Communication Audit

Introduction

Communication audit is a phrase that not many people have heard of unless they have
participated in one. Communication audit is very similar to a financial audit. Instead of an
auditor examining all of a person’s finances, they evaluate all parts of a company’s
communication. An auditor studies the communication of an organization and decides what
techniques are effective and which ones need work. An organization usually seeks an audit when
things are not going smoothly or work is not getting done. There are several types of
communication audits that organizations can choose to use. The International Communication
Association developed an audit that is very well-known. The ICA audit consists of five important
parts. Organizations can utilize one or all of the tools in their audit.

First Technique—Questionnaire

The first technique used in an ICA audit is a questionnaire. The

questionnaire originally consists of 122 questions. This number may vary
depending on the organization. The questions come from every aspect of
communication including “networks, information management, climate,
and perception of skill sets” (Zaremba 354). Every person that fills out the
questionnaire remains anonymous and is given a report of the audit results.

Second Technique—Interview

The second technique is an interview procedure. The auditors will interview a percentage of the
employees for two reasons. “The first [is] to obtain corroboration of the data gleaned from the
survey. The second objective [is] to encourage employees to elaborate” (Zaremba 354). This
means the interviewers need to make sure that the survey results and the answers from the
interview are similar. They also expect to receive details about the way employees answered the
questionnaire.

Third Technique—Communication Experience

The third technique used in an ICA audit is communication experience. The auditors examine
employees to make sure they have the basic skills needed to communicate. They do this by
seeing if the employees who receive the messages or presentations thought they were of good
quality.

Fourth Technique—Network Analysis

The fourth technique is network analysis. This tool is important for determining who is an
isolate, a liaison, or a bridge. In network analysis an auditor tries to figure out where the
employees are getting the majority of their information. Since all organizations consist of formal
and informal networks, they both need to be effective ways of communicating. Many people in
an organization will hear important news through the “grapevine” which can become distorted as
it is passed along (Zaremba 138). In the formal channels the chain of command must be
organized properly in order to be effective.

Fifth Technique—Communication Diaries

The final technique used in ICA audits is communication diaries. A group

of employees are selected to keep diaries of the communication that takes
place between individuals as well as the whole organization. These
employees receive training and a form to go by when tracking information
in the diaries.

Personal Experience

I am not currently part of any workplace organization because I stay at

home with my children, but I have experienced several communication
problems in my church organization. A communication audit would greatly
benefit my church and the people that hold positions. One of the main
problems is the lack of communication. In order to fix this problem I would
start with a Critical Incident report. It seems like several of the people from
church simply do not know how or have not had the experience in
communicating with others. The Critical Incident report would be used to see if other members
believed the leaders had sufficient communication skills. This lack of communication and
communication skills leads to the problem of networks. Information in the church is passed on
through informal networks or formal networks that have no organization. Network Analysis
would definitely be needed in this organization. Most of the information I receive is passed
through the “grapevine” and as these messages get passed along they start to take on different
meanings. Zaremba describes formal networks as “the official, appropriate channels for people to
follow when relaying information” (138). The formal networks in my church organization do not
exist. No one in the church really knows who to talk to about anything. When there is an issue
concerning the women of the church sometimes people will talk to the preacher’s wife, some will
talk to the preacher, some will just talk to other ladies in the church. There are also several
people over the children’s ministry so members of the church are not sure who to communicate
with. This is a growing problem in the church because messages are just getting passed along and
nothing is really getting done.

Questions to Ask

If I were to give an ICA questionnaire to this church organization there are

several things I would want to know from the members. The first question I
would ask is “Are you satisfied with the amount of information being passed
down to you?” Secondly, I would ask “Are you satisfied with how information is being given to
you?” The third question would be “Do you believe all leaders in the church have adequate
communication skills?” Finally, I would ask “Do you believe communication in the church is
effective?” These questions are important because they will outline the basic problems that are
happening in the church.
During an audit interview I would expect to receive details about the answers given in the
questionnaire. If I was interviewing a member of the church that was not satisfied with the
amount of information being passed down to them I would ask them what they needed to know
in order to be satisfied. For example, do they need more reminders of upcoming events, or would
they like to know exactly where to get all the information they need about a certain subject?
These questions would let me know what to tell the leaders of the church. If the majority of
members are not pleased with how they receive information this can be a major problem. If the
pastor only announces events at the beginning of a sermon what happens if someone is not there
that service? This could make members upset. I would ask the members if they thought flyers or
bulletins that are passed out weekly would be beneficial, or if they would like some other type of
notification? This is important because everyone in the church wants to be included in what is
going on or at least informed. “Who do you believe needs practice with their communication
skills and what do you think they need to work on?” would be my third question of the interview
which relates to the third question of the survey. The fourth question would be “Why do you
believe or not believe that the communication in the church is effective?” During the entire
interview I would be open to all suggestions from the members. The whole point of doing this
audit is to fix what is wrong with the communication in the church organization and who knows
better than the members?

Conclusion

As a communication analyst I would suggest that the leaders of the church work on their
communication skills and have better organization. The church needs to have a chain of
command that is set in stone. It needs, obviously, to begin with the pastor. If there is an issue
with the children’s ministry the pastor needs to tell the youth director and then he can tell the
other youth workers. The same thing needs to happen with meetings concerning the ladies. The
pastor should talk to his wife and then she should relay the message to the rest of the ladies in a
formal manner instead of through the grapevine. This would help to clarify messages and help
things move along smoothly. Anytime a member has a problem, they should tell the pastor then
he should tell the person over that particular area of the church. That person would then be in
charge of telling the people under him. This would make things much more organized.
Upper management or in this case the pastor and other leaders in the church would most likely
be open to these suggestions. Zaremba states that, “Reporting results to clients can be a sensitive
and difficult matter” (359). However, people in the church know that there are problems with
communication and are willing to change. Organized communication is the only way any
organization can operate. An ICA communication audit would greatly benefit my church
organization. An audit would show the church what changes need to be made and what is already
working well.
 Works Cited

Zaremba, Alan Jay. Organizational Communication. 2nd ed. Mason, OH: Thomson Southwestern,
2006.