Internal communication plays a crucial role in any organization and directly impacts the bottom line of the company. However, although there is an increase in communication retention rate and improvement in employee performance, communicators can still prove the business value to the management due to a lack of quantitative and qualitative indicators.
However, with the growing number of communication tools and resources, companies now have access to more data. However, they are still facing difficulties in measuring the effectiveness of internal communication programs within the organization.
Why companies need internal communication program?
The ultimate goal of the internal communication program of an organization to inform, educate and create awareness to the employees about essential happenings within the organization.
Internal communication programs within an organization aim to motivate and empower the employees to perform better and contribute towards achieving strategic organizational goals. However, internal communication programs often use performance metrics that have an impact on an organization’s priorities.
Some of the crucial internal communication goals of a company include:
- Increase employee efficiency and productivity
- Increase employee support
- Developing new initiatives for the company
- Reduce errors and improve the quality of work
- Clarify or change opinions and behaviour
- Increase employee retention and decrease recruiting costs
- Increase employee confidence and morale
These goals enable companies to measure the effectiveness of their internal communication with data-driven metrics while elevating the impact of the internal communication program.
Innovative Ways to Measure the Internal Communication of your Business
Companies can use a combination of existing data and digital tools to monitor and measure the impact of the internal communication program. But, first, companies need to set a few KPIs to measure their internal communication.
The critical KPIs to measure internal communication of organization are:
- Reach
- Engagement
- Behaviour and
- Impact
The following are few intelligent methods to measure the internal communication program of the organization:
Ø Employee Engagement Surveys
Employee engagement is one of the topmost priority for most organizations. As a result, many companies regularly conduct employee satisfaction or engagement surveys to understand employees’ opinions as they are the most effectv=ive internal communication tools.
Comparing the survey results before and after the communication program will enable organizations to understand the effectiveness of internal communication of the organization.
Ø Polls
Companies can use polls when they are looking for quick pulse checks of employees within the organization. For example, quick polling devices can be used during an employee meeting, or polling apps can be downloaded on mobiles to get real-time feedback on employee opinions.
Polls are a great way of understanding how a message has changed employee experience and can be conducted before, during or after a meeting.
Ø Social Media or Internal Collaboration Tools
Although social media channels are subjective, a lot of insights can be gathered by observing the employees activities on these channels. Monitoring their activities and the topics being discussed by them, along with the tone of their comments, helps communicators understand how internal communication is shaping their conversation.
Ø Focus Groups and Interviews
Having a conversation with employees in person is another effective way to gain deeper insights into employees’ ideas and opinions than the insights gathered through polls and surveys.
By tracking the progression of employee segments over time, communicators can gain crucial insights on the results of internal communication programs and how the employees are effectively utilizing internal communication tools.
Conclusion
Internal communication plays a vital role in moving your company forward. Therefore businesses need to prioritize the internal communication program within the company. Utilizing practical communication tools and setting clear communication goals tailored to your business needs play a crucial role in improving overall efficiency.
However, tracking and analyzing employee performance and gathering insights on employee opinions enables organizations to create strategic internal communication goals that work long-term.
