What defines a communicative organization - which factors are crucial for the development of an organization where communication creates value? The 3-year research project "Communicative Organizations" based at Lund University in partnership with the Swedish Communication Association, is and was one of the biggest applied research projects in the field of public relations and strategic communication. The main aims with the project is to increase the knowledge about the value of communication for organizations and to deliver new insights about demands and challenges for communication professionals. The empirical data was collected from eleven corporations and public organizations, such as IKEA and the Swedish Police. Differing from earlier research project in the area the empirical focus is not only in communication professionals but on managers in other areas as well as co-workers.

1. Becoming a Communicative Organization –
Challenges and Oppurtunites
Jesper Falkheimer, professor, Lund University, Sweden

2. The Project

3. Aim
The overall aim is to increase knowledge about the
importance of communication for organizational
goal fulfillment and success.
An underlying purpose is to provide new knowledge about the future
requirements and challenges for communication professionals and organizational
communication

4. The Communicative Organization: Partners
• Swedish Communication Association
• Eleven business and public organizations:
– IKEA of Sweden, Eon, Gothenburg City, Swedish Police,
Helsingborg city, Västernorrland County, Malmö City, NCC,
Stockholm City, PostNord & RegionVästra Götaland

6. An Extensive Empirical Project
• Quantitative Survey – 8 100 respondents
– Simple Random Sample in 11 organisations
– Managers, coworkers, comm. professionals
– 29% response rate
• Qualitative interviews – 170 persons

7. 4 DIMENSIONS
COMMUNICATION
PROFESSIONALS
MANAGEMENT

8. THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION AND
COMMUNICATION PROFESSONALS

9. Managers and CoworkersViews on Communication
Communication is an increasingly important success factor for
organizations and communicative ability is an increasingly
important workplace competence
90 percent agree fully or partially
We put too much resources on communication in relation to what
we get out of it
25 percent of communication professionals agree
63 percent of managers agree

10. Challenges and Oppurtunities
What works fine?
Communication between middle managers-coworkers
What needs to be developed?
Communication between top management and coworkers
Horizontal communication between departments, functions
Which factor is crucial for becoming a communicative
organization?
The communication climate – openness (feedback)

11. COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS

12. MANAGERSVIEWS ON COMMUNICATION
PROFESSIONALS MAIN COMPETENCES
Procent
Channels 16,8
Media Relations 16,1
Writing texts 14,0
Coaching managers 10,5
Making plans 8,1

13. WHICH COMMUNICATIONAREAS ARE OF CORE RELEVANCE
FOR REACHING ORGANIZATIONALOVERALLA GOALS
Aktivitetsområden Procent
Managament Communication 16
Customer or Citizen Communication (direct) 12,7
Change Communication 12,1
Branding 10,7
Media Relations 8

14. WHAT DO YOU MOSTLY DO AT WORK?
(COMM. PROFESSIONALS)
Procent
Internal meetings 13,9
External web 13,6
Indirect customer/citizen communication 12,5
Intranet 11,4
Branding 9,9

15. Gaps
• Managers view communication professionals as producers/technicans
• Managers and communication professionals view strategic comminication work
(facilitating organizational development, management) as most important
• Communication professionals spend a lot of time at internal meetings,
communicate indirect with customers/citizens
• The ideal does not match reality

16. MANAGEMENT

17. Caught in Organizational Line Communication Systems
• Managers rely in line communication and think it matches real communication
• Line communication and information overload
• Managers need help to interpret, frame and tell stories
• Top management communication is of high importance as agenda setter and
framework maker.

18. Middle managers are »hamburger managers«
• Middle managers are pressured from top and down-under
• Middle managers seldom meet their superior managers
• Middle managers are also coworkers
• Lack of time and resources make middle managers
postmen, nor sensemakers

19. Line Communication?
No, Line Information
The idea of how the line
communication works is based on
a rational, hierarchical starting
point that is incompatible with
ideas of active employeeship,
networking and projects,
digitization, flexibility, speed (and
also applies to the physical space
of many organizations)

20. 7 steps towards the Communicative Organization

21. 1. To clarify the communication task, the role description and
the offer
2. Develop business understanding and integrate with communication
understanding
3. Avoid more information and change focus from channels
4. Change focus from informing to listening – and interpreting/framing
5. Develop coworkers communication processes – horizontal communication
6. Develop top management communication
7. Defending openness (accepting polyphony) as a core value – the
communicative climate is a steering factor
7 steps towards the Communicative
Organization

22. jesper.falkheimer@fsi.lu.se
+46-72-7282214