BBC’s internal communications put to test via e-mail

Monthly
e-mail surveys are sent to 1,000 BBC staff to monitor the effectiveness of the
director general’s organisational changes and the corporation’s internal
communications strategy.

At the
Measuring the Value of Internal Communications conference in Dublin, the BBC’s
head of internal communications Russell Grossman said that the quantitative
surveys consist of six questions on employees’ understanding of the corporate
message.

"These
surveys guarantee confidentiality and contain a comment box which gives colour
to our quantitative information," said Grossman.

The
response rate is around 20 per cent, and the results are presented to BBC
managers in team briefings and to the executive committee.

"Our
role in internal communications is to explain the pressure for change and the
employee surveys are a measure of the effectiveness of our role," Grossman
says.

Grossman
plans to report on the effect of the wider business measures on employees this
month. Measures which may be disclosed include the amount of money spent in
programme making and the cost savings achieved by the organisation.

www.bbc.co.uk

By Karen
Higginbottom