Generative AI has been a part of our lives for a few years now. How do communications professionals use it, and what role does it play in the digital transformation of organisations? In this edition of Ask the Expert, lecturer, researcher and consultant Katharina Krämer gives us exclusive insight on the latest edition of the trend study "Communication in the digital transformation" of the IAM Institute of Applied Media Studies at the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
Katharina, please tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.
I am a lecturer, researcher and consultant in the field of organisational communication and management at the ZHAW. I also co-lead the CAS Corporate Communications programme with a colleague, which is aimed at newcomers to communication. My thematic focus is on the role of communication in digital transformation, internal communication, school communication and the communication of social service organisations. In general, you could say that communication is simply my passion. I really enjoy researching these areas and generating new knowledge that I can then incorporate back into my teaching and consultancy projects.
Can you tell us something about the ZHAW trend study?
We have been conducting the trend study ‘Communication in the digital transformation’ at the IAM Institute of Applied Media Studies at the ZHAW every two years since 2018. The aim is to examine the role of corporate communication in the digital transformation of organisations and also to observe it over time. To this end, my colleagues Prof. Dr Nicole Rosenberger, Markus Niederhäuser and I conduct an online survey of communication officers (CCOs) from companies, administrations and non-profit organisations in German-speaking Switzerland. We supplement the results with in-depth guided interviews with experts from the fields of communications, strategy consulting, law and ethics. This gives us a comprehensive picture every two years of where communication departments stand with regard to digitalisation and automation, which digitalisation topics they focus on in their communication with internal and external stakeholders and what challenges they face here.
The focus of the current issue is on generative AI, what would you say is the most important finding of the study?
A key finding is that the technological development of generative AI is having an immense impact on communication departments. This has to do with the fact that the new tools are not just tools for creating text and images, but much more. They are also used as sparring partners, consultants and creative employees. In our study, we saw that communication departments use generative AI along the entire value creation process of communication. From analysis and strategy development to the development of measures. This means that everyone involved has to deal intensively with the potentials and risks of using generative AI. In addition, not only communication employees, but all employees must be empowered to use these tools. Overall, I would say that these developments are probably currently raising more questions than we have answers for. This also corresponds with the fact that, according to our study, two thirds of communications departments are still in the experimental phase when it comes to generative AI.
"Communication managers should actively promote the implementation of generative AI in their department in order to act as a role model within the company."
Was there anything about this year's study that surprised you and why?
The results didn't necessarily surprise me. Rather, they confirmed developments that we have been observing for several years through our trend study. What is particularly impressive for me is that the communication managers (CCOs) rate the digital maturity level of their communication departments lower in 2024 than two years ago. This illustrates the enormous pressure that the rapid pace of change is exerting on communications departments. The benchmarks are constantly shifting: what was considered innovative yesterday is already outdated today. At the same time, this confirms my understanding that the digital transformation is not a final state that organisations and communication departments have reached at some point. It is a continuous process that involves both progress and regression.
What do you recommend to communication professionals to successfully utilise generative AI?
We have compiled a generative AI agenda with 6 points based on our findings from this year's study. These are intended to provide communication managers with pointers on how they can develop further with regard to generative AI in the future. One key point is that communication managers should actively promote the implementation of generative AI in their department in order to act as a role model within the company. It is also important to expand the skills profile of communications employees through targeted upskilling and to promote an adaptive culture. And: the communications department should ideally act as an internal competence centre for generative AI tools and raise awareness among all employees in the organisation.
