You press send on an internal comms message, and with an automated whooshing sound, it flies into the void. After that, you’re not quite sure how many people are reading the message, or what their reaction is.
It’s an all-too-common experience for internal communicators, especially without the right tools. To be able to gain important insights into your successes and make immediate adjustments if necessary, you need the know-how and the technology.
Read on to learn how you can gain the messaging visibility you need with dedicated internal comms software.
Related reading: How to master internal communications—know your metrics
The power of measuring your internal comms activity
If the above scenario resonated with you, you’re not alone. According to a study from Hollinger Scott, 41% of businesses have no way of tracking how much content is viewed on their internal communications channels.
When we look at internal comms, it’s normally an under-resourced field… in some cases we’re dealing with very old technology, and when it was developed, measuring our internal comms successes wasn’t that important. Going deeper into understanding the numbers behind our words is a more recent trend in the field, but a valuable one.
Times have changed, and you shouldn’t have to ask yourself, “Did everyone see this? Did this land?” You should be able to collect metrics—by which we mean the granular information you’ll get about a single message and whether it did what you wanted it to. (Exploring the bigger story of your data is another beast to tackle.)
In case you’re still not totally convinced that you need to be focused on measuring your internal comms, let’s pose that question: why measure? Well, it will help you track your progress (or your setbacks), prove your value, support insightful business decisions, improve your overall efficacy, and build trust with employees.
Sounds pretty great, right?
Related reading: Inputs, outputs & outcomes: unlocking value through internal communications metrics
The metrics that matter when it comes to internal comms
Now that you know metrics matter, let’s delve into which ones you should be focussing on. Start by conducting a quick audit of the realistic metrics you currently have access to through your various platforms.
Then, narrow down that list to solely the metrics that support your objective. For example, advertisers don’t really care how many people watched their ad video on YouTube; they want to know how many sales they derived from those views, as making money is central to their objective.
Bringing that back to internal comms, here’s what you should know from employees when you’re looking at your key metrics:
- “Did you get my message?” (opens/clicks)
- “Did you do the required action, if there was one?” (conversion)
- “What do you think of this message?” (feedback mechanisms)
Not sure if you even have these capabilities, or looking to expand how you measure your internal comms efforts? Read on to learn more about our solution.
Related reading: Five signs it might be time to invest in internal comms software
How our internal comms software solution can help
Our intranet software features our simple, smart, multi-channel internal communications platform. It allows for the efficient and intelligent delivery and tracking of employee communications, all backed by our 7-principle methodology, pictured below. Of course, metrics deals with the principle that helps you “get the data.”
Our intranet software has a variety of features that can help you approach the issues we outlined in this blog. On the handy message dashboard, you can view all the messages you have drafted, scheduled, and sent, as well as individualized metrics for each one.
The data and reporting dashboard can even provide an even more in-depth look into your stats as a whole, not just on an individual messaging level, and contains key insights on timing, channels, and more.
There are lots of other useful tools throughout our software that will help you organize your efforts, engage employees, and measure tangible results. Interested in learning more about our software? You can start a free trial or book a demo today!
