Internal Communication Metrics - How to Measure Internal Communication and Why You Need To Do It

Nataša Mlađenović
Nataša Mlađenović
Nov 01, 202210 minute read

Most companies are aware of the importance of various KPIs as well as other measures when it comes to assessing business performance. What often gets overlooked, however, is the need to measure internal communication.

This is a mistake, as effective internal communication is essential for any organization in order to ensure that employees are kept informed and motivated and that they understand the company’s goals and how their role fits into achieving these.

Measure Internal Communication

And how would you know if its effective if you do not meassure it?

In this article, we'll take a look at what internal communication is, why it's important to measure it, and some of the key internal communication metrics that you should be tracking.

The Importance of Internal Communication

Internal communication is any form of communication that takes place within an organization - between employees at all levels.

It includes everything from formal announcements and company-wide emails to more informal conversations in the break room.

And it's something that will happen whether you as a company actively encourage and invest in it or not. The question is, how effective will it be?

Poor internal communication can result in a lack of engagement and motivation among employees. If they don't understand the company's goals or how their role fits into achieving these, then it's difficult for them to feel invested in their work.

Besides causing job dissatisfaction, it can also have a negative impact on overall performance and productivity. Inefficient communication can lead to confusion and mistakes, which can in turn cost the company time and money.

So leaving things to chance is not an option when it comes to internal communication. You need to actively manage and invest in it if you want to ensure that your employees are kept informed, engaged, and motivated.

And part of doing this effectively is measuring your internal communication.

The Importance of Tracking Internal Communication Metrics

Modern work environments, such as remote work and global organizations, have made internal communications more important—and more challenging—than ever before.

In order to manage IC effectively in these complex environments, you need to have a clear understanding of what's working and what isn't.

This is where tracking internal communication metrics comes in.

Measuring internal communication allows you to:

  • Gain insights into how employees feel about the company and their work
  • Identify any problems or areas of confusion
  • Monitor the effectiveness of your internal communication strategy
  • Make changes and adjust your approach as necessary

In other words, measuring internal communication is essential for ensuring that your employees are kept informed, engaged, and motivated.

Yet 33% of businesses are not measuring their internal communications and 78% are not satisfied with their organization’s ability to measure internal communication.

This is a problem because, without tracking internal communication metrics, it's difficult to know what's working and what isn't. As a result, you could be wasting time and resources on ineffective strategies and missing out on opportunities to improve communication in the workplace.

Why Is This So Tricky?

So if both the importance of internal communication and the need to measure it are clear, why is it that so many businesses struggle to do so effectively?

Well, because you'll need a somewhat creative approach when it comes to internal communication metrics.

This is because internal communication is unique in that its primary goal is not to generate revenue or leads but rather to maintain employee engagement and motivation, which in itself is not easy to measure.

It's also important to remember that internal communication is not a one-way street. Unlike marketing or advertising, which are designed to be consumed by the audience, internal communication relies on two-way dialogue. This makes it more complex to measure.

However, just because measuring internal communication is tricky, this doesn't mean that it's impossible. There are a number of different internal communication metrics that you can track in order to get valuable insights into your strategy.

Key Internal Communication Metrics That You Should Be Tracking

In order to get a picture of how effective your internal communication is, you need to track a variety of different metrics. Some are quiet on the nose, whereas others are more out of the box.

The key here is to figure out what your strategy is trying to achieve and then identify the metrics that will give you insights into whether or not this is happening.

With that in mind, here are some of the most important internal communication metrics that you should be tracking:

1. Open and Click-Through Rates

Let's start with the basics, after all, what good is any communication if nobody reads it? While external communications like email marketing are typically measured by open and click-through rates, the same can be done for internal communications.

Open rates will give you an indication of how many employees are actually reading your internal communications. Click-through rates will tell you how engaged they are with the content.

If you notice a sudden drop in either of these metrics, it could be an indication that something is wrong. Maybe the content is no longer relevant to employees, or perhaps they're not receiving the communications in a format that works for them.

2. Employee Engagement Rates

This is your most important measure of internal communication effectiveness.

Employee engagement is a measure of how connected and committed employees are to their work and the company.

And since one of your top goals with internal communication is to keep employees engaged and motivated, it makes sense to track this metric closely.

There are a number of different ways to measure employee engagement, but one of the most common is through employee surveys. You can also track engagement indirectly by looking at measures such as absenteeism, staff turnover, and productivity levels.

Measure Employee Engagement

Some communication channels, such as social intranets, will make this even easier by providing you with direct feedback from employees in the form of likes, comments, and shares - all neatly packed into one dashboard.

3. Communication Frequency

If you're bombarding employees with too many messages, they're likely to tune out. On the other hand, if you're not communicating enough, then employees will quickly become disengaged.

Finding the right balance can be tricky, but it's important to get it right. After all, the frequency of your internal communications will have a direct impact on employee engagement levels.

