fe3 consulting develops “quick and dirty” communications audit tool
28 February 2003
In times when budgets are being scrutinised and value for money is paramount for purchasers of external consultancy services, brand consultancy fe3 consulting has launched a “quick and dirty” internal communications audit.
The audit, which costs £3,000, looks at which communication methods are used for what purposes in companies, and more importantly, which are the most useful. This price includes tailoring of the questionnaire to suit company requirements, data entry and analysis of up to 250 response sheets, a written report and recommendations.
“According to MORI, staff who feel well informed are twice as likely to feel involved in their organisation, to understand objectives and to feel they can maximise their skills and abilities,” said Karen Drury, partner at fe3 consulting. “It’s therefore crucial that organisations understand what works and what doesn’t when communicating to employees – and this is what this audit does.”
The audit can be used to help make a wide variety of decisions in these cash-strapped times – which company magazine would not be noticed if it disappeared, where you need to prove return on investment for in-house communication or when you want to test the effectiveness of new communication methods.
“We also ask a very small number of questions about manager skills so the HR team can work out if communication skills training could do with a boost,” added Drury. “But generally, it’s a communication audit that does what it says on the tin and is highly focused – it asks if the business objectives are properly understood and which communications vehicles are helpful to staff and for what reasons.”
The internal communication within companies is also a key reflection of the brand, and mismatches in tone, style and information can be confusing to employees who are supposed to “live the brand”.
“More than one message is never helpful,” said Drury. “The audit looks at where employees go to for information and once management has that it can look at the less well used vehicles to figure out WHY these are not used.”
Ends
Notes to editors
fe3 consulting is a brand consultancy which helps companies become more convincing, by ensuring they can keep their brand promises. All advice for companies fe3 consulting works for is based on research – even their website (www.corporatemagnetism.com) has a self diagnosis for visitors.
Formed in January 2002, the company has drawn together practitioners from management consultancy and brand consultancy to enable companies to make their employees their best brand ambassadors.
For further information:
Karen Drury, 020 8292 8196/ 07967 194511