IK flying blind

IK flying blind

Author: Thomas Mickeleit
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Communications lags behind in data usage overall. The situation is only worse for IC, as a recent survey by Meltwater and the IMWF confirmed. Without data no KPIs, without KPIs no measurability, without measurability no value creation, without value creation no raison d’être, this is the simple algorithm that in the end determines more than the esteem in which IK is held.

Getting ahead of the curve in communications, becoming more strategic and making a measurable value contribution to the organization is a strong need for communications leaders. But when it comes to using data for the operational management of communications work, there is often a lack of understanding of what it means. Only 25% of respondents to a recent study by IMWF and Meltwater find information about open rates and link clicks of internal newsletters “very important”, only 3% think so of information about the number of emails sent within the company. In this context, extensive use of existing (non-personal) data would decisively help to promote the desire for more strategic action. Without data no KPIs, without KPIs no measurability, without measurability no value creation, without value creation no raison d’être, this is the simple algorithm that in the end determines more than the esteem in which IK is held. Internal communications should stop flying blind and can no longer afford to operate with low-frequency employee satisfaction surveys and count likes and comments on the intranet. A systematic collection of data sources in a data map is the starting point. This is where it pays to talk to IT, HR and other corporate functions. For example, administrator dashboards provide a wealth of data, such as information on the use of social collaboration platforms. In a next step, key performance indicators can be developed on this basis and summarized in a “collaboration index”, for example. Of course, this is not the end of the story – this is why we also speak of a “data marathon”, which is only mastered when actions are derived from it at the end. Only 5% reportedly do. There are supposed to be newsrooms where epic press clippings are debated and internal audiences don’t matter. A daily updated dashboard on the mood of the employees increases the relevance of internal channels not only within the communication, but is also an important sensor for the management.

In our CommTech webinar “The stepchild of PR: measuring the success of internal communications”, Christoph Ringwald from Rolls & Royce Power-Systems, Prof. Dr. Lothar Rolke from Mainz University of Applied Sciences and I took a closer look at the topic. The recording of the webinar can be viewed here watch