You’re approaching the end of the calendar year and, before the festive fun kicks in, you may be assessing how the past 12 months have gone. With reflection mode activated, now is the perfect time to carry out an internal communication audit.

But what exactly do we mean by that? What does it involve, and why should it be on your to-do list? Let’s find out.

What is an internal communication audit?

An internal communication audit examines how you speak and listen to your audiences and how effective your efforts are.

Businesses that act on employee feedback have an 80% engagement rate, while happy and engaged employees take 53% fewer sick days. So, the value of nailing your communication and engagement is immense.

By reflecting on your progress, you can evaluate whether your existing strategy is up to scratch and identify areas for celebration and improvement.  

It’s great that you do internal communication and have a plan and a set of channels but is it strategic? And do you carry out your plan as intended and is it working?

So, we always recommend regular audits to sense-check your approach and make sure your communications are:

·       Driving the organisation forward through your strategic storytelling and messaging

·       Disseminated through channels that meet the needs of your audience

·       Supported by leaders who are ‘on message’ with their teams and know the role they play in engaging colleagues

·       Engaging your audience and using the right language and tone in an appropriate way

·       Effective at helping your organisation achieve its goals and strengthen its culture

Benefits of an internal communications audit

Firstly, let’s look at why the end of the year is a great time to conduct your comms audit.

·       Reflect on the year – the winding down of the calendar year, or your financial year, is always an excellent time for reflection, so doing your audit now will catch you in the right mindset to be open-minded about your performance

·       Set goals for next year – starting January with a spring in your step will set the tone for a successful year, so assessing your comms pre-Christmas will allow you to hit the ground running with fresh goals for the new year 

·       Plug skills gaps pre-Q2 – focusing on your internal communications at this time of year can identify any skills gaps in your organisation and allow you to allocate budget where it’s needed before the new financial year kicks in.

Now, let’s explore the broader advantages of running an internal communications audit, whatever time of year you choose to do it.

·       Find strengths and weaknesses in your existing strategy – celebrate what’s gone well and improve what hasn’t

·       Discover what your teams really think – learn how to tailor your strategy to meet the changing needs of your stakeholders and audiences

·       Deepen your understanding of your audiences – people come and go, and we all like to transmit and receive information differently. So, auditing your current approach will help you understand your employees better and mould your strategy around how they like to listen, understand and be receive information

·       Optimise and rearrange budgets – avoid wasting money on the wrong channels and direct your budget into effective methods of communication

·       Make better use of existing tools and channels – your audit will help you maximise the potential of the tools and channels you already have and reveal hidden opportunities

After all, your communication strategy is the key to achieving better employee engagement, which leads to increased wellbeing, morale, attendance, and productivity, so getting – and keeping – it right is vital.

When is the best time to do an internal comms audit?

No matter what time of year you’re reading this, the best time is always now.

However, you’ll naturally find yourself taking a step back and appraising how your internal communication strategy has served you over the year as we wind down for the break.

If you’re reading this early in the year and you missed the boat before Christmas, don’t feel you have to wait months to do yours - there’s never a wrong time to audit your internal communication strategy.

After all, reflecting, assessing, and switching up how you talk (and listen) to your teams is always a good idea.

Therefore, you may wish to carry out comms audits after a big campaign, before your organisation launches a new three or five-year strategy, or mid-financial year so you have time to plan for the next year and budget accordingly.

The important thing is to recognise the benefits of auditing your comms in your quest to create and maintain engaged teams that feel and perform at their best.

What your internal communications audit should look like

So, what does an internal comms audit look like in practice? Below, we’ve summarised the five-step process of auditing your communications.

1.    Scope it out

What’s your objective in conducting this audit? What’s the problem you’re trying to solve? How will you approach it?

2.    Get buy-in

Everyone needs to understand why you’re carrying out this process, from the shop floor to the board – otherwise, it won’t work. Make sure your stakeholders and colleagues see the value of being honest: everyone stands to gain.

3.    Plan your approach

Think about the various ways you will get feedback and who from (surveys, focus groups, 1-2-1s) and which methods will work best for the different groups. Think about how you’ll get an external view too.

4.    Carry out the audit

When the time comes to carry out the audit, consider all the different elements you’ll need to assess. Think about the various channels you use to communicate, the multiple audiences you have, what sort of messaging you use, different leadership styles within your team and organisation, and how you drive and promote engagement.  Also think about who is best to carry out the audit so it’s objective.

5.    Report, Plan and Share

Once you’ve gathered all the evidence, it’s time to sit down and review your findings and put together your recommendations for how you will do things differently next year.

How to get help with your internal comms audit

Seeing the benefits but struggling to schedule the time? Identified the issues but unsure how to proceed? Worried people won’t be honest enough giving direct feedback to the comms team?

Your internal comms audit needn’t cause you any stress when help is available.

If you fancy some further reading, discover our case study highlighting how an audit brought insight to a national organisation.

We can help carry out your audit and create a strategy to see your business excel through the new year and beyond. Contact us by calling Andrea on 07812 343310 or emailing hello@enthuse-comms.co.uk