Angela has nailed the the issue of communication measurement in a practical way that makes a lot of sense. I just have to add my two cents worth. In my experience, communication professionals often forget that communication, itself is an enterprise-wide system, not a one-off that depends on the success of the latest initiatives - internal or external. By viewing communciation as an enterprise-wide function we are able to expand the scope of influence and impact informal communication within an organization - i.e. what leaders do and say and how that influences the desired business outcome. In this area we start playing with communication as a key driver of culture and a mainstay of change management.

This transition to systems-thinking opens up a whole a new field of possibilities for the future of our profession. Not only does communication become part of the mainstream, but we gain ground on “business” part of “Business” communication. It’s like lining up all your ducks in a row or (dare I say?) playing with a full deck. Develop a bold strategy that targets desired behaviours that lead to business outcomes and you have made a shift to aligning with business needs.

Here at FCC, communication is widely recognized as an essential business process. Out role in influencing employee engagement, the reputation index, media favourability, the customer and employee experience (all lagging indicators on our balanced scorecard) is widely recognized and sought after as an essential piece of the puzzle. We have leading indicators for all of our major strategies to let us know if we are headed in the right direction.

Here’s a lesson learned:
If you want to deliver meaningful results against desired business outcomes - read everything you can get your hands on about enterprise-wide thinking and the balanced scorecard. Then, apply it to your communication knowledge and moxie. It is the future of our profession and we need to be there.

A quick note for Mark. I agree that working with senior management is essential. To do that in any meaningful way they need to see communciation as part of the business. On the other hand - if trust and respect for communication doesn’t already exist in an organization, I wouldn’t go in there with both guns blazing looking for the “biggest, hairiest challenges.” Start with small, quick wins and defy the “shoemaker’s kids” analogy - put your own strategy around how you might build a good reputation for communication before you ask for a seat at the boardroom table. Borrowing a quote from Aesop, “Slow and steady wins the race.”

One of the best models I have seen to describe communication in a holistic sense is Watson Wyatt’s Heirarchy of effective communication. Unfortunately you have to subscribe to see it and apply it.

Thanks for setting out an understandable road map. Let me offer an alternative “#1″ as the first step, and that is rather than “Identify a measurable business outcome that communication can impact,” I would suggest that the communication team work with senior management to uncover the biggest, hairiest challenges the organization faces, and then determine with them whether communication can have a measurable impact on that business outcome. I’ve seen Communication help to solve some major issues, the solutions to which would have appeared to be found elsewhere.

Also, generally speaking, it is a good idea to gain confirmation from the people who are funding the research that the business outcome you’re seeking to change is important, that it is measurable and that it is reasonable to achieve.

Thanks again for the opportunity to expand up an already great comment.

Mark