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Easily create surveys and polls to collect customer feedback, measure employee satisfaction, and organize team events.

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Certificate in Digital Promotion for Businesses | Level 2 | P13578 | Burton and South Derbyshire College

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Small businesses typically invest only 5-10% of their revenue in digital marketing, while larger organisations can invest 14% or more. Every business must include digital marketing as a central component of their marketing strategy. This approach helps them connect with customers at the right place, at the right time, and in the right way. As technology continues to evolve, now is the most important time to invest in digital marketing. Doing so will enhance your business’ skills and help you establish a strong presence in the industry. 

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Certificate in Understanding Business Improvement Techniques | Level 2 | P12790 | Burton and South Derbyshire College

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This certification aims to broaden your knowledge of business improvement techniques, including streamlining the workplace, building effective teams, and fostering productive work connections. It also highlights the importance of refining procedures and protocols by implementing visual management systems and flow process analysis.

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Diploma in Leadership and Management | Level 3 | P12782 | Burton and South Derbyshire College

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Developing your leadership and management skills is an effective way to advance your career. The Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) is the UK’s leading management awarding body, offering industry-leading qualifications, training programs, and member services to help you lead and manage effectively.Specifically, the ILM Level 3 program is tailored to equip you with practical knowledge and expertise necessary to excel in management roles across diverse industries. Enrolling in this program is a strategic move that can expedite your career growth and equip you with competencies that are highly valued by employers.

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This Padlet was updated on 30/06/2025. It has sources from the course learning materials and additional sources to enhance your professional development. 

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This Padlet was updated on 30/06/2025. It has sources from the course learning materials and additional sources to enhance your professional development. 

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Sherpany | Admin’s guide to planning a meeting effectively

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In this article, we provide clarity on the role of supporting management and board meetings, along with a free guide for those providing administrative support.

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Note

This information is to help you with the Level 2 Diploma in Business and Administration. Please do not copy.

Different Types of Meetings

Different types of meetings depend on the size of an organisation, the issues that need to be discussed and the number of people that will possibly be attending.

A standing meeting is exactly what it sounds like: a meeting standing up. These meetings are often held on a day-to-day basis by the manager for short periods of time. They are typically used when the manager informs employees of simple changes or tasks that need a beginning and completion.

A conference is a highly planned and organised meeting, and conferences are vastly based on discussion and opinion. They are held by a chairperson to discuss one or several topics and often have a high attendance of different people within the organisation. Sometimes conference calls take place. These can involve one or more people.

A presentation is a meeting that is held to inform employees about changes to routine, rules and procedures. The planning of a presentation is often very time-consuming as all information must be precise and detailed. In a presentation, there are often one or two presenters, and attendees usually have a chance to discuss any queries at the end.

A topical meeting is a meeting that is held to discuss one individual topic.

Emergency meetings are held suddenly, often without much planning and notice. They usually involve discussions about a crisis, either internal or external, in the organisation. An emergency meeting will need to be attended by all members of a team which may cause disruption to a day's work, yet it's very important. An agenda is not necessary for an emergency meeting due to the short notice; however, minutes should still be noted either during or after the meeting.

Administrative Support for Meetings

It is vital that administrative support is provided for meetings. Before a meeting is held, a list should be made of all the attendees, and brief information should be gathered about the purpose of the meeting. As people enter for the meeting, it is important that somebody takes note of who arrives.

There should always be a minute taker; these are people who record the discussions and agreements that take place during a meeting, enabling people to refer back to them. As people enter the area for the meeting, it is important that somebody writes down the names of the people there in case a second meeting needs to be held with the same attendees. Also, this enables the manager to know who has been given the new objectives or is aware of the new outcomes.

Administrative support is also needed whilst planning and organising a meeting (refer to question 3 for what they help with).

