Companies are investing less and less in corporate communication. The reason is that communication seems to be ineffective and does not generate income. This puts pressure on communication managers to demonstrate the impact of their measures. But how?

These days everyone is talking about measuring the impact of communication. Often promising methods and tools fail to deliver the expected insights being either over simplistic or too unwieldy. Our approach is different, we don't devise clever parameters that bypass the true needs and structures of the individual client's business.

Our approach is founded on understanding that communication has to be managed. One has to clearly define the strategy, goals and resources as well as the cultural and organisational context of the communications department. (see chart)

Picture 1: Measuring impact in the context of communication management.

It is only possible to meaningfully measure the impact of communication once a management view has been established. So together with the client, we begin by defining the layers that are necessary: strategy, goals, processes and cultural/organisational context). Then we define suitable criteria for measuring success based on defined data inputs. This way, measurement takes place in the context of strategic communication and using parameters that are specific to the company.

The RaCE Check provides firms with an assessment of the impact of their communication management, but it also allows us to check whether communications processes are functioning, whether resources are being invested efficiently and whether the stated goals are being met.

The RaCE check is recommended for all firms that want to increase the effectiveness of their communication and avoid a focus on individual measures in communications management.