Consistent communications is key

February, 2024

With recruitment and retaining skills still a challenge facing most businesses, now is not the time to cut back on external and internal communications, says Andrew Metcalf, Managing Director of Maxim, the Kent-based PR, marketing and public affairs agency. 

Over the last few years businesses have rightly seen the value of communicating with their staff, reassuring and motivating them during the pandemic and recent downturn. Comms teams have been playing a key role in delivering key messages to internal and external audiences and that needs to continue. 

In fact, it should be a priority, and senior management need to give communication specialists a seat at the top table, in recognition of the vital role they play in the performance and reputational wellbeing of every business. 

As an agency that’s offered communication support for the best part of 30 years, Maxim knows only too well that messages should be:  

• Clear and consistent – for internal and external audiences; 
• Able to foster trust through honesty; 
• Delivered with confidence; 
• Able to stand up to scrutiny; 
• Able to be adapted for the appropriate communication channels. 

The key is understanding what and when to communicate, with who and how. And all the time making sure it’s answering the key question: Why do we want to communicate with these people? 

Achieving this can often be difficult when the hierarchies and personalities within a business come to the surface. Standing up to a Managing Director, and saying ‘no’ can be difficult, even if you’ve got the title of Head of Communications. And that’s where using an outside agency, like ourselves, can help achieve consensus when it comes to the communications strategy for a business – and putting it into practice. 
 

It’s a shame that too often an MD will listen to an outside consultant more than their in-house team, despite them both giving the same strategic and tactical advice. The reasons for this are often many fold. Maybe it’s because they are actually paying for the additional advice from people that come with an industry track record. In other cases, the company’s culture may not be condusive to such internal conversations, with the in-house team unable to argue a specific case with the senior directors. 

Once the direction of travel is agreed, it’s then time to put that into action – and often there’s a cross over between internal and external audiences, that requires a little tailoring for the respective channel. 

The ultimate goal is for a business to have advocates, people who will stand up and sing its praises, whether they work for, buy from or supply, that business. 

If you’d like to discuss how we might be perfectly placed to help, get in touch via hello@maxim-pr.co.uk. 

Andrew Metcalf

Maxim / Managing Director