Measuring Internal Communication Success: Insights from McKinsey

Internal communication is a crucial aspect of any organization, as it helps keep employees informed, engaged, and aligned with company goals. However, measuring the success of internal communication efforts can be challenging. While traditional metrics such as click-through rates, open rates, and click-to-open rates provide valuable insights, they don't always paint a complete picture.

To discuss this, Axios HQ recently hosted an event with McKinsey & Company's Head of Lifecycle Engagement, Joel Willcher. Here are the main takeaways: According to Willcher, the first step is to identify the desired behavior and determine how to observe it. By focusing on the problem you're trying to solve and incorporating metrics that speak to both individual contributor views and company-wide sentiments, you can gain a more comprehensive understanding of your internal communication's impact.

Some unique topics to track include:

• Employee satisfaction: Annual surveys can help identify organization-wide opportunities and ensure you're addressing the topics employees want to hear about most.

• Employee emotion: Weekly sentiment surveys with open text boxes can provide valuable insights into which communication techniques resonate with employees.

• Employee energy: Quick one-click polls can help gauge employee engagement and sense of pride in their work, allowing you to adjust priorities or reallocate tasks when necessary.

• Community building: Assessing employee attendance at social events, team bonding activities, and colleague communication can provide a general sense of the strength of your organization's community and culture.
  

By focusing on the desired behavior and creating feedback loops, you'll be able to see, track, and change trends in a more powerful way. This approach will not only help you quantitatively explain the value internal communications add to your organization but also enable you to draw a direct line between your efforts and broader engagement and retention goals.