How to Conduct an Internal Communication Audit

Given the complexities of the modern hybrid and digital work environment, clarity in internal communication isn’t a luxury, it’s a flat-out necessity. The way people work is changing, and as your workforce evolves, so must the way you communicate. And as it so happens, conducting an internal communication audit is the key to understanding what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change to better connect with your employees.

Nervous about your company’s audit? Don’t be. In this article, we’ll walk you through what an internal comms audit is, why it matters, and how to conduct one—step by step. We’ll keep it simple and tell you exactly what you need to know to execute a truly great internal communications audit.

So first things first. 

What Is an Internal Communication Audit?

An internal communication audit is a structured review of how information flows within your organization, as part of your larger internal communication structure. It looks at the tools, channels, content, frequency, tone, and most importantly, how your employees perceive it all. It is both an inventory of sorts, and an analysis, to determine what is working and what isn’t in your overall internal communication strategy.

It’s also more than a checkbox exercise for internal communications. Whether you’re scaling fast, shifting to managing a hybrid team, or sensing that your employees aren’t as engaged as they should be, a communication audit can highlight where the disconnects lie and provide a roadmap to improvement. At its core, it’s about making communication intentional, strategic, and impactful.

It’s about making sure your message gets through. 

Why Conduct an Internal Communication Audit?

A communication audit helps you align your messaging with your people’s needs and your company culture. When done right, it fosters transparency, strengthens culture, and boosts employee engagement.

It also ensures your tech stack and communication tools are fit for purpose, serving both deskless and desk-based teams. Audits are essential when you’re undergoing change management: launching new leadership, adopting new tools, or addressing silos that hinder collaboration.

Ultimately, it’s about making sure your internal communications efforts serve their true purpose: helping your people feel informed, aligned, and inspired to act. It benefits employees and the overall health of the company alike. 

How to Conduct an Internal Communication Audit

We’ve covered the “What?” and “Why?” of internal communication audits, now it’s time to explain the “How?” Here, we’ll lay out the simple steps you need to take to conduct your own impressive internal communications audit at your company. These steps aren’t complicated, but they are important.

1. Define Audit Goals and Scope for Internal Communications 

Start with clarity. What exactly are you trying to understand through the internal communications audit process? Set specific goals, whether it’s evaluating adoption of a new communication platform, identifying low-engagement areas, or eliminating silos to promote cross-departmental alignment.

Then, define the scope. Will you audit across the entire organization, or start with key departments or regions? A clear scope ensures your data is focused and actionable.

2. Identify Your Internal Communication Channels

Now that your goals are clear, take inventory of your communication touchpoints: emails, newsletters, intranet, Microsoft Teams, digital signage, mobile apps—everything.

Map each channel to its purpose. Who is it reaching? Is it top-down, peer-to-peer, or bottom-up? This helps you assess whether your current mix truly supports your employees’ needs.

3. Collect Data from Employees

Your next step is to hear from the people who matter most: your employees. Internal communications surveys are essential for employee feedback, but combine them with focus groups or interviews for deeper insights.

Use anonymous formats to encourage honesty. And if you’re using internal communications software, built-in survey tools can simplify the process while boosting participation rates across office and frontline staff alike.

4. Analyze Communication Metrics and Feedback 

Data without interpretation doesn’t mean much. Go beyond open rates and click-throughs. Analyze trends in participation, channel usage, and employee sentiment via surveys and focus groups.

Are key messages being read and understood? Are there patterns across locations or job roles? Use analytics tools to turn raw numbers into real insight as part of your internal comms audit template. 

5. Benchmark Against Best Practices for Internal Communications

With your data in hand, now’s the time to measure your performance against industry standards. Are you pushing too much content without personalization? Are your messages timely and mobile-friendly?

Benchmarking helps contextualize your findings. Do a little research in advance to find out what industry standards are, and how your own program stacks up. 

6. Identify Gaps and Opportunities

Every internal communication audit reveals both pain points and potential. Maybe your messaging lacks visual impact. Maybe deskless workers are underserved. Or maybe your leadership updates aren’t cutting through the noise.

Focus on what’s missing, and what’s possible. Identify areas where AI, segmentation, or multi-channel delivery could transform the employee experience, and fill in the gaps that are currently holding smooth communication back. 

7. Create an Actionable Improvement Plan for Internal Communications

Now it’s time to move from insights to action as part of your strategic communications planning process. Prioritize changes based on impact and effort. Define owners, timelines, and metrics for success as part of your internal comms audit template. Such metrics might include:

• Open rate for internal communications messages
• Usage and adoption rates of digital communication tools
• Content creation by employees
• Response times and delay gaps in internal communications 
• Overall employee satisfaction with your internal communications tool

And don’t try to fix everything at once. Start with a few high-impact wins to build momentum and prove value quickly. Focus on the most obvious areas that need improvement, before moving on to the minor gaps and shortcomings of your internal communication plan.

