MEASUREMENT MOUNTAIN

How would you ago about measurement when it comes to the most important group of all—our employees? Well, of course we all know Ms. Paine will return to her trusty seven steps.

Step 1. Understand the Environment and Where They Really Get Information

Asking this question ultimately inspires us to ask more questions, like how are messages getting through to employees, and what are they? In the measurement industry, this is what is referred to as internal message analysis. Other questions include What channels or vehicles do employees trust?, What's important to them? and What do they think about the organization today?

Step 2. Agree on Clear,  Measurable Goals

One of the things to remember is that what is measured is dependent on the goals of the communications efforts. It's not just all about quantity but quality too. Every specific measurable goal will require different measurement tools. 

Step 3. Select a Benchmark to Compare To

Because measurement is completely a comparative tool, someone else to compare to is an obligation to continue in the process. Perhaps a good place to start, being that internal measurement is still very much a young field, is Watson Wyatt Worldwide. They conduct a number of studies on corporate communications. At the end of the day, your benchmark needs to seem credible to those reviewing your work.

Step 4. Define the Criteria of Success

This is where success is really defined in measurable ways. This criteria is numerical and oftentimes percentages or amounts in dollars. Sometimes, they're just numbers of something.

Step 5. Select Your Measurement Tools and Collect Data

The major tools needed to collect data and statistics to ultimately evaluate and compare are surveys, media content, message analysis and wed analytics. 

Step 6. Analyze and Take Action

Once all of that pesky data is collected, it needs to be put into forms where it is digestible. This can be done by counting, evaluating, and organizing said date. The goal is to gain insight and draw conclusions based on that insight and ultimately improve the effectiveness. 

Step 7. Make Changes to Improve Employee Relationships

I feel like this is pretty self explanatory.