Spencer Stuart Sees Rise in Digital Expert Hires

June 25, 2014 – Global chief communications officers (CCOs) are increasingly adding digital and social media into their department oversight and responsibilities, according to The Rising CCO V, a survey conducted by Spencer Stuart and global public relations firm Weber Shandwick. CCOs report that compared to years past, they are hiring more digital and social media experts (73 percent) and developing more relationships with influential Twitter users and bloggers (55 percent). Social media is expected to have the single greatest impact on the CCO's job over the next few years with 91 percent of CCOs expecting social media to increase in importance more than other communications responsibilities. This finding is consistent across every region in the study, which includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Globally, CCOs expect mobile (73 percent) and video production (69 percent) to also increase the most in importance. "Corporate communications is in a constant state of evolution as the growth of social communications continues to change the landscape," said George Jamison, who leads Spencer Stuart's corporate communications business. "In some cases, corporate teams are driving change, others are striving to keep up. Our research shows that CCOs are working hard to equip themselves with the right tools and people to help them effectively navigate this world of change and stay socially-fluent."