Recipe 6: An effective IC strategy

New into your organisation or role? Feeling it’s time for a refresh, or concerned your strategy might not be right for the new normal? In the same way a restaurant wouldn’t launch a new menu without doing some research, the first step in evolving your strategy has to be gathering insight. And once the strategy’s in place, you still need to measure, measure, measure.

LEVEL:  More effort

Chef’s tips

Pick your time, you want to complement not conflict with other research such as a People Survey. You need to whet people’s appetite for doing things differently, not push them over the edge with that final wafer-thin mint!
Don’t ask for feedback on things you can’t change, you’ll only frustrate your audiences

Ingredients and method

Scope is the biggie here and points to a full comms audit. You’ll be looking at strategic messaging, leadership comms, line managers as communicators, channels and content. You may also want to include leadership expectations of your team, your visibility and perceived value, or engagement with external social channels.

A full comms audit involves a wide range of research techniques, but be imaginative in how you deploy them for the best results.

Published by Lisa and Maggie