How Often Should You Conduct an Internal Communication Audit?

A successful internal communications audit isn’t a one-and-done effort. Plan your internal comms content in cycles, every 3, 6, and 12 months. Then, consider conducting a full audit every 18 months to keep your company’s internal communication strategy fresh and aligned with your workforce’s evolving needs.

Regular audits ensure your communications stay relevant, effective, and responsive to real-world challenges. Frequency is necessary because of the speed of change. With generative AI, remote work, and shifting markets constantly transforming the corporate landscape, a regular checkup complete with data analysis, surveys, and focus groups, is needed just to keep up. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid During an Internal Communication Audit

No matter how well you plan and execute your internal communications audit template, there’s always the chance that obstacles and communication barriers can crop up. Here, we’ll cover the most common mistakes companies make, and show why they can get in the way of a complete understanding of your company’s internal communications. 

Lack of Clear Objectives

Without a defined goal, your internal communication audit becomes a fishing expedition. Always know what you’re trying to uncover, and go into the process with set communication objectives in mind. For example, they could be:

• Measuring actual employee engagement with messages
• Determining open and read-through rates
• Quantifying information retention
• Qualitative feedback on if employees feel their voice is heard
• Identifying redundancies or internal communication tools that are simply not helpful
• Any combination of the above

Ignoring Employee Feedback

If you gather feedback but don’t act on it—or worse, don’t communicate that you heard it—you lose trust. It’s important that employees feel like their voice is heard and that their feedback matters. This is crucial for morale, but it also serves a practical purpose: nobody knows the weaknesses in your internal comms program like your own employees. Their feedback is valuable!

Focusing Only on Quantitative Data

Numbers are useful, but they don’t tell the whole story. Qualitative insights bring essential nuance. For example, if your employees find a specific digital tool overly complicated and unpleasant to use, then this is the kind of feedback you might not get from mere data analysis, but will receive if you give a questionnaire or take a poll. Be sure to include both qualitative and quantitative feedback in your internal communications audit template, especially when it comes to measuring employee satisfaction with your program.

What to Do After an Internal Communication Audit

So, you’ve done your internal communication audit, you’ve analyzed your data and feedback, and you’ve reached some compelling conclusions that you can definitely act upon. What do you do next? Here, we’ll cover the follow up steps to conclude a successful internal communications audit. 

Communicate Findings to Stakeholders

Transparency builds trust. Share your employee communication audit results with leadership and key departments. Focus on insights, not just data, and clearly outline next steps. You can’t get money allocated or strategic approval without their buy-in, so keep them in the loop! 

Roll Out Internal Communication Strategy Changes

Don’t delay. Show employees that their feedback leads to action. Update your communication strategy, rethink your channel mix, and introduce new engagement initiatives. Include town halls and presentations to explain to employees how their feedback mattered, and what you’re doing to make things better. 

Set a Review Cycle for Continuous Improvement

Build auditing into your communication DNA. Schedule regular pulse checks, quarterly reviews, and use analytics to guide continuous optimization. Share this with the entire team, so they know what’s happening behind the scenes, and when to expect analysis and results. Think of it like a regular check-up with your doctor. A successful internal communications audit is crucial for the health of your company!

How Sociabble Can Help

The right platform can make all the difference in the world when it comes to enhancing your internal communications plan following your company’s internal comms audit, or even while conducting one. At Sociabble, we specialize in helping large organizations connect the dots between communication, engagement, and business results, with an employee comms platform that can do it all. 

From engaging senior leadership in the internal comms audit process, to running employee surveys and benchmarking results, to turning valuable insights into platform-wide improvements, our expert teams are with you every step of the way, to help you perfect your internal communication strategy, and even provide an internal communications audit template that you can use. 

Sociabble includes:

• Ask AI features for content generation and moderation
• Built-in engagement tools like quizzes, challenges, polls, and must-read content
• Reward features that make recognizing employee achievement easy and fun
• An expert support team that’s there to ensure you get the absolute best results

Simply put, Sociabble makes the internal comms audit process easier and more impactful. Whether you’re just starting out or ready to refine your existing internal communication strategy, we’re here to help you succeed.

Conclusion

An internal communication audit is a powerful tool to sharpen your messaging, connect with employees, and build a more aligned and engaged workforce. As we’ve covered in this article, by following a structured process, by avoiding common mistakes, and by incorporating a platform like Sociabble, you can turn communication into a true business driver.

At Sociabble, we’ve already partnered with global industry leaders to enhance their employee communication strategy, including companies like Coca-Cola CCEP, Primark, and L’Occitane en Provence. If you’d like to learn how we can help your company perfect its internal communications, sign up for a free, personalized demo. We would love to chat!