right messaging for the following types of corporate communication:

• Internal corporate communication: This communication is primarily focused on an organization’s employees and comprises both formal and informal correspondence. 

Formal communication is generally downward from management to the respective teams, while informal communication takes place among employees via chat apps such as Slack or during coffee machine breaks.

• External corporate communication: This generally refers to public-facing correspondence that must be handled sensitively by a company’s corporate communications team. External communication involves brand messaging, advertisements, product launch briefs, and social media content.

Key Functions & Examples of Corporate Communication

The primary function of corporate communication is to support an organization’s overall business goals. To achieve the company’s objectives, a strong, well-structured corporate communications infrastructure is essential.

Listed below are some of the core functions of a corporate communications department in an organization, further explained with examples of corporate communication to better understand.

• Managing brand image and reputation: Effectively handling public perception of the organization, consistently building and maintaining its image in the public, and ensuring consistent messaging across all platforms are among the most essential functions of corporate communication.

Example: Press releases, social media posts, and blogs help ensure positive brand messaging and image building for a business. 

• Handling internal communication: Interacting with and engaging employees, keeping them well-informed at all times, and ensuring they remain aligned with the company’s goals is another crucial function of corporate communication.

Example: Intranet portals, employee handbooks, and internal chat platforms such as Slack and MS Teams help ensure the adequate flow of internal communication from management to employees and among teams.

• Maintaining relations with the media and other stakeholders is another vital role of the corporate communication department in any organization. They must be able to deal with the media/journalists with the most appropriate messaging, distribute timely press releases in the event of significant events, and organize press conferences as required. 

Additionally, corporate communications is responsible for interactions with other stakeholders, such as investors, shareholders, and analysts, ensuring they are well-informed about the company’s major updates. 

Example: Video messages, CEO town halls, investor calls, press conferences, infographics, corporate videos, etc.      

Also read: Business Communication: Definition, Importance, and How to Improve It

Why Corporate Communication Matters to Businesses

Corporate communication is fundamental to any organization today as it is a credible and effective means of conveying information to both its internal and external audiences. The importance of corporate communication can be further determined through the following –

• Engaging employees: Through corporate communications, companies can better convey their overall vision and work culture to their employees. This significantly inspires employees, encourages a positive work culture at the office, enhances productivity, and improves retention rates. 

• Build trust with stakeholders: Even for efficient external correspondence with the investors, customers, and other relevant stakeholders, corporate communication comes in real handy. Direct messaging from the company helps build trust and credibility with its external audience, thereby increasing loyalty. 

• Maintain brand reputation: This is one of the key reasons for the importance of corporate communication. It is primarily used by modern organizations to both build and manage their reputation in the market. Positive brand messaging is crucial to maintaining a consistent brand image across varied platforms, which further helps keep the brand distinct from its competitors.

• Effective crisis management: This is a crucial role for the corporate communications team in any organization. They are expected to proactively, strategically, and sensitively handle all communication during a crisis, aiming to mitigate any damage to the brand’s reputation in the event of an untoward adverse event at the company. 

Likewise, the corporate communications department is also responsible for restoring investor and customer confidence in the brand post-crisis.

Top Careers in Corporate Communication

Students can expect to pursue a rewarding career in corporate communication by completing a professional degree program relevant to the field. One of the top courses that unlocks promising career paths in the domain is an MA in Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC). Students graduating from the MA-JMC program are eligible to apply for a variety of career roles. Some of these are tabulated below for reference:

Top Jobs	Average Salary (Approx)
Internal Communication Specialist	INR 12.1 LPA
Corporate Communication Manager	INR 11.2 LPA
Public Relations Specialist	INR 10.7 LPA
Marketing Communication Manager	INR 10.5 LPA
Digital Communication Manager	INR 10 LPA

Sources: Glassdoor, Salary Expert

Essential Skills to Succeed in Corporate Communication

A successful career in corporate communication requires developing specific skill sets to excel. Some of the most essential skills required for the role are listed below:

• Effective communication: This includes both written and verbal communication skills. People working in corporate communications are required to design, execute, and manage effective communication plans that align with the organization’s overall goals.

• Public speaking: The ability to convey information clearly and concisely to both internal and external stakeholders is yet another crucial skill required for the job. Professionals in this role must have strong public speaking skills and neat presentation skills.

• Empathy: Active listening and empathetic attitude are keen components of effective corporate communication strategies. Understanding varying perspectives of different stakeholders (both internal and external) is highly critical. Being empathetic to their needs helps foster positive trust and loyalty. 

Also read: What is the role of a Communications Specialist?

Challenges in Corporate Communication

Like any other role, corporate communication is not devoid of its share of challenges. Overload of information from the organization in an effort to promote the brand, managing stakeholders in remote work areas, and ensuring messaging consistency across various platforms are some of the common ones that come to mind.

Here are some more crucial challenges that face the corporate communications department of an organization in everyday work life:

• Use of industry jargon: This is one of the most common yet often overlooked challenges in corporate communications. Professionals in this role often use heavy doses of industry jargon—terms that may be difficult for the general public (stakeholders) to understand. Difficulty in comprehending corporate communication may also increase the risk of misinterpretation of the message.

• Brand positioning amid harsh public scrutiny is yet another constant challenge for corporate communications professionals. Corporations, especially the MNCs, are constantly under public scrutiny. In this scenario, professionals on the corporate communications team must have strategic plans ready to position the brand positively and retain public trust and credibility. 

• Adapting to new technologies in the digital era: With the constant evolution of the digital landscape, corporate communications teams feel the dire need to stay updated and relevant with emerging technologies and platforms. The latter are put in place to communicate more effectively with audiences; however, corporate communications must know how to use these technologies effectively to achieve that goal.

Conclusion

Communication between big business corporations and their employees, as well as other external stakeholders (investors/customers), is no longer restricted to just managing messages. It has evolved to much more—shaping the brand’s reputation, trust, and credibility for the long term. And this is precisely what defines the difference between PR and corporate communication. While the former focuses solely on maintaining an organization’s image in the public eye (external stakeholders), the latter is broader in its approach. It is responsible for brand image, both externally and internally (with company employees).

Understanding this key difference can help students choose the right career path and build the crucial skills needed to excel in it. Professional courses, such as an Online MA in JMC offered by Manipal University Jaipur, help students take the first right step in this direction. Offered on the Online Manipal platform, the two-year PG degree course equips students with specialized knowledge in effective communication.   

References: 

https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/internal-communications-specialist-salary-SRCH_KO0,34.htm

https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/corporate-communications-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,32.htm

https://www.salaryexpert.com/salary/job/public-relations-specialist/india

https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/marketing-communications-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,32.htm

https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/digital-communication-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,29.htm