Editorial
A disconnect exists in many large companies. Communications professionals and those in IT don’t necessarily jive with each other — and this ultimately undermines the company’s ability to communicate effectively. The ultimate victim? Employees.
This doesn’t have to be the case. There are ways for Comms and IT to be more simpatico.
Different Roles, Same Goal
Let’s keep it simple to start. People who work in communications are responsible for creating content and corporate messaging and getting it in front of a company’s targeted audiences (employees, customers, partners, journalists, etc.). In some companies they sit under and report into Marketing, sometimes under Human Resources, sometimes as their own department. I’ve even seen Communications report into Public Affairs.
IT, in most instances, is a business function in and of itself. They serve the important role of building and maintaining the technological infrastructure necessary to support a company. They protect against cyber threats, maintain the necessary security protocol and ensure the stability of an organization’s systems that allow it to operate efficiently.
However, in most companies, IT sits apart and siloed from the business units they’re meant to support. After they’ve done their core work, they’re pulled in only when there’s a problem to troubleshoot or a new tool to implement. IT tends to be reactionary by design. And when that’s the default structure, collaboration becomes harder. Misunderstandings increase. Budget battles flare up. And ultimately, the functional business areas of a company (e.g. Communications) don’t get the tools needed to do their jobs well.
Who Should Make Software Purchasing Decisions?
Another key role of IT is deciding what software solutions and applications to purchase. This is a problem, especially when it comes to employee communications applications like corporate intranets, mobile employee apps and other channels where employees get their information and communicate and engage with each other.
IT doesn’t always understand the work that Communications professionals do. Yet, they are typically the ones influencing buying decisions (if not making them) and controlling the budgets on what technology solutions should be purchased or, if solutions already exist, should be considered for communications purposes.
According to a recent study on the impact of employee communications by Staffbase, 58% of employees consider leaving their jobs due to poor communications. In addition, where leadership is open and clear in its communications, 91% of employees say they are happier in their roles and employment situations.
Is this not a good enough reason to consider a change in the IT/Communications relationship?
Why should IT decide that existing softwares like Microsoft SharePoint or ServiceNow should serve as a company’s intranet and communications platform? Why wouldn’t IT work with the subject matter experts in their own organization? While Communications professionals may or may not know the best technology solutions to do their job, they do know who the ultimate beneficiary of their work is: employees. They also know what their mandate and end goal is: efficiently delivering the best possible communications experience.
The way IT and Communications operate and engage with each other therefore needs to change.
The Solution
I’ve seen it time and time again in my work consulting for global brands and Fortune 100 companies on their employee communications applications technology infrastructure. Communications teams are tasked with engaging thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of employees, keeping leadership informed and steering the company narrative. But when it comes time to choose or invest in tools that support that work, they're often at the mercy of IT.
However, this isn’t always the case. I’ve worked with some companies where IT is structured as a support partner to the business — embedded in key functional areas, working proactively alongside teams like HR, Marketing and yes, Communications.
This model isn’t just more efficient; it’s collaborative. It builds mutual understanding. IT understands the tools and timelines that Communications teams work with, and Communications professionals have more clarity around technical requirements and constraints. It’s definitely the exception, but when it exists, this partnership is incredibly effective (not to mention efficient in both time and cost). It’s an organizational structure that more companies should consider.
Sitting side-by-side, Communications professionals become more knowledgeable and versed in IT speak. They become more aware and sensitive to IT’s priorities. They also learn how to advocate for their needs in a language that resonates beyond what may come across as self-serving anecdote and emotion.
Similarly, IT professionals actually experience the business challenges that Communications face on a daily basis. They are there when crises arise and when the C-Suite demands an immediate response. They witness the importance of how communications and messaging comes together to quell the fires that can severely damage a company’s reputation and potentially put it out of business. They see firsthand the delays that can result from the duplication of effort caused by having to work with disparate technologies and those that were not intended for the purpose of solving real communications problems.
There needs to be a better understanding and appreciation by both IT and Communications of the challenges that each face in their work and what keeps them up at night.
The Bridge to the Ultimate Employee Experience
As a Communications professional gone tech, my goal here isn’t to point fingers — it’s to build a bridge. The most effective organizations I’ve worked with don’t treat IT as a service provider to Communications. Instead, they bring the two together as part of a unified team, equally accountable for enabling the employee experience. While I recognize this level of integration may be difficult to implement in large, complex companies, it should be their goal at least in theory, if not practice.
Regardless of how a company’s organizational chart is structured, IT and Communications must find a shared language, a shared mission, and a seamless way to work together. At the end of the day, they are both ultimately responsible to the same audience — the employees. They are therefore aligned in interest and need to find a way to ensure a collaborative and supportive relationship.
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The employee experience needs to be at the epicenter of this relationship. They can’t keep operating in silos. The modern workplace demands a new level of collaboration between these two very important corporate functions. When this happens, the results are undeniable: faster collaboration, smarter decisions and the ultimate employee experience.
Editor's Note: Comms teams aren't the only ones IT needs to work with. Read more below:
- Creating Exceptional Employee Experiences: Where HR, Comms and IT Unite — Employee experiences cross departmental boundaries. So to create exceptional EX, multiple departments must work together – with internal comms in the lead.
- PG&E's Spencer Mains on Why IT Needs to Be Part of the Onboarding Experience — In this inaugural episode of Reworked TV's Three Dots, PG&E's Spencer Mains discusses the vital role of IT integration in employee onboarding. Tune in now!
- Why HR and IT Must Join Forces for AI to Succeed — The overlooked partnership at the center of real AI adoption.
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