1. When Should We Measure Communications?
Yearly in depth surveys. Satisfaction and engagement surveys are typically carried out yearly and
will carry added questions to provide some insights to the effectiveness of communications.
Prior to some special communications effort. In order to best understand the impact of
communications, it is essential to quantify (consciousness, attitudes, knowledge etc) before a
campaign.
After campaign or a substantial communication. It is necessary to assess the effectiveness and
impact of major communications programs and initiatives. This enables you to tailor internal
communications to ensure they are delivering quantifiable business value and successful.
At periods to track approaches. Regular measurement helps communicators to tailor messages to
make sure they're suitable for their crowds also to estimate the ever changing feelings and
approaches inside an organization.
Temperature checks and beat checks during and after specific events provide an insight into the
problems and challenges an organization faces and also to collect feedback on particular issues.
At intervals to track and standard against KPI's. Measuring regularly against standards and
monitoring trends over time provide an early warning of problems that could go undetected until
they've escalated further.
What things to Measure?
Determining which aspects of communicating to measure depends on communication goals and the
organization's specific business. A few examples of communications measurements that are useful
contain:
Baseline communicating measurements prior to communication can quantify; the current
communications stations accessible, in addition to ascertaining the existing information available,
how easy it really is to find, present knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of workers also to identify
other factors affecting attitudes and behaviours.
Purposeful communication measurements
Adhering to a campaign or a communication, functional facets of communication must be measured.
Comparisons to the measurements that are baselines are not useless.
Measuring Impact
Measuring of measures can contain and the impact communicating is a critical step:
Audience perception measurements including variables for example; kinds of messages and %
received, communications remembered. Were messages viewed as consistent, applicable and
credible? Were the messages understood? How well do workers feel they are being supported? Do
workers understand just what must take place as an effect of the communication(s)?
Change in Behavior

2. The aim of most internal communication will be to modify behaviours and the attitudes of workers.
Thus, it's valuable to recognize and quantify variables including; What changed? Was there more or
less of a conduct? What is different?
Impact on business goals / Results
Communication measurement should empower Internal Communicators to quantify the effect of
communications on company objects. For example:
The shift in attitudes regarding the projected impact of increased customer retention and customer
service
The amount of useable suggestions submitted via an employee proposition initiative (and the
monetary value of the suggestions)
Isolating the impact of communicating
Communication doesn't really happen in a vacuum plus it will often be difficult to isolate the effect of
communication versus other factors (incentive schemes, new product launches, factors external to
the organization and so forth). Potential options include:
Communications control groups ( isolating a group, for example a single distant place, and not
communicating them about a specific initiative or goal, then looking at how their activities differ
from groups you have communicated with)
Evaluating the change in behaviour with regard to a business goal that was communicated well,
versus a business target with little or no communicating
Estimate the % effect of communications versus other influencing variables.
Computing the fiscal worth of communicating
Computations of the monetary value of communicating will, at best, be approximations. Nonetheless,
it's still a crucial section of communication measurement as it begins a dialogue with senior
managers also and may illustrate the tremendous worth of successful internal communication.
Consider the impact of an internal crisis communication answer that is effective. A comparison can
be made against a situation (internally or inside an identical organization) which wasn't managed as
well, and quantifiable value attributed to variables such as:

3. Quantity of customers kept
Retention of good staff who might otherwise have left
Tools to Help the Measurement of Internal Communication include:
Desktop surveys and quizzes. Aside from in depth online or paper based surveys, pop up desktop
computer surveys and quizzes provides benchmarking capacity and added measurement throughout
the year.
Incentives. Staff cans encourage to take part in a quiz or survey.
Qualitative Communicating Measurement
In addition to quantitative measures of communications effectiveness, qualitative communication
measurement should even be undertaken. Qualitative techniques can comprise:
Free form responses in surveys.
Focus groups
Talk newsgroups. Although face to face interviews and focus groups are often the smartest choice
for communicating measurement that is qualitative, internal social media can be replacement or a
good improvement. Set up worker discussion newsgroups to investigate particular problems. Screen
comments produced in discussion forums to gather qualitative measures of how workers are
thinking feeling and behaving
Averting Survey Bias
Avoiding non- response or self select prejudice. When surveys rely on employees to opt in or 'self
select', you could mostly hear from folks or the squeaky wheels having an agenda inspiring them to
participate. A background survey tool can provide escalation choices, random sampling and return
to help ensure that representative inner communications measurement data is accumulated from
across the business.
Control groups. Set up for communications campaigns. Identify survey replies from control
http://www.lane4performance.com/ groups and therefore to compare and assess the impact of
internal communications efforts.
For many kinds of questions, e.g. In these instances, supply multi-select reply options.
Comparisons. Assess the impact of communications on folks who saw a specific communications
against those who did not.
The impact on recall of time. Recall rates will fall over time, thus if communicating efforts are to be
compared with one another, communications measurement needs to be performed at the exact same
time interval after each campaign. Ensure that communications measurement is performed at a
consistent time after each effort.
Supplying context to get a quiz or survey. Context should be given to get a quiz or survey. As an
example, a merchandise knowledge quiz without circumstance might cause employees to be worried

4. about the objective of the quiz and possibly work more difficult to ensure they provide the replies
that are right.
Encouraging Survey Contribution
Encouraging the survey to support participation. The higher survey participation rates really are, the
more statistically accurate and useful the results will undoubtedly be. Use innovative inner
communications channels including; user, scrolling background feeds, screensaver messaging and
desktop alerts created staff magazines to raise the profile of surveys and encourage involvement.
Communicating survey findings and activities being taken. When workers think the outputs from
staff surveys will likely be used, they are more inclined to participate. Consequently, ensure that
survey results along with the ensuing actions being taken are well communicated to staff.