The easiest and least expensive way to see the difference communication makes in employees’ engagement levels is to use the outcome questions from an engagement survey as a demographic criterion for all the questions on a communication survey, just as you would for variations by business unit or job level.
Surveys
Cultural differences and research
Before conducting research beyond your own country’s borders, it’s important to consider a number of cultural differences that have significant implications for the success of the research.
Evaluating and managing surveys
While surveys aren’t the only research tool available to HR managers, they are the most useful one when “hard” numbers are needed on how many people see things a certain way and when it’s important to track differences among subgroups or improvement over time.
The Top Ten Measurement Mistakes
Measurement is becoming a common performance expectation for communication managers, but many have little formal training in this management process. To help you get the most out of research and measurement, Angela Sinickas lists the ten most common mistakes.
Get the credit you deserve from surveys
The wonders of technology have opened up easy-to-use on-line survey creation and Data Analysis. Yet if you take the numbers the surveys provide at face value, you may be under-representing your audience’s true responses.
Measuring the brand internally
Advertising and marketing lay a strong foundation for perception of a brand, at least until people have contact with a company. Once people buy products or interact with company employees, their long-term impressions will be shaped by their experiences. Employees need to internalize the company brand or its image will suffer.
The Role of Intranets and Other e-Channels in Employee Communication Preferences (July 2002)
Analysis of survey results from 15 large organizations in the last five years shows employees’ preferred use of electronic channels may vary from commonly believed assumptions. As additional electronic choices become available, preference for electronic channels overall increases; the new electronic options do not replace other existing electronic channels in employees’ preferences. In fact, growing preference for electronic channels reduces the preference for face-to-face communication, not print, as many people believe.
Read The Role of Intranets and Other e-Channels in Employee Communication Preferences (July 2002) »
Contradicting common sense
Research with your audience can help you develop your own communication plan with surgical precision, making sure you’re hitting the right messages for your group and using your audience’s preferred channels as effectively as possible, which might be quite different from “common wisdom” approaches.