Corporate communications may report to marketing, finance or even HR.
The structure of corporate communications will differ depending on the industry, the size of the team and the culture of a company. However, numerous elements will remain the same and other elements--such as reporting structure--will consistently fall within a certain set of best practices.
Corporate Communications Defined
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Public relations specialists -- also referred to as communications specialists and media specialists, among other titles -- serve as advocates for clients seeking to build and maintain positive relationships with the public." Such corporate communicators frequently perform media relations, writing and editing, event planning and internal communications.
Reporting Relationship
At small companies, corporate communications likely reports directly to the CEO; this is occasionally the case at larger companies as well, though it is far less frequent. Larger companies generally include corporate communications within the marketing division, within a finance division or within human resources. Such a decision depends on the major goals of the corporate communications function at a specific organization. A focus on investor relations may lead to a reporting relationship with finance. A focus on building brand awareness may lead to a reporting relationship with marketing, and so on.
Managers
In terms of structure, a corporate communications department will have one or more managers, depending on the size of the team. If multiple managers exist, one generally acts as a senior manager. A common breakdown of a team may be across geographic lines, with one manager for each state or region. Another breakdown of work may be based on business line, especially if the number of teams is about equal to the number of major internal clients.
Specialists and Assistants
Each manager will have one or more specialists and/or assistants working for her. A specialist, or fully trained professional, can complete all functions related to corporate communications--such as performing media interviews, writing speeches and news releases, and assisting with investor calls--in a nearly autonomous fashion. An assistant may be a junior member of the team or an administrative professional. Such an individual will help with sending news releases, performing research, preparing press kits and may do initial drafts of critical pieces.
Related Departments and Evolution
Despite reporting relationship, a corporate communications department will work closely with marketing, HR, finance, the customer service team or department and many other groups within an organization. Professional communicators aim to help their subject matter experts get across important news or messages; this clearly requires close collaboration with many teams. As well, corporate communications continues to evolve in response to new technology, such as microblogging, social networks, and the capability to perform customer service through live chat. Whether these functions are officially a part of corporate communications or a part of another group, such as information technology, the mastery of these tools will become increasingly important for communicators.
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