Ellwood Atfield’s second Directors’ Club brought together senior leaders from across corporate affairs to explore how the function continues to evolve; from being the fixer in a crisis, to owning the purpose and story of an organisation and becoming a strategic cornerstone of business decision-making.

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Key Themes from the Discussion

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Communications can’t fix broken operations

Corporate affairs proves its value most visibly when it’s absent. The pandemic made that clear and was penny drop moment for many organisations realising the true value of the function. While many organisations froze hiring, our sector was busier than ever, evidence that when operational pressure mounts, communications becomes business-critical. But comms can’t fix broken operations and adaption is key.

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Experience is currency

Whenever you’re in a role, people don’t see your “pre-role” experience; they see what you’re doing now. But in a crisis, previous experience is invaluable and knowledge and timing is everything. The ability to stay calm when others lose their heads comes from years of hard-earned judgement, including learning from what hasn’t worked as much as what has. Being able to say ‘no’ is important and evaluating for an organisation, ‘what is good for our story?’

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Reframing your narrative

Whether engaging government or the board, the most effective voices how to reframe the narrative - not by lobbying for what they want, but by aligning with the organisation’s (or Government’s) core mission. By focusing on the link between how your business fundamentals can deliver this – you get easy buy in and it’s a win-win for both parties.

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Comms vs marketing – the battle for influence

The old tension between communications and marketing still surfaces, but the most forward-looking organisations treat them as allies, not rivals. Marketing brings networks; corporate affairs brings evidence and insight. Together they can deliver depth and credibility. Apart, they risk competing for the same spotlight.

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Internal influence: the secret mission

We excel at stakeholder mapping externally but often neglect it internally. Knowing who your internal champions are, and who might be blockers, is just as important. The General Counsel, for example, can be your greatest advocate or your most cautious critic, yet their understanding of risk often carries the most weight at board level – so can be a great ally.

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The evolving skillset

Corporate affairs’ value has always been going beyond “what’s happening” to “why it’s happening” – but now this needs to apply outside of Westminster to internally, connecting business strategy, financial literacy and societal insight. Before our reason for being but now it’s to be aligned with business strategy. To operate at board level, practitioners must speak the language of the C-suite: corporate strategy and financial and risk management. We need to show reputational risk is a critical limit to growth.

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From data to decision

The function must draw straighter lines between information and impact. Not all data is useful - the key lies in identifying the one or two metrics that can truly drive action, not simply fill dashboards. We are one of the few ‘connecting functions’ of the organisations and pulled on by leadership to understand how something ‘fits with our story’.

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ESG and achievability

As ESG commitments become more complex, communications must help define what’s realistically deliverable. Reputational capital is lost when organisations overpromise. Strategic comms can help shape credible targets that align ambition with operational reality.

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AI and recruitment into your team

Junior roles are being replaced by automation, but by not coming up through the usual ranks it means there becomes that lack of experience to develop judgement. The challenge is not just adopting new tools but bringing through new talent who know how and when to use them. The fundamentals remain: technology can process, but it can’t interpret. Impacting teams and not investing in the grass roots of communications, will impact future leaders and organisations’ reputation down the line. Investing in key hires remains paramount and Corporate Affairs Directors should be mindful when considering adopting AI processes that replace team members as it could impact future credibility and ability. The risk of cybercrime has grown and if organisations get attacked, business models can be lost – especially those that rely on discretion. Communications leaders should be working with colleagues in the cyber teams closer than ever.

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So … What’s next for corporate affairs?

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Corporate affairs continues to mature as one of the few connecting functions in an organisation - the interpreter between strategy, risk and reputation. It is a core investment from boards to protect and preserve organisations’ brand and reputation. Its influence lies not in owning the message, but in ensuring every message aligns with business reality.

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With the digital world ever increasing, we are in “the industrialisation of fake news, we need to industrialise authenticity” and communications needs to be at the heart of that to verify truth. At its heart, it’s still about what it’s always been: judgement, narrative, and trust.