How can we effectively measure the return on investment (ROI) for Internal Communications?

If you have ever been part of an Internal Communications (IC) team or been on the agency’s side creating campaigns for Internal Communications, you may wonder what really is return on investment (ROI) for IC or know that few have paid much attention to measuring its impact. Yes, I have been there too.

Not many of my clients come to me with the question on how we can measure ROI but I was recently happily surprised at the ask from a new client we just got on board. And so today, I want to talk about just a few ways in which we could approach ROI on IC, how it can be done and the tools one can use.

Let’s also understand however, that proving return on investment for Internal Communications is not something that has been done extensively, as it is rarely an expectation and the tools used to measure, require an investment. Therefore there will always be room for improvement and room to really add more to your measurement matrix.

Before we get into the nitty gritty’s, we can safely say that we know that IC has a direct impact on productivity and employee behavior which can directly correlate to customer satisfaction. So while we may be able to capture quantifiable data on the subject, capturing the qualitative which is your change in employee behavior and productivity levels could be a little bit more challenging:

First let’s look at broadly what should the 3 major metrics be:

• Reach: How many employees is your IC reaching. Tools can capture Page Visits and Logins; How many and how often they access company intranet on mobile

• Engagement: How are they engaging with your content and platform: Tools can capture likes, shares, comments on a post & how many views videos received. How complete is each employee’s profile also accounts for effectiveness of IC strategy?

• Behavior: How is their behavior changing within the organization. What are they doing differently? Are they taking the right actions on internal policies; or participation in programmes with leadership; are they giving customers a much better experience. Focus group discussions and surveys can tell us more.

While some data (quantitative and qualitative) data can be captured on existing intranets and internal systems to understand how engaged your employees are, newer tools may need investment, to give you accuracy and help you set a benchmark to work with. There are multiple tools that track email activity and many that are included in web and mobile intranet applications. These tools can capture a range of data e.g.:

1. How active members are and when are they logging in
2. How many read or send a message through at least one channel
3. How many files were uploaded and downloaded
4. The percent of messages made in public channels

One of our clients, a top insurance company wanted to increase engagement and employee activity on their IC platform – Yammer and subsequently increase employee numbers on LinkedIn. Measuring the quantitative ROI was pretty straightforward, we had to observe engagement figures and the no of followers on both platforms, but if we had to do a deep-dive into the qualitative data capture, having a series of FGDs would have helped, but of course at the time, the measurement metrics were different. The question remains, as an outside agency, how internal can we get, how can we understand the pulse of employees and are organisations open to let an outsider in?

When It Comes To CSR Communication,
Not One Size Fits All

Today, when organisations are investing 2% and more of revenues on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), they are making a sizeable contribution. We know that a company’s CSR approach and the way it tells its story can have a direct impact on customer and employee loyalty and brand image. But are organisations truly able to showcase their impact in the right light? Choosing the right medium is key here and telling the whole story and doing justice to the work, is what can make or break your CSR communication strategy.

We have seen the usage of film and reports to tell the story of participants, beneficiaries and programme impact. However, there is much scope to go beyond this. Imagine a story that cuts across channels and audiences; using the best of film, social media, reporting, knowledge platforms and articles to truly tell a 360-degree story of how companies are changing communities, mindsets and behaviors through their CSR. In this way, you are not only telling your story differently but you make sure that it is seen at multiple touch points by all your target groups that include your customers, prospective employees, business partners and young people who are being influenced by your brand. Also remember, this audience is reading email, they are on social media, they are reading application-based newsletters. They are watching more video content than ever before.

Organisations have begun to invest in CSR communication strategies that are a well-rounded approach, largely pivoted around storytelling, rather than mere data showcase.

There is more than one way for companies to show their positive impact on the world around them. How differently have you told your CSR story? Let me know in the comments below, or better yet – reach out and hopefully we can help you tell your story better. Click here to see just one of the things we did recently for Larsen & Toubro.

Working Happily From Home (WHFH): Internal Communications – The New Way

With all my years working in Corporate Communications space, I have never seen a more crying need to overhaul this space. And rightfully so.

As we creep slowly into newer working models, and in some cases as employees trudge back into the workspace, we have to pull back and realise that hybrid / WFH models are here to stay. We will have to renavigate to adopt mediums that will engage employees remotely and improve productivity while doing so. And let’s remember that these mediums will have to stay flexible and customizable to suit everchanging needs of the work environment, ensuring they will always be accessible and more importantly – they will work!

