CEO confidence in communications dwindles, new report finds
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
If it's hard to be a CEO right now, then that difficulty is sure to extend to those who advise them.
Why it matters: Only 17% of CEOs feel their communications and public affairs functions are "very equipped" to keep pace with rapid economic, geopolitical and cultural changes, a new report from The Weber Shandwick Collective found.
What they're saying: "The increased volatility, at least in the U.S., is something that [CEOs] are concerned about. And unfortunately, for whatever reason, they don't think that their communications teams are equipped to fully address or navigate that," CEO of The Weber Shandwick Collective, North America and Global President Jim O'Leary said at a sponsored Axios conversation in Davos, Switzerland.
- "What maybe is potentially most disappointing is that a lot of the people in our profession feel like over the past several years we've gained a significant amount of influence at the C-suite level because the role of comms is much more materially important to the success or failure of a company than it's ever been."
By the numbers: Weber Shandwick surveyed 200 global executives from Nov. 14-Dec. 4, 2024, and found that roughly 7 in 10 are anticipating heightened volatility in the year ahead, and few feel prepared.
- C-suite leaders feel the least prepared to address violent and nonviolent attacks or protests, getting caught in the political crosshairs and division within the workplace.
And executives aren't likely to increasingly turn to their comms or public affairs teams for guidance.
- Overall, only 27% reported an increased sense of confidence in their communications and public affairs function over the past three years, with a majority of CEOs (59%) saying their confidence in the team remains unchanged.
- Of note, leaders of larger companies and those operating in more than 20 countries are more likely to report a loss in comms and public affairs confidence.
Zoom in: Executives are navigating the competing demands and expectations of their stakeholder groups.
- According to the report, CEOs are prioritizing customers first — with 86% naming this group as "very important" — followed by investors and shareholders (73%), employees (45%), policymakers (32%), partners and suppliers (24%) and local communities (22%).
Zoom out: While policymakers might not be the top audience, several CEOs are tripping over themselves to appeal to the new Trump administration.
- The big picture: Corporate America found itself in the political crosshairs with the new Washington taking shape. This prompted several companies to revise their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and sustainability commitments.
Yes, but: Even given their wavering confidence levels, CEOs are investing more in some communication and public affairs functions.
- According to the report, most plan to expand resources for marketing and brand building, communications, crisis and government relations.
- Meanwhile, about 1 in 4 plan to pull back on environmental, social and governance (ESG) and DEI efforts.
What to watch: New governments are forming across the globe and proposing policies that may affect business operations, supply chains, investments and reputation, the report points out.
- This creates more opportunity for communication and public affairs teams, said O'Leary.
- "No scenario plan is ever going to survive contact with the amount of volatility that's out there in the world. So, in addition to being able to plan for and be resilient through all of the change, you also have to have an enormous amount of agility in the year to come."
More on Axios: CEOs embrace Trump with minimal employee resistance
