Ragan Research: How internal communicators measure their effectiveness

Amid the turbulence of the past few years, the outline of a new breed of communicator is taking shape.

Insights from the 2024 Ragan Communications Benchmark Report, an exclusive research project for Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council, paint a picture of communicators at the center of some of the most important conversations shaping the culture of their organizations.

But how are they tracking this work?

While three-quarters of respondents (77%) said they measure the effectiveness of internal and/or external communications, far fewer (29%) measure business or behavioral outcomes. This gap suggests that many communicators are collecting the right outputs, but not tethering those insights to larger organizational outcomes.

A closer look at these findings suggests where the disconnect exists.

Cross-channel measurement preferences

Most internal communicators rely on surveys to measure the effectiveness of their comms (68%), closely followed by readership traffic across comms channels (64%) and open rates or click-throughs on internal e-newsletters (61%).