Does your company have a thankless job?
Every role in a firm plays a vital part, therefore we ought to appreciate every cog in the wheel whenever possible. If you aim to thrive and remain in business, your organisation has no room for thankless jobs
The English football player Rio Ferdinand made headlines in 2002 when he became the most expensive British football player in history— Manchester United had to break the bank to sign him!
Why did Rio make it to the headlines?
Rio was a defender. Out of the top 10 highest transfer fees ever, eight players are forwards, and the other two are creative midfielders. Goalkeepers and defenders are usually undervalued in football, while forwards and creative midfielders are highly sought after.
Goal scorers are more glorified than defenders or goalkeepers because we consider scoring goals as the most direct contribution to a team's success in many sports. Your team's chances of winning increase with your scoring, which is not directly involved with defending. However, the core of every squad is made up of defenders and goalies. They are essential parts of any team that wins a championship.
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In football, every team consists of two halves: the forwards, or scorers, and the defence, or stoppers. In the corporate realm, there are business functions - the scorers—and non-business or support functions - the stoppers.
People in business functions—and sometimes HR—are frequently seen on social media receiving accolades, awards, or a heartfelt "thank you" from the CEO for their outstanding performance or contribution to the company's growth. At such events, it is rare to find representatives from the company secretariat, communications, public relations, procurement, logistics, health and safety, or security departments.
Additionally, you come across HR professionals who play the same functions as a coach or team manager and focus more on designing training programs for salespeople, product managers, business development executives, relationship managers, risk administrators, and customer support teams than they do for the other roles. Teams that fall under the business functions frequently participate in quarterly performance reviews, monthly town halls, team-building exercises, and day-outs. They are the company's scorers!
Marketing might be likened to the creative midfield players within the organisation. Because press releases are unpaid, a two-page press release about a product or service may receive a slight mention or no publicity in a particular newspaper. On the other hand, if the top management approves the cost, an advertisement for the same product or service may take up a complete page in the same publication. To what extent do the two approaches differ regarding the traction of consumer engagement and onboarding?
Communication professionals are a company's reserved goalkeepers, including administrative tasks and public relations (PR). Any study or research conducted today on the world's ten most challenging jobs will include communication professionals in the top 10. They oversee and protect the company's image and set the tone for open disclosures to stakeholders and clients. But our culture permeates the business sector, where endless grievances exist when something goes wrong. However, little to no thankfulness is expressed when things go well, even when exceeding expectations.
Communication encompasses more than just spell-checking and media relations (PR); it also hedges the company's senior managers' public speaking styles and the accuracy and effectiveness of their communications to peers, regulators, shareholders, and other key stakeholders.
During Covid-19, we all realised how critical it was to communicate effectively to construct, express, and spread messages about proper behaviour. We also learned how crucial it was to maintain team unity by providing credible advice and instructions through the communication team.
Whenever domestic helpers take an extended vacation, city dwellers come to appreciate their importance. They are typically ignored for the remainder of the year. Many company leaders must remember how essential non-business functions are in the post-Covid era. They perform the unsung heroes' work; they may not score goals like a football team's strikers, but they are the catalysts for the company's success.
Do we still recall Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin and Neil Armstrong? Michael Collins's critical role in operating the command module during the Apollo 11 mission allowed them to perform their historic moonwalk. Collins stayed in the command module, but Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the moon's surface. He was responsible for the module's navigation, piloting, and communication.
Every role in a firm plays a vital part; therefore, we ought to appreciate every cog in the wheel whenever possible. People only feel thankless when you thank less. If you aim to thrive and remain in business, your organisation has no room for thankless jobs. We ought to understand the impact of a simple "Thank you". It has the power to brighten someone's day. Who knows, maybe it will encourage someone who has written a lengthy resignation email with a lot of vitriol to hit "Discard".
Shafiq R Bhuiyan is a Senior Manager of Communication and CSR at BRAC Bank PLC.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
