Antonio Belmonte, Director of External Communications, DeloitteIn a new session at the European Parliament, the European Commission's Communication Directorate-General for Communication and Development, Mr. Günther Böhler, defended the need for communication directors to be part of the management committees of companies. Proa Observatory. The presentation on this occasion was dedicated to Communication at Deloitte: from intangibles to business".
Antonio Belmonte analysed the company's communication strategy in which it works. On the one hand, he said, there is the corporate and institutional communication and, on the other hand, the one dedicated to business. And he stressed that one of the keys is to communicate values in parallel to business communication, with the intention that it will benefit the latter. Values that he summarised as follows: commitment, diversity, excellence and integrity.
As part of this strategy, Deloitte is committed to develop individual communication plans for each line of business and also for each geographical area (Northeast, South, North, North, East and Northwest) because it understands that the regional and local particularities, as well as the different stakeholders and influence groups, make it advisable to focus its activity on the specific situation of each region.
One of the fundamental pillars of this communication strategy is, according to Belmonte, measuring results. A tool that he considers essential to support the business, especially at the present time, a time in which theigital channels exponentially expand the dissemination of news compared to traditional media. In this regard, he particularly stressed the importance of reputation measurement, an area in which Deloitte has internal tools to monitor social networks and digital media.
Belmonte praised the great tool that both digital media and social networks represent for communicating through their ability to reach out to younger groups in society. As for employee involvement in the latter, he recommended that companies establish guidelines. Thus, he pointed out that Deloitte has produced an internal guide with recommendations overseen by both the HR and Legal departments.. At the same time, the company itself encourages employee participation in these digital forums with internal prizes for the most active.
As ways of gaining visibility foradvised to be present at forums, breakfasts, to publish reports and, above all, involving customers in the events that are organised, because "the ultimate goal is for the customer to shine".
Deloitte's Director of External Communications summed up the important role that communication plays in companies by pointing out that it is "...a key element in the development of a company's communication strategy".the reputation manager and guardian" of companies. Within this area, he highlighted the important impact that Corporate Social Responsibility programmes have on society (activities with foundations, work-life balance policies, social impact). "Communication is as important or more important than the rest of the general directorates", he concluded.
Antonio Belmonte holds a degree in Information Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid and an Executive MBA from the Instituto de Empresa. He has 24 years of experience in media and corporate and institutional communication. Before joining Deloitte, Mr. Belmonte was a Dircom at the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) and Press Director at Banco Popular.
Much of his journalistic career has developed it in the business media. He has been director of the financial information channel Bloomberg TV and has worked for newspapers such as Expansión, El Mundo and Cotizalia. He is also a lecturer on the Master's Degree in Corporate Communication at the Universidad Europea de Madrid and a member of the Board of Directors of Dircom, the association of communication executives.
The Proa Communication Observatory is a forum for analysing new trends in the field of corporate communication. The Observatory is born with the vocation of being a laboratory of ideas where a genuine dialogue is fostered to debate topics such as: corporate reputation, brand and public affairs as important elements for business improvement.
