Communication re-emerges

As ever, when work kicks in there's little time to blog - and the pre and post Easter period has seen work kick in with a vengeance.

There seems to have been an awakening across industry that communication won't happen if people aren't making it happen, and that they can't make it happen if their budgetary hands are firmly lashed together.

As well as some pretty full-on deadline-driven research and writing this week, I've also had more enquiries in the past 10 days than in the previous three months combined and for the first time this year I'm having to knock back some work.

While we're still some way from the upturn, the better organisations are realising that they have to start getting their ducks in a line to be competitive once the cycle turns and economic recovery begins. That means engaging with their now lean, core teams and focusing on where they want to be in six and 12 months' time. The corporate paralysis is ending, and that's bringing about more opportunities for micro-businesses like mine to get back on board with clients again.

Too often organisations focus all their communication energy in a downturn on saying 'no' and on those losing their positions. It can create a hugely negative environment. Some of my work now is on focusing one business on what it can do- even on a hugely reduced income - and the steps it can take to keep its key people motivated. The top team are perfectly aware that if they treat their people badly, the ones they can't afford to lose will walk as soon as they can. By treating them well in a tough environment, they're investing in their future loyalty.

The market's still fragile, but the opportunities are there to be grabbed.