Feel the fear and measure it anyway
How to use measurement to your advantage in internal communications
“Life is difficult… Once we truly see this truth, we transcend it... Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.” M Scott Peck, The Road Less Travelled.
Yes, a pretty deep quote to kick off an article about internal comms and measurement, however, it sprung to mind as soon as I started discussing this issue. Measurement and demonstrating return on investment (ROI) has long been seen as a big challenge for internal communications and engagement professionals. I’m wondering if this perception is actually part of the problem.
No matter what area of business you’re in, whether it’s sales, finance, marketing or internal comms, demonstrating value is always important. It’s not exclusively a comms challenge. Just because there may be more obvious metrics to track in some areas, it doesn’t mean that it’s any easier to actually do. It might just mean that it’s easier to hide.
So how can internal communicators lose the fear and overcome the challenge of how best to demonstrate value, and turn it into an opportunity? (Without having to gain a degree in data analysis).
I’ve spoken to some experts in measurement, analytics and employee experience to get some practical advice on how internal communicators can use measurement to their advantage. Thanks so much to Simon Daly, Employee Experience Strategy Director at Qualtrics, Pete Johns, Customer Success and Growth Director at SWOOP Analytics and Emma Bridger, Managing Director at People Lab.
Know your strengths
Lack of confidence, knowledge and experience can all contribute to that dreaded feeling of not knowing quite how to justify your existence. So it’s important to know what your strengths are, and not to be afraid of asking for help.
As Emma Bridger explains - ‘the role of internal comms requires such a broad range of skills, and people often come to the role from different backgrounds, you’re never going to be able to do it all. The key is in having the emotional intelligence to know your strengths and to know when you need help. It’s not essential that every internal communications professional is an expert in understanding data and research analysis, but it is possible for everyone to know the basics.’
This brings us onto our next, and arguably the most important point…
What are you trying to (im)prove?
With ever advancing technology, we’re able to access increasing amounts of data. Coupled with the fact that we’re living in a time where capturing feedback is now considered the norm in every area of life (thank you Google reviews, Amazon ratings and TrustPilot scores!), we can very quickly become overwhelmed with information and data. Whilst this can be great, Simon Daly highlights the importance of not falling into the trap of ‘analysis paralysis.’ Where you end up with so much information that you don’t know what to do with it. To avoid it, it’s vital to know what’s important to you and your business. If you know what’s important, you can then focus on the metrics that matter. Emma also confirms, ‘if you’re really clear on your objectives at the beginning, then the metrics become obvious.’
On a similar note, when thinking about what’s important and what you want to show, Pete Johns from SWOOP Analytics has a brilliant take: ‘Stop thinking about using data to prove something, and think about using insight to improve something’. This mindset shift can really help to elevate your analysing into a different league. It’s a tricky one, as it means you need to let go of your ego and stop trying to show how great everything is. It’s about highlighting what’s important, what you can learn and what will help to shape the future of your communications.
As Simon points out, ‘it should be perfectly acceptable that not all communications are winners’.
Start small and keep it simple
This mindset shift to a more holistic approach to measurement - seeking to understand broader insight and not just the big numbers - can feel difficult. This is especially the case if you’re working with leaders who have specific expectations. At times like these focus on one project, or one campaign that you’re working on and use it as a test case. Get close to the business owner and be open about what you’re aiming to achieve. It doesn’t have to cost anything, Pete Johns asserts, ‘you don’t need money to adopt a new mindset, but you do need to actively seek it out… and trying something different could lead to a great story of innovation in your business.’
Another key point is to reach out across the business, and find out what other areas are doing to understand feedback, measure success and make improvements. Good places to start could be someone from the marketing or social media team, customer experience. Internal comms can’t function in isolation, and the same goes when you’re looking at measurement.
Find the story
One thing that internal comms professionals tend to be great at is storytelling. What’s the human interest behind the information that you need to share? This is such an obvious part of the role of internal comms, but can often be forgotten about when it comes to sharing their own learnings, successes and innovations. Simon Daly shares a useful reminder, ‘it’s important to remember to put yourself in the eyes of the viewer - think about what they’re going to care about and how it will make sense to them.’
Pete Johns also talks to this point, ‘tell the story of what you’re trying to do… give people the opportunity to engage with your team, show what’s happening behind the scenes… be open and honest to build trust.’
Go deep and join the dots
Connecting different types of metrics and data, qualitative and quantitative will give you a better chance of understanding the impact your messages are having. Depending on what you’re working on, there’s a number of ways you can do this and here’s a couple of examples.
One way of cutting it, shared by Simon Daly, is how they often approach it at Qualtrics:
Organisational information - looking at how your hierarchy is structured and who your audiences are - this can provide useful background context and help to frame your findings.
Experience - how do people feel about a message or specific activity? This could include whether or not they feel positive or negative, as well as things like testing levels of confidence and belief.
Behavioural - what do people do as a result of the message / activity? What’s the end result? Is it driving behaviour change? Has the activity achieved what it set out to?
Another way of breaking it down is explained by Emma Bridger:
Process measures - this looks at measuring the journey itself. For example, this could be how a Town Hall meeting was received, what the attendance was like, what the event rating was.
Impact measures - this looks at the more immediate feelings that something has resulted in. For example, with the launch of a new set of values - do people understand them, could they explain them? Do they believe in them?
Outcome measures - these aim to understand whether or not the purpose of an activity has been achieved. For example, with launching new values - the core purpose could be to attract new talent. So how have the values played into a new recruits’ experience of joining?
The message here is clear: when evaluating a piece of work, looking at different data sources, at different times, and asking the right questions will make your analysis a lot more interesting and insightful.
Remember, you’re not alone - demonstrating value is a challenge that all business areas face. Reach out to other teams to learn from them, share insight and find out what works for your business.
Equally, talking to external partners can bring a fresh perspective and provide some much needed clarity, knowledge and guidance when it comes to measurement and analytics.
