Corporate communications is the process of facilitating information and knowledge exchanges with internal and key external groups and individuals that have a direct relationship with an enterprise. It is concerned with internal communications management from the standpoint of sharing knowledge and decisions from the enterprise with employees, suppliers, investors and partners. Examples include:
- Enterprises use annual reports as corporate communications tools to convey information related to results, processes and relationships of the enterprise. Typically, these communications occur on a yearly basis.
- Corporations use electronic and print newsletters to share corporate diversity hiring practices and information on new hires.
- Enterprises use corporate Intranets to create a corporate communication platforms to formalize processes around announcing requests to supplies to submit RFPs.
In corporate communications the object of communications work is company/enterprise itself as opposed to marketing communications where the object of communications is product/produce or service provided by the company/enterprise. The aim of corporate communications is building company's reputation among its stakeholders (as opposed to brand building in marketing communications). Corporate communications may include:
- Analyst relations
- Internal communications
- Investor relations;
- Corporate governance (communications aspects of corporate governance);
- Issue management;
- Change management (communications aspects of growth management, mergers and acquisitions etc.);
- Corporate social responsibility;
- Litigation (communications on/around litigation);
- Crisis communications etc.
