Turning Corporate Communications into a Strategic Force
The Challenge:
A newly appointed Chief Communications Officer inherited a large global function with strong talent and potential but siloes and limited enterprise impact. As business demand grew, the function struggled to provide strategic counsel, scale execution consistently, and show measurable value.
The CCO wanted to move communications from a capable service organization to a business-critical function that shapes strategy, accelerates change, and builds stakeholder trust.
The Solution:
The Grossman Group played a key role in guiding the transformation and enabling leader activation. It started with a vision for a world-class communications function and the operating model to support it. Leadership aligned the function around shared outcomes and introduced a maturity model and KPIs. Standard processes were created for key business reviews and long-range cross-team planning, while centralized functions clarified roles and strengthened capabilities and connection to regional teams. Leadership also invested in capability building and behavior change through a leadership cohort.
Key Results:
The results were both structural and measurable. The global team became more efficient, more credible, and more strategically indispensable with an improved operating model, leadership system, and planning and measurement discipline.
Within 18 months:
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The function advanced on the maturity model from early stage to mid-stage, showing gains in capability, consistency, and business alignment.
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A redesigned structure and operating model enabled a major team restructuring that delivered +$10 million in savings.
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A more coordinated, efficient planning process led to integrated plans. One region consolidated dozens of regional templates into one coordinated process and playbook.
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Leadership effectiveness improved: one region raised business-partner value scores by 1 point, one team improved by 15 points, and the leadership cohort reported greater confidence leading and collaborating across teams.
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The function’s engagement improved overall by 3%, including a 14-point increase in confidence that senior leadership communicates a clear direction, and 6% increase in employees who see a direct link between their work and company goals.