Prior to some particular communications effort. In order to best understand the effect of communications, it is necessary to quantify (awareness, attitudes, knowledge etc) before a campaign.
Following effort or a significant communication. It is crucial to measure impact and the effectiveness of critical communications systems and initiatives. This permits you to tailor communications that are inner to ensure they're delivering quantifiable business value and successful.
At periods to track attitudes. Routine measurement helps communicators to tailor messages to make sure they are suitable to their audiences and to estimate approaches and feelings inside an organization to the ever shifting.
Pulse checks and to collect comments on particular problems also temperature checks during and after special events provide an understanding into the problems and challenges an organization faces.
At periods against KPI's to standard and track. Quantifying consistently against standards and tracking trends over time offer an early warning of problems that may go undetected until they have escalated further.
What to Measure?
Determining which areas of communicating to measure depends on the particular company and communication goals of the organization's. Several examples of useful communications measurements include:
Baseline communicating measurements prior to communicating can quantify; existing knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of employees, as well as discovering the existing information available, how easy it really is to find, the current communications channels available also to identify other factors influencing attitudes and behaviours.
Practical communication measurements
Following a effort or a communication, practical areas of communication must be quantified. Comparisons to the baselines measurements are useful.
What to Measure - Measuring Impact
Quantifying of the impact communicating is an essential measure and measures can include:
Audience perception measurements including variables such as; types of messages and % received, communications recalled. Were messages viewed as consistent, applicable and credible? Were the messages understood? How well do employees feel they are being supported? Do employees understand precisely what has to take place as a consequence of the communication(s)?
Change in Behaviour
The goal of most inner communication is to modify the attitudes and behaviours of workers. Thus, it's precious to identify and quantify variables including; What changed? What's different?
Impact on business goals / Outcomes
Communicating measurement should enable Internal Communicators to quantify the impact of Team Engagement communications on company aims. For example:
How many workers who signed up for share scheme (following its promotion)
The shift in attitudes regarding the proposed effect of increased customer retention and also customer service
The amount of usable ideas submitted via an employee suggestion initiative (and the monetary value of these suggestions)
Isolating the effect of communication
Communicating will not really happen in a vacuum plus it will often be difficult to isolate the effect of communicating versus other factors (incentive schemes, new product launchings, factors external to the organization etc). Possible solutions include:
Evaluating the change in behavior with respect to a company aim which was conveyed well, versus a company goal with no communicating or little
Estimate the % influence of communications versus other influencing variables.
Computing the monetary value of communication
Calculations of the monetary value of communicating will, at best, be approximations. Nonetheless, it's still a vital part of communication measurement as it will illustrate the tremendous value of effective internal communication and begins a conversation with senior managers at the same time.
Think about the effect of a crisis communication answer that is internal that is effective. A comparison could be made against a situation (internally or within the same organization) which was not managed as well, and quantifiable value attributed to factors such as:
Quantity of customers retained
Retention of great staff who might have left
Tools to Assist the Measurement of Internal Communication include:
Desktop Computer surveys and quizzes. Aside from in depth online or paper based surveys, popup desktop computer surveys and quizzes can provide benchmarking capability and added measurement throughout the entire year.
Motivators. Staff cans support to engage in a quiz or survey.
Qualitative Communication Measurement
Along with quantitative measures of communications effectiveness, qualitative communicating measurement must also be undertaken. Qualitative techniques can include:
Free form answers in surveys.
Focus groups
Talk forums. Although face to face focus groups and interviews in many cases are the best option for qualitative communication measurement, internal social media can be replacement or a good add-on. Set up to investigate specific problems. Computer Screen opinions produced in discussion forums to gather qualitative measures of how employees are thinking behaving and feeling
Preventing Survey Prejudice
Averting non- self select bias or answer. A desktop survey tool provides recurrence, random sampling and escalation choices to help ensure that inner communications measurement data that is representative is collected from throughout the business.
Control groups. Set up a control groups for communications efforts. Identify survey answers from control groups and consequently to compare and assess the effect of internal communications campaigns.
For many kinds of questions, e.g. In these cases, provide multi-select response alternatives.
Comparisons. Assess the impact of communications on folks who viewed a unique communications against those who didn't.
The impact on recall of time. Recall speeds will fall over time, thus communications measurement has to be completed after each campaign at once interval if communicating campaigns are to be compared with one another. Ensure that communications measurement is performed at a regular time after each campaign.
Supplying context for survey or a quiz. Context ought to be given to get survey or a quiz. For instance, a product knowledge quiz without circumstance can cause employees to worry about the objective of the quiz and possibly work harder to ensure they provide the responses that are correct. Yet the same quiz with an explanation "the reason for this quiz if to see how well the communications team are doing, hence please be as honest as possible" is prone to supply an exact measure of communication effectiveness.
Encouraging Survey Contribution
Promoting the survey to encourage involvement. The higher survey participation rates really are, the more statistically accurate and relevant the results will probably be. Use advanced internal communications channels such as; user, scrolling background feeds, screensaver messaging and background alarms generated staff magazines to raise the profile of surveys and support contribution.
Communicating survey findings and actions being taken. They may be more prone to participate when employees think the output signals from staff surveys will probably be constructively used. Hence, ensure that the resulting actions being taken along with survey outcome are well communicated to staff. Newsfeeds screensaver messages and articles in the staff magazines are fantastic ways get messages across without their becoming entombed in email in-boxes.
