Deborah Waller, Senior Communications and Digital Manager for the Neighbourhood Watch Network, checks in with us to discuss the challenges of returning to the comms world and the importance of balancing saying no with being flexible.
Why did you choose to pursue a role in communications? For example, has it always been your passion or was it pure happenstance?
I studied Linguistics and English Language at University in South Africa, but it wasn’t a field I felt passionate about. After University I choose to study a digital graphics diploma and fell into web design roles – I chopped and changed companies and even started my own web design small business. Before long I immigrated to the UK and I landed a role in internal communications for a well know charity. It was there that I realised just how well suited I was to a communications role. Despite this, I became a mum and took 11 years break from communications to raise my children whilst running a small childcare business. Returning to a comms role has been challenging as the industry and technology progressed considerably in that time – but nearly 2 years back in the field and I feel like I have found my feet but more importantly than that – I found my confidence too as a comms professional.
What personal skills or attributes do you think are most important in the digital communications sphere? Why these skills/attributes in particular?
Being adaptable with an enquiring mind is vital! In an ever-changing digital world, comms professionals need to keep ahead of the game. Our use of language too evolves all the time, and we need to constantly adapt our communication styles to suite the message, audience and the external environment. I used to be nervous of the fact I jumped around in my career so much as it demonstrated my restlessness – but now I see that my ‘restlessness’ was in fact a desire for growth, engagement and inspiration. Having a career in communications opens a broad range of opportunities but having an interest in the field you are working helps to turn your job into your passion.
What sort of challenges do you face in your role? Is there a particular challenge that you experienced in the past that stood out?
The biggest challenge in my role is managing the workload. Our head office has only 8 staff and we support over 90,000 volunteers across England and Wales. I am the only person within the communications team, so my role involves all internal and external comms from strategy to website management, campaign development, media, social media, and newsletters. Sometimes it can be challenging balancing the strategic and operational needs simultaneously.
How is the role of communications perceived in your organisation?
Whilst the role of communications is perceived as important and I feel valued, it still feels like it is a case of needing to prove its worth. When I joined it was not recognised as a key role to achieving our strategy but rather a supportive role. As Bill Gates said ‘Like a human being, a company has to have an internal communication mechanism, a ‘nervous system’ to co-ordinate its actions.’ - I would like to see companies seeing the importance of that nervous system from the start rather than from the point in which the body parts stop operating as one.
At React & Share, we’re obsessed with measuring our efforts to prove our worth to internal stakeholders - what measurements do you think digital comms teams should be presenting to their board?
I think the comms teams need to demonstrate their reach, engagement, and the change as a result of those comms. If you measure any of one those things in isolation it doesn’t demonstrate the impact digital comms has. For example, we recently measured the success of an online social campaign which led the audience to a landing page. The reach wasn’t as high as previous campaigns but the engagement of the people who came to the landing page was through the roof! Combining this measurement with the anecdotal feedback we received demonstrated to the board using simple measures the impact the campaign had on our target audience.
What advice would you give to those at the start of their career?
Learn to say no as not everyone understands our remit – but remain flexible as it’s only through experiencing new challenges that we grow and learn.
What do you think the secret of success is when working in communications?
People are drowning in information overload and searching for clarity and purpose. Create opportunities for dialogue, listen to what others have to say, and when the message gets clouded in complexity, simplify it in simple, memorable stories which people can relate to.
