CHAPTER 6

Communication Audits

Objectives

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

1. describe the purpose and process of a communication audit;
2. determine appropriate communication audit goals and activities;
3. explain how to conduct reliable and valid communication audits;
4. write an effective communication audit report;
5. explain the strategic implications of communication audit results for goal achievement;
6. identify potential pitfalls of communication audits.

Introduction

Organizations routinely evaluate the effectiveness of programs and employees; however, they rarely evaluate the communication that takes place within the firm. Such audits are seldom done, even though communication networks are the mechanism through which employees receive information on how to do their jobs. Without good communication practices, firms will face challenges in getting their products to the market, making a profit, or retaining their employees. Communication affects the organizational structure and management success of a firm.

A communication audit is “a comprehensive and thorough study of communication philosophy, concepts, structure, flow, and practice within an organization” (Emmanuel 1985, p. 50). A communication audit typically includes an assessment of the quality of the communication within an organization, as well as its goals and activities. The audit can be thought of as a type of test. Different types of communication audits are recognized by the International Communication Association (ICA). Managers conduct communication audits to discover how information flows, how information gets blocked, and how people perceive and react to the information that they receive. The questions asked during a communication audit are critical, as they determine the information that we receive. When conducting an audit, caution should be exercised to make sure that the information sought does not mask the communication problems that exist.

In this chapter, we will discuss the necessary steps in conducting proper communication audits, which include (1) defining the communication audit; (2) conducting a reliable and valid communication audit; (3) selecting the appropriate communication audit goals and activities; (4) writing a report of the communication audit results; (5) analyzing the strategic implication of audit results on the achievement of the goal; and (6) anticipating the pitfalls of communication audits.

Selecting Audit Methods

The communication audit is a way of gathering data to analyze the communication that takes place within the firm. It provides the management with insight as to what is actually happening, rather than what they think is happening, during communications. The value of communication audits to organizations have been verified in numerous studies. A communication audit should include five processes (Gordon 2001):

• Develop a picture of the communication in the organization including major topics, sources, and channels of communication.
• Look at specific communication tools and describe their value and relevance.
• Determine how the employees are receiving messages: downward, upward, horizontally, and externally—and whether those experiences are positive or negative.
• Provide information to develop a strategic plan for improving the quality of communication.
• Provide a process to continually measure communication effectiveness in the organization.

Obviously, the audit process should reflect the needs of the particular firm. Instruments should be worded to fit the terminology used in the organization, and questions should be included that reflect the position of particular internal groups, including that of international and virtual members.

A company must gather useful information that will help improve internal communications. Once the parameters of the audit have been determined, it is possible to select the correct audit activities and determine who should conduct the communication audit. Should internal or external people do the audit? Though internal entities know the organization best, employees may share information more truthfully with outsiders. Data gathering options must be considered for collecting the most accurate information—questionnaire, interviews, communication logs, and such. Employees will need the assurance that all information collected will be confidential, and sometimes this is easier done with external auditors. Careful interpretations and presentation of the findings by the researchers is essential so that managers can weigh the results properly. Management should be engaged in the process and willing to make changes that are indicated in the audit. If management is not willing to act on the data, then there is no reason to collect it.

Reliable and Valid Measures

Communication audits must measure accurately the multidimensional aspects of the constructs under study. A construct is an attribute of a person that often cannot be measured directly, but which can be assessed using a number of indicators or variables. Constructs will have one or more dimensions or component parts. For example, if you are conducting a communication audit and wish to measure the managerial listening skills practiced within an organization, measuring whether managers engage in good or bad listening behaviors would be a hidden, or latent, variable with two dimensions. A manager’s ability to listen well would naturally be the hidden variable of the listening construct. You cannot directly observe whether the listening taking place in the head of the manager is good or bad; therefore, the best way to understand good and bad managerial listening practices is for you to develop a reliable and valid questionnaire.

