Communication is a crucial part of any organization. Communication happens in both directions. The two of them are external communication and internal communication; the former between customers, clients, the media, stakeholders, and shareholders and the latter between staff members. When something wrong happens within internal communications, staff becomes happy leading them to get out of the company. For external communication errors, however, the overall sales and image of the company will be damaged. While this may be so simple to understand, you have to know of its value within an organization. A communications plan is thus necessary for the overall management of a company. This is where the communications audit comes into the picture.
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This short article will give you everything you need to know about communications audit. When you say communications audit, you are referring to the analysis done on an organization about their communication practices and how effective they are. This process is carried out either for the whole company or parts of the organization. It helps to determine problem areas of communication. Common issues include misrepresentation, information duplication, information lacks, information blocks, and frequent misunderstandings. Though your company can undergo regular communications audits to check its efficiency, the process is best done during times of change. These changes include new market entry, the launch of a new service or product, or a merger or acquisition.
When it comes to the nature of the communications audit, certain factors must be taken into account like the needs, type, and problems of the organization. Even so, target audiences are identified in the process. It is important to bear in mind that the needs of an internal audience are different from those of an external one. The audit helps to determine key messages that must be communicated as well as channels that are present for conveying. How communication is carried out and received is something that would be looked into on the part of the organization being assessed.
Communication is a complicated process that comes with pitfalls at each stage. Is the message provided in a clear manner? Is the medium of transmitting messages the right one? Has the recipient been properly provided the message? Was it understood by them upon receipt? Do you get a channel for feedback as the recipient? Does the recipient understand how they can provide proper feedback? The funny thing about communication is that you think you are giving a certain message when in return what the recipients understand is not the message you are trying to let them understand.
A communications audit is done in a systematic manner that would let the organization assess what they are really doing compared to what they believe they are doing. The various stages of communication are taken into consideration. With the audit, the people who send and receive messages are being assessed as well as the means that are used to carry out proper communication.
