As we approach the end of Q2, let’s look at reporting through the lens of communications.
It’s near the end of Q2 and we’re half-way through the year. Reports, progress charts, status decks and board meetings are imminent.
Every department feels pressure around quarterly reporting, but if you’re looking at it through a communications lens you’ll see some pretty specific things:
- What story is being told by the numbers and what will that story mean for employees?
- What unspoken things are being communicated by leadership via the process?
- Communications measurements are all over the place and that’s frustrating.
The Story Matters
The story of the numbers matter, probably more than the actual numbers. Every metric is imperfect and what they mean can change depending on how a team groups metrics, how much we zoom in or zoom out on a specific metric, and the narrative around a measure. Hell, even how a deck looks or what metrics are mentioned in an all-hands meeting can impact how teams perceive the health of the business and the importance of different functions.
The worst thing a leadership team can do is neglect to form a story around quarterly performance. Not just for a board or a CEO, but for their teams. Stories will form regardless and giving up that opportunity to shape and guide teams through a reporting process is risky.
Distill and decide what’s important for the business and shape your story around that. [Tip: It can’t be 80+ metrics being green across the board or something too ambiguous like “growth.”] Every employee should be able to see themselves in the story and how their character impacts the plot in a positive way.
Unspoken Communications
Comms pros are often looking for what’s being communicated in unspoken ways and the effect those things have on productivity, morale, reputation, and stakeholder experience. When it comes to quarterly reporting, here are some things we’d notice or look for because they have potential negative impacts on teams or – down the road – customers.
- Is there consistency across teams when it comes to reporting resources and expectations?
- Does the reporting process feel chaotic, like a fire drill?
- Is the information gathered in reports actually being used or do people scramble to create reports that are never to be seen or discussed again?
- Are team leaders leaking fear and stress during quarterly report time?
- Is there balance in addressing missed targets and celebrating exceeded targets?
Even if something isn’t overtly communicated via a company email, meeting, stand-up, etc., it can still have a profound impact on performance. (We all know that words only account for a small fraction of communication.) The comms lens accounts for this and strives to bring intention to what is communicated to better drive outcomes vs being a victim of an outcome.
Communications Metrics
There is no universal standard for what “communications” encompasses and how to measure it. How the function is understood varies greatly and there is often a lot of overlap with other departments (Ex: measuring internal comms efficacy blends into HR metrics, customer comms efforts mixes with customer success teams, etc.)
I could do a whole class on communications measurement and philosophy around it, but for the purposes of now, keep a few things in mind:
- There is no direct line or single-touch attribution between pipeline/ revenue and the communications function.
- Every sub-function of comms (PR, Social Media, branding, customer comms, internal comms, crisis, etc.) will have its own library of possible metrics, some of which are output-based and some are outcome-based. Measuring the outcome of great communications takes a lot longer than a single quarter so think about it in terms of KPIs not hard targets.
- The best communications programs create a halo effect of efficiency, productivity, reputation/awareness, and more. It’s the tide that lifts all ships and in that sense, nailing down specific metrics will always be a little fuzzy.
Does your team have someone looking at quarterly reporting through a comms lens?
The article originally appeared in our monthly newsletter, A Comms Lens. Sign up here to get monthly(ish) insights and industry news straight to you inbox.
