Measuring the Value of Internal Communications

Takeaways from Voices 2023 NYC Powered by Staffbase

I recently had the chance to attend VOICES 2023 NYC powered by Staffbase. VOICES is the #1 conference for communication leaders who want to elevate the impact communications has in their organizations. One of the sessions I attended was on measuring the value of internal communications, hosted by Sheryl Lewis, President of ROI with over 20 years of experience in measuring the value of internal communications. Read on for the highlights from this session.

The Impact of Internal Communications

Now, more than ever, internal communicators are being asked to provide metrics that show how internal communications impact their organization. Clearly seeing the value of internal comms can be difficult, but there are some concrete approaches you can take to better demonstrate the impact your communications strategy is having across your business.

Three key areas for solving business challenges were discussed:

• Change enablement
  This involves shifting mindsets and enabling users to be open to change.
• Communication strategy and execution
  By crafting and executing a well-thought communication strategy, businesses can solve communication challenges.
• Communication ecosystems
  Businesses should focus on optimizing experiences by providing communication ecosystems that make it easier for users to share important information.

The focus for this session was communication strategies and how to measure their effectiveness and see improvements.

Crafting a Measurement Strategy

To craft an effective measurement strategy, measure facets of the organization that leaders actually care about, such as quality, market standing, customer satisfaction, productivity, innovation, and reputation. The 5 levels of measurement suggested for internal communications were:

1. Access Usage
   When sending out internal comms, ensure you have analytics in place to determine if your content is actually resonating with users. Are people opening emails? Are they signing up for events? Are they attending these events?
2. Knowledge Transfer
   Assess whether your internal communications are providing value. Are they teaching something? Do users want to learn more?
3. Actions
   Determine if your internal communications are helping people take action. Is it enabling them to do things differently or make any improvements? Are they collaborating better?
4. Business Impact
   Identify how your communications align with your business goals. What are you trying to achieve? What are your key performance indicators (KPIs)?
5. Financial Impact
   Assess how your revenue is being impacted. How is the bottom line impacted? Are you seeing an increase in efficiency?

Improving Internal Communications Strategy

Organizations are finding that communications teams often create content faster than employees are able to take it all in. To help solve this, you should focus on understanding what is most critical to your company and where your priorities lie. Some tips for streamlining communications include:

• Sending content in segments
• Adding content to intranets for people to access if they choose to
• Establish a digital employee experience
• Have an internal communications measurement toolkit
• Put in a governance structure for how communication should take place

By having a strong internal communication strategy, you set the stage for innovation and growth. Another way to encourage innovation is to encourage employees to contribute ideas frequently and engage with other’s ideas. The employee innovation potential scale is broken down into 4 factors:

1. Do employees have insight into the company’s challenges?
2. Do employees have interest in company improvements?
3. Do employees get recognized or rewarded and do they think the company cares?
4. Do employees find it easy to communicate ideas or are they working in silos?

The Power of Internal Communications

There is a lot of power in measurement – by measuring how your internal communications are performing, you can gain insights into how the organization is functioning. Internal communications strategies have to be constantly measured and improved as organizations scale, which is why Klarinet Solutions is here to help!

We can work together to come up with a tailored internal communications strategy that fits the needs of your organization with our expertise in digital workplace solutions. Get in touch with us today.