New year, new comms challenges
Managing change is a permanent feature of work. Businesses that snooze, lose. You’ve heard all the productivity cliches already no doubt.
But one business activity has been consciously quieter of late. Mergers and acquisition (M&A) bankers talk about the weakest trends in some sectors for a decade. The Big Four consulting arms have laid off restructuring and M&A consultants in double-dip rounds as work has dried up. 2023 was not the year they bulked up for!
Higher interest rates have changed the maths on a strategy that was central for many company growth plans. Add geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty and CEO confidence about deal-making has ebbed away. And CEO confidence is key!
Gone but not forgotten however. The same bankers report lots of talks about talks. Hopes for an economic soft landing in 2024 and interest rate cuts in the second half of the year are fuelling expectations for a revival. CEOs also feel they have to respond not only to competitive price trends with inflation easing, but to AI, hybrid working, and supply chain resilience.
All of which portends an interesting year in prospect for communication departments. Five challenges come to mind:
1. How to tell the market what your company strategy is
2. How your leaders tell the market what your company strategy is
3. How you tell your employees what the company strategy is
4. How lay-offs and business unit disposals are handled appropriately
5. How to communicate changes in management processes
Change is coming. Buckle up, and all the best for 2024!