As an IR professional, you are the primary contact for the investment community. You are relied upon to inform and advise company management as to investor and wider market sentiment, and should also have a broad advisory network you can call upon. But you have to develop a strong network within your company, too, so that you can secure the information you need in order to fully understand and represent the business and thus do your job well.
A common misconception among corporate employees is that IR is there to improve the share price; getting to know people across the business gives you the opportunity to explain your actual purpose and thus build support for your work. This support is essential in a role that relies upon colleagues in other functions to provide you with data (and give up their time to present it in the way you need it). Most of the help you will get from other functions is voluntary; people will not see it as part of their day job.
Your internal network will give you traction that will ultimately go beyond getting the basics done. You may be trying to change how the role of IR is seen by company management, and earning trust throughout the business is essential to this. You also need to know the hidden risks or concerns of the business and what really worries management; you will only find out this information and be able to manage it if your relationships with the CEO, finance director, financial controller, treasurer and COO are close.
You will spend a lot of time in meetings and on the road with the CEO and finance director so, as well as proving your technical competence, you must get on with them on a personal level. As IRO, you may also be privy to information that other management members are not, and you must balance this with the fact that you will need information and support from them and their teams.
Core business functions from which you will need guidance and data include the company secretary/legal, treasury, financial planning and operational finance. Additionally, your internal pipeline of potential IR team talent is likely to come from these people, so it is worth your while to get to know and make a good impression on them. Depending on the nature of your business and its position within the consumer and regulatory environment, you will also have some sort of communications function and your messaging to the external community must be aligned with corporate affairs, including on employee communication.
The following tips will help build and develop an effective internal network:
- When going through the IR interview process, try to meet as many internal stakeholders as possible. This kick-starts your network
- Once appointed, don’t miss any important internal events: these are opportunities to be part of milestones and build relationships
- Once installed in the role and calling upon colleagues for help, be really appreciative and provide positive feedback
- Explore the possibility of bringing management other than the CEO and CFO to investor meetings with you. They will understand and appreciate your role more as a result, and gain market exposure that may be helpful for their own career
- Get to know the administrative staff. They can make it much easier for you to secure the time or information you need.
In addition to your investment community and internal networks, you should make time to build your network with other IROs. They will be a great source of counsel and ideas; you are all technically in the same role, but all have different businesses, business contexts and cultures to work with. Make the most of the opportunity to share ideas as they will help you in the immediate and longer term with your future career and adaptability.
Heather McGregor is managing director of executive recruitment firm Taylor Bennett
This article appeared in the Spring 2016 issue of IR Magazine
