Cerkl Broadcast
Cerkl Broadcast

Best Communication KPI for Measuring Internal Communications?

An internal communication KPI is very important when measuring internal communications. Let us share the most important communication metrics!
Written by: Cerkl
Best KPIs for IC
Published: July 1, 2019

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An internal communication KPI means you enter a land of jargon and acronyms, which can be confusing. The good news is, these abbreviations are most likely ideas you already understand and things you likely have in place; they’re just putting a number to those ideas. We are presenting the key communication metrics for measuring internal communications.   

A Key Performance Indicator – or KPI – is how you assess employee performance. KPIs do not have to be specific to one employee; you can have department-wide or company-wide KPIs. It’s your way of highlighting what’s important to your company’s core vision. Mostly, it’s a number that answers: How do you measure success?

There are seven internal communication KPIs that assist with increasing employee engagement. These indicators can help you discover where your organization needs to focus more of your attention and what you are already doing well. Instead of worrying too much about the acronyms, let’s focus on how you can use these KPIs to encourage engagement and get measurable outcomes:

Absenteeism

If you’re having difficulty getting your staff to show up for work, then your engagement levels are suffering. Having a lot of absences leads to a negative work environment, as one missing team member can affect everybody’s work experience. The most common way to measure absenteeism is known as the Bradford Factor -a formula for companies to give weight to unplanned absences.

Formula: S2 x D = B

S= separate absences by an individual

D=total number of days absence of that individual

B=Bradford Factor

Using the Bradford Factor, your organization gains assessment scores for individual employee absence records. You could then use those records to implement a complete procedure for employees and create an effective staff absence management strategy, ensuring that your employees missing work won’t affect engagement or productivity.

communication kpi

Employee Turnover Rate (ETR)

Unhappy staff will inevitably leave, so it’s essential to see at what point they’re checking out. If you have a slew of people leaving in the first 90 days, then it might indicate that the onboarding process hasn’t worked to engage them in the workplace. Conversely, if you find that you’re suddenly losing a slew of your A team players, this can indicate that there’s an issue with engagement.

When employees leave, you have to replace them with new hires. This can cost as high as 60% of an employee’s annual salary. On top of wages, consider the costs and time used to onboard and train new employees.

You can use the ETR formula to determine how many of your employees are leaving within a specified period.

Formula: ETR = employees who left x 100

Average # of employees

Then, compare this number to the average worldwide employee turnover rate, which is 10.9%, and compare your ETR to average turnover rates for specific industries. Industries that rely on students and part-time workers, such as retail and hospitality, will likely have a higher than average ETR.   

Best Communication KPI for Measuring Internal Communications?

If you find that your ETR is too high, there are a few things you can do to lower it. Promoting flexibility in your workplace, encourage employees to WFH, create a communication space that allows for regular feedback and revamps your onboarding process.

Employee Net Promoter Score (NPS)

The eNPS is a communication KPI, developed to find out how employees feel about their company. It works by asking direct questions that your employees can rate on a scale of 1-10. Covers topics such as “Would you recommend this job to a friend?”. Similar to Net Promoter Score, the answers are made up of three categories:

measuring internal communications

eNPS is a quick and easy way to get an overview of employee engagement and employee loyalty. Many organizations are starting to use this method as a way to increase the possibility of organizational growth. The higher your eNPS, you’ll find that your ETR decreases, which in turn saves money on hiring and training.

Adoption Rates for New Tools and Benefits

When it comes to taking on new systems in the workplace, it’s beneficial to measure your employee’s adoption of a new process to identify whether it’s providing value to your organization. To estimate adoption rates divide the number of unique users by the total number of users.

Let employees know the benefits of any new tech that your organization may be adopting. Make sure you include ways that the new tech will solve their pains. Encourage feedback from your employees on what systems work and which ones do not. It shows them that you care about their opinion and what communication methods and measures they prefer.

communication KPI

If you decide to adopt a new system, offer a training session for team members so everyone will know how to use the new system, and your team can flesh out any problems. Try to keep your employees engaged in your training session. Get them excited about their new tech tool by hosting it during lunch or creating a “new technology scavenger hunt.” Making the process fun and enjoyable for your employees will increase employee satisfaction and get them excited about adopting a new tech tool!

Email Communications

When it comes to employee communication, it’s essential to measure whether or not your employees are engaging in the emails that you send to them. Your email communication KPI can either include Open Rate and CTR-or Click Through Rate. These KPIs are used for measuring internal communication metrics and the effectiveness of your internal communications efforts.

The open rate is the percent of employees that have opened your email. Your click-through rate is the percentage of your employees who have interacted with and clicked on any links in your email. If you want high engagement, you need a high CTR and Open Rate. If you find that your Open Rate and CTR are lower than where you would like to be, compare your national industry rates.

measuring internal communications

In order to increase engagement, pay attention to how frequently you are delivering your emails. Your employees are more likely to open company-wide emails when you don’t spam their inbox. Try scheduling your emails around the peak open times or allow your subscribers to select their delivery time and frequency.

Surveys

If you want to know how your employees feel about where they work, get it from the horse’s mouth. Though a real measure of engagement doesn’t just come from their written answers; it also comes from their response rate.

Response Rate = # of employees asked to take survey

# of employees who completed the survey

A low response rate highlights a disconnect between your employees and your communications team. It doesn’t always mean your employees are purposely ignoring the survey. Maybe they are just slammed with work, or they forget to fill it out. Finding ways to incentivize your employees to participate in surveys creates value and will generate buzz. Once an employee fills out the survey, you could enter them in a raffle for a gift card. This tactic could increase your response rate, getting you the best results out of your survey.

Best Communication KPI for Measuring Internal Communications?

It’s essential to take into consideration that your employees may have survey anxiety. Brainstorm ways you can guarantee your employee’s anonymity, as well as highlighting that if you’re asking – you want to know and will act accordingly.

Goal Setting

Use the new numbers you received from your communication KPI to create goals for your employees. Make sure the goals you set for your employees are reachable and will help solve your employee engagement problem. The goals you set will ultimately increase your employee engagement rate and loyalty to your organization.

communication metrics achievement

Find ways to make sure employees are reaching the goals you set for them. Use incentives, like allowing employees to work flexible hours, having team lunches, and having extracurricular activities, like an after-work volleyball league. Finding ways to make your employees love coming to work will help you reach your goals. Improve the overall operations of your organization.

Key Takeaways

A Gallup poll found that companies with high employee engagement tend to outperform the competition by 147%. Using a communication KPI to measure your organization’s employee engagement rate can help you create a plan that will enrich your company culture, increase your employees’ performance, and strengthen employee loyalty. Utilize these tools to make sure your employees stay engaged and even recommend your organization to others. What do you think it’s the best communication KPI for your company?

What’s Next?

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