Why does data-driven internal communications matter?

All companies communicate with their employees in one way or another. Though the frequency, quality, and strategy behind the communication efforts can drastically impact employee engagement and overall success. Just think about those notes posted on restroom doors, cafeteria walls, or locker rooms. These are all real-life examples of internal company communication. Yet, there’s room for improvement and modernization. This underscores the significance of measurable internal corporate communication. Measurement gives us the means to track outcomes from varied internal communication methods, enabling us to pick the most impactful approaches.

Defining corporate internal communication

When a company communicates on its behalf to one or more employees, seeking feedback in the form of a written response or a specific action, we are engaged in internal communications. The feedback can be:

a.) a written reply or

b.) an action (such as pressing a button, a form of behavior, etc.)

The core of effective communication between the company and the employee can be:

1. maintaining contact,
2. sharing information
3. nurturing mutual commitment

Genuine communication is a two-way street where employees can initiate conversations as much as the company can. Bulletin boards and posters fall short in this aspect; they are not only outdated, but they lack the interactive element. After all, posting a workwear request on a physical board is highly impractical. In contrast, employees can use their smartphones to indicate their needs with a quick push of a button. And they are likely to do so. Needless to say that this assumption can only be verified by measuring the effectiveness of internal communication within the organization.

Why measure internal corporate communication?

Measurable internal corporate communication offers a critical advantage—the ability to calculate return on investment (ROI). Regardless of the communication method employed, time, effort, and resources are invested. And in that case, wouldn’t it be good to know whether it’s paying off? Would’t it be great if you could make your internal communications more effective?

Consider a scenario where you inform 300 employees through a physical notice board. How do you determine if your message reached its intended audience? The outcome might have been that everyone read it, or maybe no one did. In that scenario, not only did your message fail to reach its intended recipients, but you also invested valuable time in crafting, printing, and posting the notice. Alternatively, that time could have been utilized for more productive tasks that contribute tangible value to the company. Printer ink and paper would not have gone to waste either.

Conversely, when you communicate with your employees through a digital channel, you gain the ability to track in real time how many colleagues have received your message and how many have actually read it. Additionally, if you encourage them to respond, you can gauge the level of engagement among your workforce.

Through measurable communication, you not only gain immediate feedback but also establish benchmarks over time. This empowers you to tailor communication strategies, ensuring relevance and impact. The outcome? Enhanced employee engagement, which not only reduces turnover but also boosts productivity. A McKinsey research reveals that effective internal communication can increase productivity by 20-25%, and 92% of internal communicators believe it positively affects financial performance.

To unlock the full potential of corporate internal communication, it’s vital to choose a solution that is measurable and adaptable. This ensures that not only the message but also the method aligns with the needs and preferences of your workforce. Ultimately, the goal is to create an environment where communication thrives, employees are empowered, and the organization flourishes.

Measuring what matters: Metrics for effective internal communication

In the following, I will assume that you are using a multi-platform application for measurable internal corporate communication. Here are a few metrics that enable actionable insights:

1. Platform user count

An internal communication app comes with some investment, particularly in maintaining communication applications across platforms. The more platforms and tools you have, the more expensive it becomes. Maintaining multiple communication platforms approach can strain resources, both in terms of cost and management. Evaluating the number of users on each platform is your first step to optimize your impact and comms resource allocation.

2. Message open rate

Unveil the efficacy of your messages by measuring open rates. High open rates indicate resonating content and effective timing. Conversely, low open rates call for further exploration. Was the timing right? Did the message lack visual appeal? Should video content be preferred over text?

This experimentation allows you to refine your approach, ensuring that crucial company news reaches a broad audience.

3. Employee reactions

Gaining real-time insights into employee sentiment through immediate measurement is a powerful tool. This capability hinges on encouraging employees to provide feedback. For instance, consider gauging the demand for public transportation assistance. A straightforward yes/no multiple-choice option can shed light on the need for a benefits package catering to commuting employees. By proactively addressing these requirements, you’ll enhance employee trust and commitment. In the realm of measurable internal corporate communications, prioritizing employee reactions is an imperative practice.

4. Employee knowledge assessment

After sharing important information or training materials with your employees, it’s crucial to ensure their comprehension among employees. A simple and straightforward way to confirm their understanding is to use the internal communication app to conduct tests. The knowledge assessment almost immediately provides a clear snapshot of employee understanding, identifies areas for improvement, and differentiates well between passive recipients of your messages and those who genuinely absorb the content.

5. Evaluating employee satisfaction

A streamlined way to gauge the company’s atmosphere is through a quick 1-5 question survey. This helps unveil the prevailing mood and assess the overall work environment. Is a harmonious, friendly culture prevalent? Do employees relish their roles or harbor dissatisfaction? Are most employees just waiting for the right time to quit?

The sooner you understand the level of employee satisfaction, the sooner you can engage in proactive problem-solving.

6. Measuring turnover

Research by the Harvard Business Review highlights a direct link between engagement and turnover. The more engaged an employee is, the lower the chances of departure. This engagement, significantly influenced by internal communication, can be measured.

Identify those less involved in company communications—those who don’t interact with messages. Address their engagement to strengthen their connection with the organization by involving them.

Track turnover rates before and after involving employees in the internal communication to quantify the impact.

7. Employee recommendations

Most people only recommend good things to their friends and relatives. If your employees are hesitant to recommend the company to others, it’s a red flag. Such reluctance may indicate underlying job dissatisfaction. This not only requires additional recruitment efforts but also underscores employee retention challenges. Retaining talent demands focus, making employee feedback and engagement vital components for long-term success.

CHEQ: Elevating measurable internal corporate communication

Interestingly, a surprising 19% of internal communications practicioners do not engage in any form of measurement. This could be due to HR constraints in terms of tools or time. This gap is even more concerning given the range of available solutions designed for rapid and comprehensive measurement and analysis. These tools eliminate hours long laborious data collection and analysis, providing insights with just a few clicks. Enter CHEQ, the chatbot-based corporate internal communication app. Its real-time measurement capabilities offer a transformative advantage. Visualizing data through user-friendly dashboards with informative graphs allows you to instantly get data on the utilization rate of the CHEQ communication channel. Looking for the optimal timing to boost open rates? It’s easily discoverable in an instant. With CHEQ, measuring and enhancing your company’s internal communication becomes effortless. The potential benefits are twofold: not only optimizing communication impact but potentially yielding ROI within a remarkably short period—sometimes as little as 3-6 months. Let CHEQ be your partner in fostering impactful, measurable internal communication.