A reliable measure is one that is trustworthy and consistent, and does not show inconsistent degrees or magnitudes with each application—an inch is always an inch regardless of what is being measured. A measure that is valid measures what it is purported (designed) to measure. It would not be valid to measure social drinking, for example, with a questionnaire that you designed specifically to measure recreational drug use. Therefore, communication audits must measure multidimensional constructs accurately. Figure 6.1 illustrates the essential goals and the information-gathering activities used in a successful communication audit to assess the quality of communication.

Communication Audit Approaches

The approach used in the communication audit should be selected based upon the outcomes the audit will provide, the process the audit will take, and the perspectives of the multiple stakeholders. Managers may want to improve an aspect of communication or develop an intervention to sort out a problem. They may want to examine and analyze the communication processes that are occurring, or they may want to identify the views of employees concerning the communication (Hogard and Ellis 2006). After determining the communication facets that should be studied, the management will need to select the instruments to be used, choose an appropriate research method, collect, and analyze the data. A number of approaches exist for conducting communication audits, which include the use of focus groups, communication logs, direct observation, interviews, surveys, content analysis, skills testing, and blended approaches that use a combination of these methods.

Focus groups consist of members of the organization who are brought together to discuss the organization’s communication issues. The data collector may be the group facilitator or another individual designated for that purpose. The researchers compile and compare the information to draw conclusions. In cases where there are large quantities of information involved or many personnel, communication logs may be necessary to capture and catalog the communication activities. All participating individuals are to be instructed to keep a log, or diary, in which they record meetings, telephone conversations, texts, e-mails, face-to-face meetings, and any documents that are read. At the conclusion of the designated logging period, the researchers will examine and code the diaries and analyze the frequency of various types of communication.

Direct observation involves following a subject around and recording information about the person’s communications. Then a researcher codes and statistically analyzes the participant’s communication activities. Observation is generally more reliable than communication logs because someone else is watching and recording rather than the individual self-reporting. It is easy for someone keeping a diary to forget to write things down, and some may even feel that the activity is a waste of time and not take the task seriously.

During interviews, a researcher meets with individuals and discusses communication issues using a set of prepared questions. It is important to use the same set of questions for all interviewees so that a comparison of responses is possible. A particular type of interview is the critical incident interview, in which employees are asked about a given real or hypothetical communication incident.

Surveys conducted through questionnaires are easy for researchers to analyze and can be the easiest and least expensive method of gathering data from a large group of people. Another positive of this method is the anonymity that it offers the survey respondent. The wording of questions is very important, and allowing participants to provide written comments can provide additional information for consideration in the audit.

Content analysis involves the careful examination of documents produced by the employees of a firm. Content analysis can be performed on a wide array of communications including e-mail messages, letters, memos, recorded meetings, employee newsletters, policies, job advertisements, posted in-house signs, contracts and forms, invoices, and orientation and training materials. Content analysis can be coupled with interviews or surveys to yield even more information.

Skill testing involves designing a means for evaluating the communication skill levels of workers. Once the skill level of employees is determined, goals can be established for increasing worker effectiveness.

The blended approach is a combination of two or more of the aforementioned audit approaches. Most communication audits involve multiple methods to gain as much information as possible. Who should perform the analysis is also a question that the management must consider. Will people respond better to outsiders or insiders? Figure 6.2 summarizes seven essential elements in a thorough communication audit (Dodd 2008).

Communication Audit Instruments

The ICA’s questionnaire audit has been widely used for the study of organizational communication. The comprehensive instrument has 13 sections and includes five measurement tools: surveys, interviews, network analyses, communication experiences, and communication diaries. The completion of the instrument is dependent on the recollection and reporting of critical communication incidents by the responder. The nine topic areas of the ICA questionnaire are shown in Figure 6.3.

The Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) is another survey to measure the relationship between communication and productivity. Figure 6.3 also illustrates the eight dimensions of the CSQ that have been found to be reliable and valid (Crino and White 1981; Hecht 1978). The questionnaire links communication satisfaction and productivity across eight dimensions. Clampitt and Downs (1993) tested the CSQ in two organizations and found that communication was perceived to have an above-average impact on productivity and that communication satisfaction factors differentially impacted productivity. Personal feedback had a significant impact on productivity in both companies. (Recall the discussion of feedback in Chapter 2 of Managerial Communication for Organizational Development.) While it was interesting that communication with coworkers, meetings, memos, and corporate-wide information had relatively low impacts on productivity, the supervisors’ information was critical. Employees in higher level positions, as compared to nonsupervisory employees, said that receiving information about the corporation significantly impacted their productivity. One recent study found that when the gender variable was controlled, it had no influence on the feedback employees were willing to give. However, “Training influenced an individual’s proclivity to give feedback to others, even when gender was held constant” (Roebuck, Bell, and Hanscom 2016, p. 6). Managers implementing communication audits should be aware that feedback training influences the willingness of employees to provide feedback.

Optimizing the Communication Audit

The climate within an organization impacts information flow within the firm. A communication audit will help determine if the culture of the organization is supportive or defensive about news and ideas. If managers are indifferent, manipulative, or superior in their attitudes toward subordinates, the subordinates will stop trying to communicate. If managers promise items and do not carry through on their promises, their credibility will quickly erode. Employees generally want openness and transparency in information and are much more likely to share information if they feel supported. If employees are included in decisions and not just told what to do, they feel much more a part of the organization. Figure 6.4 illustrates Daly’s (1992) seven tests of communication skills needed for optimal audits.

Each of the seven tests involves answering key questions about communication within the organization:

• Knowledge of communication principles is predicated on answering key questions.
• Predisposition to communicate refers to whether the networks function properly. Is everyone communicating information to those who need it? Do the employees know how to analyze the audience and determine who needs to know? Do the employees know which channel would be most successful for a given communication?
• Communicating in small groups. How important are teams to organization? How capable are employees of participating as fully on teams as necessary?
• Conversational performance. Can the employees adapt to different audiences, deal with difficult individuals, and use persuasion when necessary?
• Listening skills. Can employees comprehend and synthesize information? Do the employees have the critical thinking skills necessary to determine what is important and what is not? Do employees understand that their listening practices can be influenced by international culture? (Roebuck et al. 2015)
• Interviewing skills. Has the company taken the time to train employees on how to interview correctly and legally?
• Public speaking capabilities. How good are the employees’ speaking abilities? Can the employees organize and deliver a message, answer questions, use visual aids effectively, and discuss the information in understandable terms both internally and externally?

Managers and employees must have the correct mindset and skills in order to improve the quality of communication internally and externally. Transformational factors include charismatic leadership, individual consideration, intellectual stimulation, increase perceived unit effectiveness, and subordinate satisfaction.

Communication Audit Report Writing

As with any test, the validity and reliability of a communication audit instrument is important. For the results to be useful, you must report the results to the people who can use the information to make changes. It is helpful to give users recommendations and a suggested implementation schedule, along with the findings. Obviously, positive information is easier to convey than negative information, which may be met with defensiveness. No one in the organization wants to be told that they are the problem. A communication audit is only valuable if the individuals within the firm are willing to accept criticism, and the organization culture affirms embracing the criticism and making the changes necessary to improve.

In sharing the results of a communication audit, it is important to have meetings with employees at the various levels within the organization. Results must be reported in a way that everyone understands what the communication audit has revealed about the organization and its relationships.

Group discussions should then be reaffirmed in other ways, such as through newsletters or individual meetings with personnel. Employee buy-in is imperative if changes are to be made. Recommendations may be structural in nature, such as changing reporting structures, or centralizing or decentralizing communication functions. Recommendations may include adjusting the priorities of the firm to give more resources and attention to particular areas of the operation. Suggestions for changing reporting requirements also may come out of the audit. Many times such actions are recommended to end turf wars that cause barriers within the firm. Recommendations may also suggest new processes or solutions to the problems. It is important to actually implement the recommended, and not just recognize the problems.

Strategic Implications of Audit Results

The results of communication audits allow managers to develop communication strategies discussed in earlier chapters. Communication strategies directly relate to the communication climate of a firm, the management orientation of firm, and whether it is bureaucratic or team oriented. Management orientation refers to whether the leader is a macromanager or a micromanager. The more micromanagement oriented a leader is, the less say others have in the communication that happens in the firm. The more macro-oriented the leader is, the more others are free to communicate in the firm. Changing strategies and goals is not easy as people tend to resist change. If you are successful in changing the climate, it will be because you have effectively anticipated employees’ reactions to the changes, and you have communicated honestly and openly with them.

