Communication analytics: A measured approach to culture transformation

‘Culture is the new currency’ is a trendy phrase these days. The expression is used to understand the importance of culture in fetching, fascinating and absorbing talent. Almost all organisations are working towards changing their culture. But, how do they bring about this change?

Communication and technology can be interlinked very well to accomplish culture change. The ‘e-mail culture’ is a big hit in many organisations. Of course, there is no harm in using e-mail frequently, as there is so much we can do via e-mail. The need is to use it smartly and in a more measured way.

By using the communication data in a structured way, we can give businesses a more appropriate and treasured purpose. Communication is a skill. It is an art. Communication is extremely crucial to any business. Effective communication can lead to more engaged and happy employees. Use of jazzy pictures can never appeal to employees if the content is boring, long winded and poorly written. If a company is coming up with a flexible policy, then mere addition of entertaining pictures of elastic acrobats cannot make employees understand what the company wants and expects from them or what the company actually wishes to convey.

Communication analytics effectively uses the trapped data in communication systems and turns them into comprehensive, practical and engaging insights. Such realistic information can be used well in employee activities to increase RoI and meet business objectives.

Companies can utilise communication analytics for a better reporting system by putting in place an engaging cross-platform reporting, which reduces the confusion of managing communication systems. Evaluating organisational communication through the analytics tool can give deeper meaning to not only reporting but also effective communication.

Communication analytics can be used by managers to pull out reports on employee targets ‘given and achieved’ without extensive technical training and know-how.

It can help improve decision making by analysing data on team collaboration. There is a greater need for managers to spend time with their team members, and have one- on-one meetings. This will facilitate employee engagement, greater employee connect and positive work relationships with employees. The time spent in such meetings can be measured effectively.

Communication analytics helps evaluate the information on how employees are communicating with each other, while working on a project. It provides a dashboard to measure team work towards achieving set goals, which, in turn positively impacts business.

It can help analyse the number of hours employees spend as ‘working hours’ after office time. Even if weekends are strictly ‘non-working days’, there are times when employees have to take calls, attend meetings, travel for business reasons, or spend hours on e-mails. The data provided by communication analytics can be utilised in many ways, for instance, to help employees counter stress, achieve work–life balance, and so on.

Organisational culture can be altered by using technology as a bridge between the company, its people and communication. We need to move beyond the culture of ‘e-mail obsessed mindset’ to a more measured approach, where conversations and communications in all forms can be linked with company productivity through the use of information and technology.