Most communications plans end with a send date. Measurement, if it happens at all, comes later: a report of open rates and page views, reviewed after the change has gone live. By then it’s too late to fix anything.
Counting messages is easy. Knowing whether people understood them, and did something as a result, takes a little more thought. Here’s how we approach it.
1. Decide what “working” means before you start
Every change has a point where communication has to turn into action. People book training, move to the new system, follow the new process or stop using the old one. Pick those actions at the planning stage and agree a target for each.
On a recent Windows 11 migration, the measure that mattered was simple: the percentage of devices migrated before the deadline. Every email, poster, video and briefing was there to move that number, and it finished at 72% against a 60% target.
2. Measure awareness, understanding and action separately
They are three different things, and they fail for different reasons.
- Awareness: have people heard about the change? Short pulse questions, intranet views and attendance at briefings will tell you.
- Understanding: do they know what it means for them and what to do? Two quick questions in a team meeting will tell you more than any open rate.
- Action: are they doing it? Look at bookings, sign-ups, system use and completion data.
If awareness is high but action is low, your messages are reaching people but not convincing them, or the next step is too hard to take.
3. Listen to the helpdesk and the managers
The fastest feedback rarely comes from surveys. Helpdesk tickets, questions in team meetings and comments from line managers show you, as it happens, what people have misunderstood and what’s worrying them.
Ask for a short weekly summary of the questions being raised. Then turn the most common ones into FAQs, short guides or a new message.
4. Check the quiet groups
Averages hide gaps. A campaign can look healthy overall while a whole site, shift or department hasn’t engaged at all. Often it’s the people without a desk or a work inbox.
Break your measures down by location and role, and look for anyone who has gone quiet. They usually need a different channel, not a louder email.
5. Review in time to change course
Set review points during the campaign, not just at the end. A short check every two to four weeks, against the actions you agreed at the start, lets you adjust while it still makes a difference. You might rewrite a message that isn’t landing, help a manager who hasn’t briefed their team, or add a channel for a group you’re missing.
Five questions for your next review
- Which actions did we agree to track, and are they moving?
- Do people know what the change means for them, not just that it’s happening?
- What are the helpdesk and managers hearing most often?
- Is any group, site or shift falling behind?
- What will we change in the next two weeks as a result?
Bringing it together
Good measurement doesn’t need expensive tools. It needs clear goals at the start, a few simple signals along the way and the willingness to change course. Treat your communications as something you can test and improve, and they’re far more likely to deliver the change they’re there to support.
