What does a Director of Communications do?

A director of communications for an organization manages all of the internal and external communications of a company or organization, from a corporate memo addressed to a few employees to a press release which might be distributed to millions of people. Although the position often focuses more on public relations rather than marketing, a director of communications job, however, might entail both. A company or organization often has many publics to whom they must answer, and all are stakeholders in an organization’s success.

In any company, a director of communications is an upper-level management position responsible for the quality as well as accuracy of all pieces of information transmitted to each audience. Employees, stockholders, and consumers alike can all be target publics for a director of communications. Also called public affairs directors or communications officers, a director of communications must see that each of its publics receives specific, targeted information in a way that achieves truthfulness while still meeting the goals and objectives of an organization.

Arguably the most important public of a company or organization is the media, which can significantly alter the general public’s perception of a company in a positive or negative way. Press releases are the most direct way to try to control the media’s presentation of facts surrounding a product launch or controversy, or some other attention-grabbing aspect of a company which the media will follow. Accuracy and consistency are very important to press releases, in addition to the content.

An annual report is another vital part of the job of the director of communications. The annual report is a statement of a company’s goals and objectives, as well as a financial analysis of the company on the whole. The content of an annual report should be highly scrutinized before releasing to the public.

Even employee memos are an important job of the director of communications. Employees are a big part of a company’s success, and the image of an organization in the mind of its employees has a huge role to play in employee morale and turnover. Large, structural changes are often communicated to employees, in addition to relatively-insignificant issues such as dress codes or other company mandates.

When there is a director of communications, there is usually a supporting staff that goes along with the job. The director must maintain good order among the employees by being a good manager. He or she must also maintain a level of consistency of output to any of a company’s publics which is in line with the company’s goals.