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Geneva: the new El Dorado for corporate affairs professionals

Christophe Lecureuil — Sat, 18 Aug 2018 05:45:14 +0000

After London and Brussels, is Geneva becoming the becoming the most important corporate affairs hub in Europe? This may well be the case as demand for skilled communicators will increase in the coming years as intense competition for a larger share of voice in public policy debates and an improved reputation is becoming a priority for many Geneva-based organisations, whether profit or not-for-profit.

Actually, there are two distinct sets of opportunities for corporate affairs professionals in Switzerland. The first is in “International Geneva”. This particular eco-system gathers over 30 International Organizations, 250 NGOs, 165 Governmental Representations and dozens of trade associations and influencer platforms such as the World Economic Forum. All of these entities have one thing in common: they are located in the Geneva area to shape the global policy agenda and secure funding for their programmes. Officially there are no lobbyists in Geneva. People do “Advocacy” or “Resource Mobilization” on development issues, public health or technological standards. In reality, these titles simply reflect an ancient fear of mixing the world of global development and the world of business. The ‘International Geneva’ is however increasingly opening up to the concept of moving from the corporate world to NGOs and vice-versa. The simple reason is that organisations need people who can understand and connect with “the other side”.

The second set of opportunities for Corporate Affairs people is Switzerland at-large. Scores of multinationals have their European Headquarters somewhere between the Lake Geneva area and Zurich or Basel. Food, Pharma, Biotech, MedTech, FMCG, Chemicals, you name them! Switzerland is host to one of the highest concentration of multinationals in Europe, and many Headquarter functions are located there including Heads of Corporate Affairs, Communications and Public Affairs. Why Switzerland? According to a survey published by Amcham Switzerland and BCG, “Switzerland offers an array of advantages to multinational companies: a central location in Europe, a stable political and fiscal environment, a well-developed infrastructure, a good quality of life, a highly skilled and multilingual workforce, an attractive tax system, and a business-friendly government, in addition to a long-standing focus on innovation and investment in R&D.” This ideal vision has been somewhat damaged recently with friction over labour and tax issues between Switzerland and the EU, as mentioned in this report by KPMG and IMD.

All that said, it appears that Swiss employees remain the best paid in Europe according to a study carried out in 2016/2017, so if you add all things up, Geneva and Switzerland might be the new El Dorado!

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CLC Consultant offers headhunting services by joining Ellwood Atfield

Christophe Lecureuil — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 21:27:32 +0000

CLC Consultant is delighted to formalise its advocacy training offer with a tailored two-day in-house workshop for profit and non-profit organisations. The first day will cover the following elements:

Similarities and differences between advocacy and public affairs
Key trends affecting global advocacy and public affairs
Business imperatives to engage in public affairs
Comparisons between public affairs in the US, the EU and the UN
Ethics and transparency

The second day focuses on the development of an advocacy strategy:

Putting a public affairs strategy together
Developing a compelling narrative for policy-makers
Tips and best practices for impactful campaigns
The key skills of a top public affairs professional
Measuring the impact of public affairs

The course will provide a combination of academic material, professional insights, hands-on/coached exercises and case studies. It is open to all levels within an organisation with a maximum of 12 people.

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My Top 5 Communications Resolutions for the New Year

Christophe Lecureuil — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 23:22:43 +0000

As I am about to take my last flight of the year from Brussels back to Geneva, it’s time to reflect a bit on this fading – and quite extraordinary – year and the upcoming one. Given that this is the season to decide on new ways of doing things, I made a few Resolutions as a communicator.

Resolution #1: write simply so people understand

Companies, Institutions and NGOs often wonder why their message is not understood by the people they are trying to convince, be they policy-makers, donors, citizens or consumers. Well, I suppose that writing in plain language could be a first step. My first commitment is not to write the following words in any form of communication: ecosystem, empowerment, paradigm shift, business softness etc. The list is in fact too long that one could write a whole dictionary. So ask yourself a simple question: is this word/sentence pure jargon which only speaks to your inner circle or can everybody understand it?

Resolution #2: don’t pretend it’s news

I recently asked a couple of Brussels-based journalists how many press releases a day they received. The answer is about one hundred per day! The best they can produce is one to two stories a day – never mind if they are published at all – so this leaves you with 98% of useless stuff. I therefore commit not to approach journalists without a compelling story and a spokesperson available to answer questions with proper news.

Resolution #3: listen to what people have to say

Brexit then Trump… which country is next to make “wrong choices” based on “post-facts”?. Well…let’s get this clear: it is not the message/messenger which matters but the recipient of the message and how he/she interprets it. In addition, in my experience, the best communicators listen more than they talk, so that could be a good start. Perhaps politicians and their advisors should remember this rule. I will.

Resolution #4: stop your ego from making decisions

As we grow into our jobs or professions, human nature has a strange twist whereby instinct and brain give way to ego and emotions. The consequences are disastrous: bad management decisions, ineffective communication and unbearable cocktail discussions! My advice: you and I are as good as we were 5 minutes ago and this is the past. Look forward, be humble, seek other people’s perspectives and keep learning.

Resolution #5: focus on results

I originally thought of writing “Focus on outcomes, not outputs” but that would have contradicted Resolution #1. So let’s apply Resolution #1: can we please stop pushing paper and get on with the job? Bureaucracy has invaded business life and this reminds me of a client who needed a few days of internal consultation to answer a simple media request. And then Management asks why there is no media coverage….

Have a great holiday season!

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When was the last time you tested your crisis procedures?

Christophe Lecureuil — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 20:53:38 +0000

If anyone knows about money that’s Warren Buffett, whose quote “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it” is now famous. Yet, it seems that preparing for a crisis is still considered by many companies – large or small – as a “nice to have” compared to say a Marketing or Operations training. While working in silos is still a strangely accepted corporate behaviour, having a regular cross-departmental crisis training, including Management, is rarely viewed as a priority. Unless you get hit by a crisis of course and it is already too late. The costs of not-doing are high: WV lost 18 billion USD, Samsung’s loss is estimated at 10 billion USD and Chipotle reported its first-ever loss earlier this year. Today it is BASF who is facing a major crisis with unfortunately human casualties. For smaller size organisations – SMEs or sports Federations – it is even worse as the cost of failure can mean going out of business or becoming irrelevant. So who is next? And are you prepared?

PS: for a thorough analysis on how Chipotle (mis)managed its food safety crisis, check out this Fast Company article.

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Small is beautiful

Christophe Lecureuil — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 19:29:40 +0000

Recent discussions with clients and contacts confirmed some of my assumptions in their interest to work with a small consulting firm. Here’s the download :

Organizational budgets for external advocacy and communication support tend to shrink when the going gets tough. This means that project work is becoming the norm vs. annual retainers. As a consequence, clients with limited budgets will benefit from a smaller consulting outfit which does not have the overhead, income and profitability requirements of a larger firm.

Clients want to work with people they trust and who will not go away as soon as another job opportunity comes up. A small consultancy can provide this visibility and a long-term partnership with individuals who will have the historic understanding of the environment in which the client operates.

Finally, any fish in a small pond is a big fish. For a small consulting firm, every client is important and you will get the best out of your consultant(s).

And if you wonder how it feels like to work in a small consulting firm from a consultant’s perspective, check out this article.

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