As I returned from my first immersion into the World Economic Forum at Davos, where the Page Society co-hosted ten different events for chief communications officers, agency executives, and other senior communication leaders, I was struck by the profound insights and connections that emerged. Here are my key takeaways that will shape our path forward:
- Restoring Trust Through Authentic Action
Our primary challenge is restoring confidence and trust in the corporations and organizations we represent. This restoration begins with meaningful actions aligned with our mission that demonstrate our corporate character and values. Beyond the actions themselves, we must effectively communicate their rationale to help our multiple stakeholders understand our purpose and impact.
- Understanding The Confidence Gap
The Page-Harris Poll Confidence in Business Index, released at Davos, identified six key areas that consumers believe will help restore confidence in business. However, our research emphasized that companies must avoid jargon and acronyms when addressing these concerns to maintain authentic connections with stakeholders.
- Mental Health: A Leadership Priority
Mental health has emerged as a critical global workplace issue requiring strategic partnership between CCOs and human resources teams. We must not only communicate available resources but help create organizational cultures that actively support mental health and wellness. The challenge of presenteeism—where employees are physically present but not fully engaged due to mental health stressors—creates significant economic impact for organizations. As CCOs face increased pressure from multistakeholder engagement, demonstrating self-care becomes a powerful leadership trait that sets an example for communications teams. Resources like Project Healthy Minds can provide valuable support in this journey.
- Embracing AI Responsibly
As we all know, AI is no longer approaching—it's here. It was a constant topic of conversation at Davos. CCOs and their teams must embrace it safely and responsibly within a framework of cybersecurity and authenticity. Key strategies include creating safe spaces for experimenting with tools, avoiding use of free/public tools with real company data and leveraging AI to enhance reputation management. Yet this raises another concern, in this low-confidence environment we cannot let AI use jeopardize our organization’s reputation.
- Build Trust in the AI Era CCOs must demonstrate how AI can improve efficiency while building trust that alleviates employees' fears of obsolescence. Our role is to help both current employees and prospects understand that AI won't replace individuals who learn to use it effectively and become AI literate. Some companies have already begun incorporating AI prompt tests into their hiring processes, recognizing that those who reject AI might risk obsolescence. That is a warning for commuincators as well that they may want to continue to shift their mindset when thinking of AI as a only a tool.
- AI as a Strategic Stakeholder To effectively leverage AI for brand enhancement and misinformation defense, organizations must prioritize search-optimized websites with factual information and compelling organizational stories. We must now consider generative AI as a strategic stakeholder in our communications planning.
- IT Partnership: Essential for Success The IT department must become the CCO's strategic partner, helping to identify and create AI tools while developing comprehensive policies that foster a culture of learning and innovation. This collaboration is crucial for building a future-ready communications function.
- Evolving Communication Skills The foundational skills for communications professionals are rapidly evolving. Today's practitioners need exceptional editing capabilities to enhance AI-generated content, coupled with strong research and verification skills. The ability to effectively monitor and analyze stakeholder sentiment across multiple channels has become increasingly vital, as has the capacity to synthesize insights from various data sources to understand our dynamic reputation landscape.
- Strategic Influencer Engagement Our approach to influencer engagement must be thoughtful and systematic. By treating influencers with the same professional consideration as beat reporters, we can build meaningful relationships that serve our stakeholders while maintaining clear distinctions between earned and sponsored content.
Looking Ahead
As communications leaders, we stand at a pivotal moment. The conversations at Davos reinforced that our industry's collective expertise and collaboration are essential in helping our C-suite colleagues and our organizations navigate today's complex landscape. Together, we're not just adapting to change—we're actively leading the communication profession into the future.
Partnership Acknowledgment
The success of Page Society's presence at Davos was made possible through the extraordinary support and collaboration of our partners.
Qualcomm, Stagwell, The Harris Poll, Hotwire, Burson, SAP, FGS Global, AXIS (AXIS Capital), KPMG, IBM, Team Farner, Mubadala, BNY, Weber Shandwick and Axios
Their commitment to advancing our profession and fostering meaningful dialogue has been invaluable in creating these important conversations at Davos.
