Managing the performance of corporate communication: an overview and a framework proposal

Communication managers and technicians are aware of the need for research and evaluation, which are considered the key factors in the process of institutionalizing communication within organizations, because they facilitate the acceptance of the strategic role of the function by top management (Grunig, Grunig and Dozier 2002; Radford and Goldstein, 2002; Invernizzi and Romenti, 2009). Evaluation and measurement are the keys to the boardroom door (Macnamara, 2004). A significant tendency in the communication field is the move away from an evaluative approach focused on outputs and outcomes of the processes (process evaluation approach), towards a more managerial approach that pays greater attention to the quantitative results as well as the impacts of communication on the organizational performance (performance measurement approach). Communication scholars and practitioners embraced both approaches, managing their respective limits and strengths. Recent evolution in the evaluation and measurement fields of studies underlines the importance of looking at process evaluation and performance measurement as two complementary approaches that should be managed in an integrated manner (performance management approach). Adopting a performance management approach in the corporate communication field means paying more attention to stakeholders’ expectations of the evaluation process, analysing the functioning of the communication programmes and reporting on the results. A lot of progress has been made in this direction; nevertheless, the challenges in the communication field remain significant. In this chapter, a communication performance management framework, built on the basic principles of performance management, will be proposed and its implications for corporate communication studies will be discussed.