CollectivNews
Welcome to a monthly round-up of information relevant
to comms professionals and everyone interested in the fractional model.
January 2025
Your Competitors Are Doing This — Are You?
To stay competitive, agility and innovation are essential. Leveraging fractional leaders offers a flexible and cost-effective solution, blending deep expertise with a fresh, external perspective. Companies embracing this approach recognize that access to on-demand expertise can be a game-changer in reaching their goals. Case in point:
Buffer, a social media management company known for its open company culture and progressive management, worked with a fractional Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to support its growth strategy. Teaming up with a fractional CTO to lead the technology strategy and development initiatives enabled Buffer to gain senior-level technological advice without the price tag of a full-time hire. The outcome? The fractional CTO contributed significantly to the process of scaling Buffer’s technology infrastructure and product range to attract more users and increase revenue. This approach allowed Buffer to organize its resources rationally, concentrating on core competencies and hiring staff according to the company’s evolution. (Adapted from a February 2024 blog post by Anurag Paul on OpenGrowth)
Translating the value to communications, organizations are leveraging fractional comms leaders to navigate transitions, manage crises, and address strategic challenges. Whether it’s handling a leadership transition, covering for someone on family or medical leave, or offering general support to the communications team, these professionals bring strategies tailored to an organization’s needs.
Your competitors are already gaining a competitive edge by adopting this approach. Are you keeping pace, or are you falling behind? 2025 may be the year to rethink how your organization approaches resourcing communications.
Agentic AI: The Future of Business Communications and a Top Tech Trend for 2025
Agentic AI, identified by Gartner and ZDNet as one of the top strategic technology trends for 2025, is reshaping the way businesses approach automation and communications. These advanced AI agents, capable of autonomous decision-making and multi-task execution, are transforming industries by enabling smarter, faster, and more adaptive operations. For communications teams, Agentic AI presents both opportunities and challenges in monitoring, managing, and deploying these technologies effectively.
In our November newsletter, we explored their potential to revolutionize business communications by handling complex tasks like scheduling, content creation, and media monitoring. However, as Agentic AI progresses, a critical question emerges: how can organizations not only leverage these agents but also build them responsibly, ensuring alignment with brand values and ethics?
How Agentic AI is Changing the Game
The capabilities of Agentic AI were on full display this week with the first AI-hosted Space on X (formerly Twitter), signaling the start of a new era in autonomous digital interactions. This event highlighted the potential for AI agents to manage conversations, moderate forums, and engage audiences — all with minimal human intervention. Yet, as we stand on the cusp of these advancements, companies must consider:
Monitoring and Response Systems: Ensuring oversight to maintain consistent and ethical interactions.
AI Agent Lore Creation: Developing relatable personas and backstories to build trust and enhance user experience.
Ethical Development: Addressing issues such as bias, data privacy, and decision-making transparency.
As companies begin to invest heavily in Agentic AI, communications teams are essential to ensuring its success. Click here to read the full article.
2025 Workplace Challenges
Gallup’s article, “7 Workplace Challenges for 2025,” identifies key issues organizations will face this year, including managing hybrid work models, addressing employee burnout, and fostering engagement amid technological advancements. The piece emphasizes the need for leaders to adopt strategies that prioritize employee well-being, cultivate a strong organizational culture, and effectively integrate AI into workflows. The story also highlights less buzzworthy issues like employees’ ongoing struggles with childcare and their need for feedback and recognition. These more persistent challenges must be addressed head-on for organizations to truly create workplaces where employees can thrive.
