Learning Log 3 - Part 1

Communications Audits 

This week we researched the importance of communication audits. Just like a capability audit, a communication audit is important for an organization. The purpose of this audit is to ensure everything is aligned to your communication strategy. As a business is getting bigger, external and internal audiences increase. In order to satisfy both external and internal audience, a communication audit needs to be performed to assess your communications practices. This determines which of your communications tools are working well and points out the areas in which your organization can still strengthen its communications performance (Dianova, 2015). HR professionals can conduct communication audits through interviews, surveys, critical incident review, network analysis, observation, document review, and focus groups (Ulrich, 2012). A communication audit should help answer questions like what’s working well, what employees think, whether messages are clear and what has been effective. It will also help spot opportunities for future improvements and know what to stop doing.

In order to conduct a communication audit, there are steps that HR needs to perform. The first step is to identify and set the scope and framework. This means to find out the issues the audit should investigate and understand what you are trying to achieve. For example, if retention is an issue ask a question like “what is the percentage of staying here next year” and “what is the reason for leaving” This is a good way to know why turn over has been so high. The second step is the discovery process. This step is focused on research. What tool of communication will be used, is it interviews, focus groups, surveys, etc.? The third step is the distillation process. The distillation process involves assessing the collected data. At this point, it’s important to identify patterns in your research and draw out key insights (Cornell, 2015). The last step in the audit is interpretation. Identify the communication gaps and opportunities. Review areas like message quality and delivery, the quality of relationships with audiences, and audience communication overall. Once you’ve analyzed your findings, focus on strengths, consider opportunities, minimize weaknesses and eliminate threats (Dianova, 2015). A communications audit should be completed every couple of years in order for your communications plan to be up to date and satisfy your external and internal audiences’ communications needs.

References:

Cornell, C. (2015, October 6). The 4 key steps of a communication audit. Retrieved January 25, 2017, from https://www.iabc.com/the-4-key-steps-of-a-communication-audit/

This an article that describes the four steps an organization should take to perform a successful communications audit. It talks about how a communication audit can add value and it can help spot areas for improvement.

Dianova, Y. (2015, August 17). Your communications audit in 5 easy steps. Retrieved January 25, 2017, from http://www.axiapr.com/blog/your-communications-audit-in-5-easy-steps

This is a guide that helps point out how a communication audit can identify which strategies are working well and points out the areas in which the organization can still strengthen its communications performance. 

Ulrich, D., W., Younger, J., Brockbank, & Ulrich,M . (2012). HR from the outside in: Six competencies for the future of human resources.

This textbook discusses the six paradoxes of HR. It explains how HR should be run to deliver the best business outcome.