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144 Corporate Communications in Practice

when an issue or crises emerges in the company’s environment, and an adequate
response needs to be formulated and communicated to key stakeholders.It is important
for both the natural work teams and task force teams that team members with
complementary skills are selected, that practitioners are trained in teamwork, that the
whole team has authority to make decisions and implement suggestions, and that the
team follows a step-by-step process in its work (from analysis and planning to action
and evaluation).

Process documentation. The processes of integration across disciplines and depart-
ments can also be identified and documented in order to be improved. Companies
can use various tools to document processes in visual and comprehensive formats,
such as flow charts, process maps and checklists. Such process documentation creates
a shared understanding among all communications practitioners about the processes
of integration, institutionalizes processes of integration thus making the organization
less dependent on certain individuals, facilitates continuous improvements of the
processes of integration, enables communications practitioners to benchmark their
processes against other companies, and creates opportunities for cycle-time reduc-
tion. Traditionally, however, communications practitioners are unaccustomed to
defining work tasks in terms of process steps. Many of them do not think the
analytical and disciplined approach of documenting and standardizing processes is
conducive to creativity. This was also the reaction of communications staff in Philips,
the global electronics manufacturer, when the company decided its process docu-
mentation exercise was to be carried through with all its functions and departments,
including corporate communications. Senior managers argued that, even if the devel-
opment of communications programmes is a unique creative process,there were some
process steps that communications professionals always follow, and these steps should
be identified, documented and improved on. Routine processes and repetitive steps
in the company’s communications process have since been documented and stan-
dardized in flow-charts and worksheets, which the company believes has not stifled
creativity, but has cut redundancies in the coordination process (e.g. too many meet-
ings or approvals previously built in) and has made the horizontal organization of
communications across the company more streamlined, professional and, in light of
the cost reductions received, more accountable.

Open communications and networking platforms. In addition to documented work
processes, which are explicit and formal, integration also often occurs through more
informal channels. Much of the interaction among communications practitioners
takes place informally, in the electronic mail system, over the phones and in the hall-
ways. Companies can facilitate such informal communications by placing communi-
cations professionals physically close to one another (in the same building), by
reducing symbolic differences like separate parking lots and cafeterias, by establishing
an infrastructure of e-mail, video conferences and other electronic communication
channels, and by establishing open access to senior management. In large organiza-
tions,it is also important that communications practitioners from different disciplines
(e.g. marketing communications, internal communications) frequently gather at
internal conferences and meetings, where they can get to know one another, network
and share ideas.