The communication champion role is a valuable addition to any business. In a large organization, communication champions should be numerous, forming a communication network.
They keep track of information and assist others in better collaborating, working, and acquiring information. However, it's not uncommon for the communication champion to be underappreciated and underutilized. Many organizations limit their entire function to printing posters for various teams to communicate strategic company policies locally.
Communication champions, on the other hand, may add a lot of value to an organization and significantly enhance its efficiency and employee engagement if done correctly.
Understanding The Communication Champion Role
Only a few people are aware of the role of a communication champion. It's not simply about disseminating information to keep employees in sync. That is something that anyone could do. Within the organization, communication champions should ideally form a network. This network is in charge of optimizing team workflow and information flow, with the purpose of reaching everyone, especially those who are just beginning the onboarding process.
A communication champion is in charge of disseminating all pertinent information. This is a continuous procedure.
Here are The 7 Golden Rules*
1. Only let those who are competent & passionate about engagement become a communication champion
2. Co-create a clear purpose statement with the communication champions
3. Meet the site leadership team and explain the value communication champions can add
4. Have a monthly call with the communication champions
5. Bring the group together at least twice a year
6. Regularly change your communication champions
7. Develop a communication maturity assessment
Learn more about the The 7 Golden Rules
Leader As Communication Champion
Communication champions work intimately with group leaders and task managers inside an organization.
Only a few people are aware of the role of a communication champion. It's not simply about disseminating information to keep employees in sync. That is something that anyone could do. Within the organization, communication champions should ideally form a network. This network is in charge of optimizing team workflow and information flow, with the purpose of reaching everyone, especially those who are just beginning the onboarding process.
A communication champion is in charge of disseminating all pertinent information. This is a continuous procedure.
The organization's communication champions should be well-versed on facts about the company, its rules, and all upcoming activities. Even if you don't want to devote a lot of effort to disseminating less important information, the communication champions should be aware of it.
Creating Communication Champions In Companies
The most common misconception among businesses is that communication champions are in charge of informing contacts, teams, or employees about significant events or news. They are not messengers of communication. They are champions of communication.
The function of a communication champion is more complicated. They are supposed to be "champions" of information dissemination. They are responsible for keeping everyone informed and information moving freely.
So, how do you go about doing that? Managers at the company must change their perspective of communication from "event or news information broadcast" to "perpetual information."
Keeping in touch is a never-ending process. It's not just about getting events or breaking news to your connections. The managerial team's communication with employees, project managers, and team leaders must be a visible force in the workplace.
Communication Champion Early Years
We all know, however, that accomplishing this is extremely tough. When deadlines are approaching, managers are more inclined to limit their communication to crucial updates and demanding progress reports.
That is far from optimum working conditions. It sounds fine on paper to think of communication as a process. When put into reality, though, it breaks apart. That is why you require a champion for communication.
The flow of communication between these employees is improved. This improves teamwork and workplace morale, resulting in increased overall productivity.
What do communication champions need?
Managing the role of communication champion is difficult. As a communication champion, a leader can only be as good as the managers above them.
Keep in mind your communication champions have access to all talking points, key information, troubleshooting or inquiry replies, PowerPoint decks, and any other relevant content. It's a good idea to have a communication champion on hand.
Working as a communication champion in the early stages might be difficult. The learning curve is quite steep. Managers should always be supportive. Communication champions require some time to adjust to their new role and establish a reputation and trust among their peers.
As a result, it's vital that they aren't bullied into delivering outcomes. It takes time to develop communication champions in businesses. If you're looking for quick profits, you might prefer other solutions. It takes time to build the required relationships for successful communication championing. Communication champions must also know whom they are trying to reach.
The organizational connections that must be communicated with should be clearly identified by management.Sending email notifications, printing posters, and writing company-wide policy-focused blogs are just a few of the responsibilities of a communication champion.
Everything can go apart if the recipients are unclear. The entire information workflow is largely dependent on how well everything is set up – and getting down to the organization contacts who should be on the receiving end of the communication is a necessity for that.
Larger organizations frequently divide their contacts into various groups or categories. After then, the communication champion is in charge of the information flow from point A to point B. (for example, from a manager to the team leaders). This solves the problem of everyone receiving knowledge but only a few people being able to understand it. It also gives you greater control when it comes to providing more sensitive or financial data.
The connection between the communication champion and team leaders or project managers
Within a company, communication champions collaborate closely with team leaders and project managers. In this situation, a communication champion's main responsibilities are:
- 1.Coordinating with the project manager and providing vital information to other departments and personnel about the vision, progress, comments (including constructive criticism), updates, or corrections.
- 2.Creating a full-fledged communication plan in accordance with project needs so that information is readily available and accessible anytime it is needed.
- 3.Serving as a point of contact. This is especially beneficial for newer employees who may be having difficulty navigating the workplace or team paradigm. They can always reach out to a person designated to handle communication if they know who that person is, regardless of the project manager's directions.
- 4.Ensuring that management is fully supportive of and involved in a project or team. Because no one has time to catch up on a regular basis, project managers frequently become project leaders' bosses. By overcoming this gap, a communication champion boosts efficiency.
- 5.Creating communication blueprints for others. Communication champions, for example, are an excellent choice for developing communication plans for large projects. This transcends domains and can be applied to the user, client, or consumer communication.
To put it another way, the project manager or team leader cannot do everything. Because of their limited time, managing communication becomes a difficult task. However, without effective communication and timely information, overall productivity might suffer significantly.
This is where the champion of communication comes in. Everyone is pleased as the workflow improves. It's a win-win situation for everyone.
Choosing the right communication champions
You should have a good understanding of what's going on by now. A communication champion can be a valuable asset to your organization. Within larger businesses, they can increase productivity and improve information flow. How do you choose the communication champions, though? The communication champion role, of course, necessitates excellent communication abilities. They also want to have good people work.
Choose employees who are well-represented across all relevant sites or teams. Informal leaders or staff with some strength can be effective communicators, but this isn't always the case.
When selecting communication champions, you should conduct your research. Remember that when you have good communication champions, you must ensure that communication is two-way. Listen to their criticism or reports as well as speak with them.