Member Article

Do you know what your staff really think?

When it comes to tackling poor internal communications it is interesting how many companies make the decision to develop a plan of action without firstly investigating the extent of the problem, writes Daniel O’Mahoney, managing director of Bradley O’Mahoney Public Relations.

There is often just the feeling that ‘we are getting it wrong’ based on a perception that morale is low or that staff feel generally disengaged.

Just as a mechanic cannot fix a car without knowing what has caused the problem, you will not be able to provide a sustainable and successful solution without a bit of investigation.

Successful companies have a baseline for communications and they use this to check how well their strategies are working and whether or not they need to refine them as they continue to move forward. This enables them to make informed decisions with regards to the next step to take in to continue/kick start communication within the business.

So, in developing a first class internal communications strategy the starting point is to measure the level of engagement that exists within the business so that you clearly understand what obstacles and challenges need to be tackled.

Traditionally, this was undertaken by surveys, face-to face or by group discussions, which all remain highly appropriate tactics. Today, thanks to online technology there are some very good, low cost, diagnostic tools that allow a company to gather the views and thoughts of staff on a wide range of subjects that are important to them. These can include a measure of the understanding as to where they feel the business is going to how they are valued as individuals.

Once this information is gathered, management will have a much clearer feel for those issues and concerns that need more concentrated levels of effort. At the same time, the data will also provide a clear guide as to whether those issues that a company may feel critically important to its success – good health and safety record, outstanding customer service – are actually being picked up by staff.

It is then important to survey staff on a regular basis to verify if the communications plan is effective and to judge if the programme needs to be tweaked or modified.

I have studied many businesses that are successful in attaining and maintaining healthy communications and have found that they are constantly measuring how communication is flowing.

Through this, they are able to pick out what works for their business and what needs more attention in order to help the business continue to grow.

Try to keep in mind that the reason for implementing communication measurement isn’t just to see where things need to be improved, it is also to highlight what is working and why. Staff like to be praised and to know when they are doing well and if their efforts are recognised and acknowledged they will want to keep achieving!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Bradley O’Mahoney Public Relations .