At a recent conference, one thought was racing through my brain – speed, speed, speed!

Relative to other corporate functions, communication teams haven’t adapted at the speed of today’s change. Why is that, and what can be done about it?

The “why” part seems fairly obvious. We’re busy, of course. And for years, we’ve had to do more with less, in part because we struggle to show how our work impacts business outcomes and generates business value.

Those may all be valid explanations. But they don’t justify the status quo.

Our finance colleagues have automated much of their collection and reporting processes. HR has automated and/or outsourced some of its critical recruiting, payroll, benefits and performance management tasks.

What have we automated and outsourced? Some of our media lists and news reports. Some content management and distribution tasks. And… well, not much more.

In my last corporate role, I had three team members based in the Philippines who handled our media databases, media analysis and media reporting work. They helped with writing, presentation development, graphic design and more. The time zones allowed us to share work at the end of my work day, to see revised drafts before bedtime, and to receive completed work the next morning. It was a brilliant solution for a fast-paced global workplace.

That was 10 years ago, and I wonder why so few others are doing this today.

We’re slow and behind the times. We need to adapt and grow – with speed, speed, and speed.