How can you use external consultants to conduct a communication audit?

La objetivos de la comunicación de una compañía deben mantener un equilibrio entre el crecimiento reputacional de la misma y la consecución de los objetivos de negocio corporativos. Una auditoria externa es esencial para obtener una evaluación independiente y objetiva de los resultados de comunicación actuales, identificar áreas de mejora y recibir recomendaciones prácticas para mejorar su rendimiento.

Using external consultants for a communication audit offers fresh insights and expertise. Define the audit's scope and provide access to all communication materials. Consultants should engage with stakeholders for a broad perspective and use their impartiality for honest feedback. Their experience allows benchmarking against industry standards. Expect a report with actionable insights, showcasing strengths, pinpointing weaknesses, and suggesting improvements to boost your communication strategy and align it more closely with your business objectives.

There are a number of reasons to using external consultants: - Fresh objectivity, where they offer unbiased, third-party perspective which is not influenced by any corporate politics - Specialisation, some consulting firms have teams dedicated to organisational communication and specialised experience in audit best practices across multiple industries - Efficiency, hiring an experienced team means getting high-quality results faster - Staff engagement, employees and possibly leadership maybe more open to neutral outsiders, as opposed to in-house personnel

Using external consultants for a communication audit introduces unbiased expertise and fresh insights. Clearly define the audit goals, such as evaluating messaging consistency or digital impact. Grant access to necessary materials and encourage stakeholder engagement for comprehensive analysis. Consultants will provide objective assessments and actionable recommendations, helping refine your communication strategy effectively.

I'd utilize external consultants to conduct a communication audit by analyzing current communication channels, methods, and strategies. They assess effectiveness, identify gaps, and recommend improvements. Additionally, I'd arrange icebreaker sessions to facilitate communication and collaboration among team members during the audit process.

The audit findings should trigger a tipping point for elevating strategic communication as an organisational priority and capability. Alongside what has been stated, the company should: - Reshape Messages - With feedback around current state perceptions, reframe leadership messaging and realign company values communication to motivate, unify and engage. - Refocus Budgets & Resources - Funding and staffing for communication should shift toward high ROI areas per the audit like IT systems, analytics, specialists in key gaps, or departmental support. - Connect with Strategy - Integration with broader corporate strategy is vital—coordinate across functions on aligned behaviours and narratives.

Some clients think that they simply need to hire external consultants and the whole challenge of undertaking the audit just goes away. But to be successful, this needs to be a partnership. You need to help them understand your business and priorities and that will help them deliver better results for you. This partnership is the basis of an ongoing relationship - once you've built this mutual understanding - you'll be able to iterate faster to see what's working and what is not.

There also also benefits to conducting in-house audits as you would understand the company culture and processes better. As professions we just have to tell ourselves to be unbiased and scientific in our approach.

If the company has international offices, the external consultant needs to ensure that the solutions, following the audit, are not a "one size fits all" approach. The cultural nuances should be considered when developing solutions.