Our clients come to us with similar predicaments: looking for change and innovation that will help a disengaged and, in some cases, – demotivated workforce, back on track.

We’ve put a few of the options we have at hand, those that are working considerably well, in line with the new way of working:

Mobile application or intranets on the go as we believe it to be. As we see an increasingly deskless workforce, giving them access to information, data, connect with teams and leadership on the go, is the way to go. On the go being most key here, employees are now looking for more real time easy to access company information and engagement initiatives. Mobile apps however are not just a mere database management platform. They offer you ease to carry out engagement pulse surveys, rewards and recognition campaigns, instant messaging, training and much more. They can also serve as your one stop shop for all HR needs. How engaged or information heavy you need it to be, can be customized.

Gamification – More than an information sharing medium which of course it is not, we have to look at this as purely engagement. Can we put aside work, and focus on just connecting with our employees? Many companies are just about opening up to this new platform. The online gaming world is fast becoming a break from work. Use it to create a rewards & recognition programme, connecting it back to achieving targets at work and increasing productivity levels.

Intranets – Yes, this is not new but how can we use this platform innovatively? We are referring to using it to enable AI linked employee pulse surveys, onboarding journeys for new recruits, embed enhanced video software to help employees create their own video content to make for a more inclusive and engaging content on the platform contributing to the voice of the company.

As we approach new internal communications strategies, we should accept that not one size fits all. Customizable solutions and more than one channel will be the way ahead for organizations looking to enhance employee engagement.

Being an introverted entrepreneur has helped me build a better business

Being an introverted entrepreneur has helped me build a better business
Whenever we’ve read an interview or watched a television show, more often than not, we’ll find that entrepreneurs being interviewed, are out there, they know how to own their space and be remembered. But I’d like to tell you today, that it’s not so bad being on the other side, which is being an entrepreneur who may be introverted. So I’d like to share a little bit about what has worked for me in building my business.

• Brand Building: Brand building is a very big part of a business like ours that has many players, but advertising myself & building my brand doesn’t come too easily. Having a team who can think from this perspective pushes one to get out of the comfort zone and start to think about doing what’s necessary to building one’s brand.

• Meaningful Connections – Networking and connections are a big thing in this business. But while our personalities may not allow us to put ourselves out there and connect with everyone, we build meaningful connections with the people that we do connect with. I have found that when I meet a client and am comfortable to work with them, those relationships turn out to be strong and lasting connections. I enjoy going out of my way to make things work with the client, considering our clients reciprocate this too. I have long lasting relations of over a decade, with most of the clients who started out with us. Therefore the possibilities of building a good reputation and clients recommending Basil Leaf Creative to other prospective clients, are much higher and has been one of the ways we have been able to build our clientele. It was not just business though, it has also been our employees and partners that we have been building lasting partnerships with. As introverts, we may flourish with a smaller network of people but we tend to nurture those relationships, steadily and slowly with time, building trust. And trust always goes a long way.

• Being a team player – If anyone knows me, they will know that I am not a very chatty person, but this has helped me create a comfortable space for my team to approach me, not one that may be overbearing and overwhelming. This does have its downside though, I have had my fair share of challenges, where this personality trait didn’t always work well in my favor, but being in the business all these years has helped me maneuver situations. We are not just approachable with our team but also our clients and this approachability means that clients understand they can reach out to me whenever they need. This has also made a big impact in creating lasting partnerships.

• Focus – We prefer to conserve our energies and not put our hand into too many things. This could mean we network less, we try fewer things, we may experiment less, but this energy translates into focus. I personally like to get involved and go deep into a particular space at a particular time which means I can also keep evolving in the space I choose to be in at the time. It’s difficult to focus on too many things at once but it does have its pros and cons. The biggest pro being that we end up understanding and knowing the subject really well, leading to a confidence that we know our space and have been dedicating to it for longer periods of time. Our energies need to be balanced. When we cancel out a few things, we are able to bring focus to the priorities we set. This should not be mistaken with blocking out opportunities but rather to prioritize well and focus energies on the task at hand. We apply this even to the projects we choose, we do not take on more than we can handle. We dedicate focused efforts to each of our projects and only work on those we know we can give our best to.

• Self-reflection- Being a little quiet and inward-looking, one tends to reflect on your actions much more. For those like us, who may spend much of our day indoors, in a nook, by ourselves, we have a greater chance of self-reflection, to look back at what we are doing well and not so well in business, with our team and clients.
The experience may not be the same for all, but I do hope that my experience may help those who are on the fence or facing fears, know that all can be achieved.