For the eighth year now, CEC has launched our annual Resource Allocation Benchmarking Survey. Every year, about hundred of our members benchmark their communications budgets to their peers and receive their customized report that helps them compare their spending and staff levels and allocations to the ones of their peers. The report and benchmarks also help them make some tough decisions for the next year’s budgets.
While our members are busily filling out the current year’s survey before the July 20 deadline, I have decided to look at some of their predictions from last year. In couple months, we will be able to find out if these came true and what the top comms executives are predicting for next year. So stay tuned! And make sure that your company is participating and submitting their budget data this year, since the newly updated report is something that you really don’t want to miss out on!
Prediction 1: Only 41 % of participating communicators expected their budgets to grow between 2011 and 2012
What does it mean for you: If these predictions came true, and you are unlucky enough to be in the 59 % of companies who budgets fell or stagnated, the salary increase you might have been hoping for has probably not happened. And if you were lucky enough to get a raise, it probably came accompanied by increased workload as the heads of comms cut other budget items to be able to pay you more!
Prediction 2: 56 % of participating communicators planned no change in their staffing levels and between 2011 and 2012
What does it mean for you: If these predictions came true, the size of your current team is very likely the same as it was a year ago. And it might have even shrunk as additional 10 % of communications teams anticipated some staff cutting.
Prediction 3: In 2011, 25 % of communicators anticipated restructuring in the next two years, and another 23 % were in the midst of it.
What does it mean for you: In the past couple years, many communications functions have been moving towards increasing centralization and abandoning decentralized organizational structure. Consequently, if your team is one of the ones being restructured, it is very likely going to be towards more consolidated team.
I would like to hear if these predictions are spot on for your team, or if you are one of the outliers. And don’t forget to get your head of comms to fill out the Benchmarking Survey. Many of our members used the results to successfully argue for higher communications budget, and you might just finally get the raise you have been waiting for!
Related Resources
2012 Resource Allocation Benchmarking Survey
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