The simple reason our “Why” wakes us up each morning

For too long, Paul and I have witnessed Communication/PR professionals feeling undervalued by their organisations and as though they were constantly overlooked in terms being one of the key people who make a business tick. Throughout our careers, weve seen the toll this takes on employees because despite the ‘nice but not really necessary’ tag Communication/PR employees have, they’re often the people working late hours or constantly connected so that they can respond quickly to any potential media moments or breaking news. The fact they’re not appreciated or recognised for what they do drives them to work harder, notching up longer hours than their colleagues. It’s like a vicious cycle and you don’t have to be gifted to conclude that working in such an environment eventually leads to stress, anxiety and ultimately, burnout.

You can imagine how many times we’ve seen this cycle play out after being involved in this industry throughout our 60 years. We’ve also seen that unless an overall Business Strategy is linked with a Communication/PR Strategy, any activity completed by Communication/PR professionals will never be considered meaningful.

Our shared visions is to help undervalued Communication and PR Managers to realise why they’re not commonly thought of as essential to an organisation, and to help them to prove their worth.

So many talented communicators out there give us puzzled looks when we ask them this question: how do you measure the work you do?

If you fit into this category and find yourself sitting, staring at the screen with a blank look, understand that until you’re measuring and evaluating what you do, your true value in the workplace will never be acknowledged. And it all boils down to numbers. The business world is driven by numbers and bottom lines – nothing will ever have more meaning and impact than tangible results. Although this may horrify you as someone who’s far more comfortable with words than numbers, tangible results equates to numbers – numbers are what make businesses tick.

Now, before you click off this blog and immerse yourself in happier reading, allow us to go back to our why. Our why , our bold ambition, is to bring communication intelligence into the hands of every communication professional in the world. For most Communication/PR professionals, numbers are their biggest weakness, which naturally means, they shy away from using them.

Unfortunately, the business world revolves around numbers so to help overcome this hurdle, we’ve developed a measurement approach that is the first of its kind in Australia. And because it’s been designed by Communication professionals for Communication professionals, it does all of the complicated calculations for you and produces information in a way that anyone can easily take in.

The Communication Dividend measures your value and performance using metrics that both you and your internal stakeholders will be able to understand thanks to a series of simple, secure dashboards. By measuring and evaluating SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) objectives, no one will ever doubt your worth ever again and you’ll be armed with the information you need to make better decisions on behalf of your organisation and department. Additionally, it’s ideal for a campaign or long-term communication function.

If you’re a Communication/PR professional who’s frightened by numbers, find out how The Communication Dividend can help you to prove your worth and elevate your career to the next level.

By Deb Camden and Paul Cheal