One way to measure communication frequency is to track how often employees are interacting with your company's intranet or internal communications platform. If you notice a sharp drop-off, then it could be an indication that you need to rethink your strategy.

4. Adoption Rates for New Channels and Technologies

With the ever-changing landscape of communication, it's important to keep up with the latest trends and technologies. This means regularly introducing new channels and tools into your IC mix.

However, just because you introduce a new tool doesn't mean that employees will actually use it. Getting people on board with new technology was never easy, and some will downright refuse to adopt new tools.

In order to gauge whether employees are adopting new channels and technologies, you need to track adoption rates.

Adoption rates will tell you how many employees are using a new channel or tool and how often they're using it. This metric is especially important in the early stages of rollout when you're trying to get employees on board with a new way of communicating.

5. Added Value

This is where it gets tricky. Most organizations think about internal communications in terms of efficiency - how quickly can we get this message out to employees?

But if you want to truly measure the effectiveness of your internal communications, you need to start thinking about added value. What are employees getting from your communications that they couldn't get anywhere else?

This could be anything from timely updates on company news to access to exclusive content and resources. It's important to think about what added value your communications are offering employees and whether they're finding it valuable.

6. Time Spent Finding Information

The goal of internal communications is to make it easy for employees to find the information they need when they need it. So if you notice that employees are spending a lot of time searching for information, it could be an indication that your communications are not effective.

How do you measure this? You could start by surveying employees to find out how long they spend looking for information. You could also track the number of times employees contact the help desk or HR for information.

Or just ask your senior employees how much time they spend each day answering questions from junior employees. This will give you a good idea of how much time is being wasted searching for information.

7. Costs Vs. Benefit

This is the big one. How much money is your organization spending on internal communications? And how much is it getting back in return?

ROI is the ultimate measure of success for any business activity, and internal communications are no different. To calculate ROI, you need to consider both the costs and the benefits of your internal communications.

All Essential IC Metrics in One Dashboard

Communicate better and smarter with data-driven insights.

The benefits could be anything from increased employee engagement to improved productivity levels. The costs would include things like staff time, software price, and other resources. Once you have both of these figures, you can calculate your ROI.

It's important to keep in mind that ROI is not always a financial metric. In some cases, the benefits of internal communications may not be tangible or quantifiable. But even in these cases, it's still important to consider the costs and benefits of your internal communications in order to measure success.

8. New Hire Engagement

New hires are a great barometer for measuring the effectiveness of your internal communications because they're not yet familiar with your culture or the way things work in your organization.

If new hires are struggling to engage with your communications it could be an indication that your system might not be as effective as it could be.

If they are not engaging with your culture, it could indicate that your current channels and messages are not resonating.

This is an important metric to track because it can help you identify areas where your communications need to be improved.

There are a few different ways to measure new hire engagement:

  • Surveying new hires to see how they feel about the onboarding process
  • Tracking attrition rates and comparing them to previous years
  • Looking at performance reviews to see if new hires are meeting expectations

9. Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

The Employee Net Promoter Score is a metric that measures employee satisfaction and engagement. It's based on the same principles as the customer NPS.

To calculate eNPS, you ask employees two questions:

  1. Would you recommend our company to your friends and family as a great place to work?

  2. On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our company to your friends and family as a great place to work?

Employees who answer the first question with a 9 or 10 are considered "promoters." Employees who answer with a 7 or 8 are considered "passives." And employees who answer with a 6 or below are considered "detractors."

To calculate eNPS, you take the percentage of promoters and subtract the percentage of detractors. The resulting number is your eNPS.

This is a great metric to track because it gives you a good overview of employee satisfaction. If you see a decline in eNPS, it could be an indication that your internal communications are not meeting employee needs.

10. Trends & Timing

When it comes to internal communications, timing is everything. If you're not sending the right message at the right time, you're not going to get the results you want.

That's why it's important to track trends and timing when it comes to your internal communications. This way you can identify patterns and optimize your strategy accordingly.

Trends and Timing in Communications

There are a few different ways to track trends and timing. One way is to use internal communications software that allows you to track when employees are engaging with your messages.

Another way is to survey employees on a regular basis to get their feedback on the timing of your communications.

No matter how you do it, tracking trends and timing is a critical part of measuring the success of your internal communications.

Conclusion

These types of metrics are not the easiest to come by but they will give you a much better idea of whether or not your internal communications are having the desired effect.

If you can track these metrics and show improvement, you can be confident that your internal communications are on the right track.

But remember, there's no point in gathering all that data if you're not going to do anything with it.

Once you've collected your data, take some time to analyze it and see what it's telling you. Are there any trends? Are there any areas that need improvement?

And most importantly, use the data to make changes to your internal communications. If something isn't working, don't be afraid to change it.

Internal communication is an ever-evolving process, and your data should be used to help you continuously improve.

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