The survey found that 58 per cent of global communications heads were working directly alongside the chief executive, compared with 48 per cent last year. Statistics from the report showed that 62 per cent of the communications heads at Fortune magazine’s Most Admired Companies worked directly alongside the chief executive, in contrast to 39 per cent at lower-ranked organisations. In Asia Pacific, that figure rose to 75 per cent.
In addition, the average tenure of chief communications officers had increased to 65 months globally and 96 months in Asia Pacific, compared with 54 months globally two years ago.
George Jamison, Spencer Stuart’s director of corporate communications and investor-relations expertise, attributed the increases to greater reliance on effective communications and crisis management during tough economic times. 67 per cent of those surveyed in Asia Pacific listed crisis management as a key part of their work.
“Like never before, CEOs are depending on CCOs for crisis and issues counsel to steady their company reputations and calm stakeholders,” added Leslie Gaines-Ross, chief reputation strategist at Weber Shandwick, in a statement.
The study also demonstrated a rise in the use of social media, particularly in Asia-Pacific, where the function was one of the most widespread additions to the communications remit along with corporate social responsibility (CSR), NGO relations and responsibility for internal and external websites. 57 per cent of participants in the region named social media as having become an important part of their daily operations.
“No one should be surprised,” said Ian Rumsby, Weber Shandwick’s Asia Pacific Executive Vice President of strategic development. “What’s important is that [social media] is becoming more clearly defined, and that chief communications officers are now beginning to grapple with it.”
The survey canvassed 159 participants across Asia Pacific, Europe and North America, the majority of whom were employed at Fortune 500 companies.