Some executives’ personalities make it easier for them to successfully implement strategy changes because they naturally inspire the employees to follow them. However, all executives can educate their employees through training, helping employees to develop their own goals and linking them to corporate goals, distinguishing fact from rumor, and developing a positive climate. If a climate of common purpose is developed, and all employees understand their part in that purpose, then they feel a rapport and relationship with other employees and management. Addressing the effectiveness of the total spectrum of communication—upwards, downwards, horizontally, internally, and externally—is imperative to changing the communication climate of an organization. Change, however, is not always achieved without a price, as shown in Window into Practical Reality 6.1.

What makes a communication change strategy successful? First, the people who have to implement the changes must give legitimacy to the goals and process. Workers must have a way of being able to articulate what is working and not working, concerning the new communication strategies, in an environment of mutual trust. Employees must see how it affects them personally. Many times this means working through the confusion and ambiguity of a new communication structure.

Figure 6.5 illustrates a strategic model developed by Robertson (2005) to measure managerial communication climate. The model includes five major elements: information openness, open and supportive communication climate, interactive supportiveness, five managerial information sharing practice, and eleven managerial interaction skills.

Information openness refers to the mechanical process that happens as information moves from sender to receiver and back. Topic adequacy addresses the ability of information to flow when needed. Information flow is the free exchange of ideas, issues, and opinions. The five information sharing practices include communicating job information, personal information, operational information, strategic information, and upward information. Interaction supportiveness refers to how people communicate and whether their interactions are affirming or disaffirming. The 11 managerial interaction skills include active listening, empathic listening, checking accuracy, clarifying meaning, disclosing emotions, encouraging input, providing feedback, soliciting feedback, giving instructions, managing conflict, and providing constructive feedback. The Robertson model illustrates how managerial communication competence can create open and supportive communication, understanding, meaning, and good relationships.

Implementation of change strategies is important, and managers often discover that repetition can help people retain the message. Another strategy is to identify and utilize opinion leaders, as they are influential in getting others to follow. Managers must be careful in identifying actual problems and describing them accurately. Mislabeling issues can lead to attempting to solve the wrong problems (Minter 2010). A little emotional intelligence and common sense can go a long way in implementing new communication strategies!

Pitfalls of Communication Audits

While audits can be used to improve communication and thus increase morale and productivity, they do not always produce positive results. If the management uses the results of an audit to punish employees, the overall health of the organization will suffer. If there are hidden agendas, employees will know soon enough, and many may leave the organization, or worse, sabotage projects. Avoid common pitfalls by clearly notifying everybody of the objectives, goals, and scope of the audit before it is conducted and assuring them that the overall intent is to improve the communication within the firm.

Summary

Over time, most firms will have problems with communication because of changes in personnel, poor training, growth, structural changes, or other internal factors. A communication audit is an assessment of the quality of communication within the organization. The audit assists in determining what and where the problems exist. While there are many communication audit tools available, a firm first needs to know its own needs in order to select or customize the communication audit that will work best for them. It is generally best to use outside consultants to gather, analyze, and suggest corrections to the communications of the organization, as employees may feel freer to share their perceptions, and anonymity is better protected. Finding where the bottlenecks are in the communication networks and reducing them can be very beneficial to an organization. The communication climate and the willingness of individuals to work toward improving their communication skills are essential to progress. Without a mindset of improvement by employees at all levels, the organization will have difficulty in implementing communication change.

When conducting a communication audit, the facets of communication to be tested must be determined, an appropriate instrument selected and modified if necessary, appropriate research methods used, the information collection carefully completed, and an analysis of the data accurately performed. Formulating and implementing a strategy is possible once these steps are completed. Developing a strategic plan for improvement that fits the situation and that is supported by employees at all levels is essential to the process of change. Everyone who is impacted by the audit should be informed of the objectives, goals, and scope of the audit before it is conducted, and assured that the overall intent is to improve the communication within the firm.