Organising Meetings

When organising a meeting, consider the purpose of it and who will be the 'head' of the meeting. A suitable time should be arranged so that the meeting does not conflict with any important appointments of the people involved in the meeting. The length of the meeting should be planned as well as a list of who will be attending, and a suitable venue should be chosen (one that all attendees will be able to get to). An agenda should be created; this is a list of items outlining the topics to be discussed at the meeting.

If any refreshments are to be provided, the amount should be thought about and depending on how far/close the meeting is, the refreshments should be bought and stored correctly. Special diets should be considered.

Disability access should be considered to support attendees. If necessary, the location of the meeting should be checked to ensure it is suitable for wheelchair access etc. Sign language interpreters could be hired or invited to attend to help with communication.

Business Accommodation

When travelling for business purposes, the area could be local or international. It is important that all of the different travel options are researched before booking to compare the suitability and reliability as well as the different types of accommodation.

Different travel options: Car, taxi, bus, coach, train, boat/ferry, plane

Different types of accommodation: Hotel, bed and breakfast.

It is very important within the business sector to confirm instructions and requirements for business travel and accommodation. When arranging business travel with accommodation, the planning process is very important. The number of people travelling and the budget will need to be discovered to move forward with the planning process.

Firstly the different types of business travel should be known; is the travel going to be local or international? Once the location is confirmed, careful consideration should be used to choose accommodation.

Hotels often provide three square meals a day (which can include a packed lunch) yet can be quite expensive. However, they provide visitors with lots of different facilities, including public rooms in the hotel and may also provide free WiFi, which will enable business workers to keep up-to-date with their tasks whilst in their room and will enable them to communicate with fellow workers.

Bed and Breakfasts always provide breakfast in the morning, which is included in the cost of somebody's stay. The facilities in some bed and breakfasts are limited, which should not be too much of a concern as when on business travel, it is likely that the worker will not often be in their allocated room.

Booking Travel

When booking travel, it is important that extra research is done. If the hotel/bed and breakfast has a curfew time for booking in, it is vital that the business worker arrives there before. In some cases, it is easier to travel the day before to settle into a room and relax until work begins. Expenses will need to be checked carefully so that the cost is within budget.

Tickets for travel and the hotel/bed and breakfast rooms(s) should be booked in advance to avoid disappointment and stress. In some cases, business travellers may be provided with a certain amount of money to buy food, travel by bus or taxi and provide for other needs.

When the planning is complete all staff members to participate in the business travel should be given the details about the travel and accommodation so that they are able to prepare and know the exact details of what they are doing.

It is important to keep records of business travel and accommodation to keep track of cash flows and company profits, as the money used for business travel is often set to a budget. If details are kept about travel and accommodation (for example, how much money they cost and their suitability), the record may be referred back to in the future to save money and/or find better accommodation.

It is also helpful to keep records as it enables communication to employees about possible changes during their travels.

Types of Office Equipment

Safe: A safe is a piece of vital 'equipment' for an office if the storage of money takes place. A safe will securely store the money, and only authorised people should know how to access it either by a key or a code. The key(s) to a safe should also be kept in a secure place to avoid loss or theft.

Using Office Equipment

When selecting office equipment to complete a task, it needs to be considered what the task requires you to do. If you have to write a letter, you may choose to use Microsoft Word on a computer and then use a printer. (Consider available resources: there may not be enough paper to print.)

It is also important to consider the amount of time you have to complete a task. For example, if you are required to make a chart, it will take more time drawing it free-hand than if you are using software on a computer.

If the task involves providing other people with information, does this need to be done quickly, or is speed not very important? Faxing and the use of telephone communication are almost instant, whereas e-mailing depends on how long it takes somebody to access and read it.

Expense and quality will also need to be considered when undertaking a task. Some office equipment can produce higher quality documents, but at a high expense, this will need to be carefully planned.

Reducing Waste

It is important to keep waste to a minimum in the working environment as performance will be more efficient, and customers/patients will feel more at ease. Correct training should be provided to all employees, including how to identify and minimise waste.

The use of e-mail helps to reduce paper waste as meeting minutes, newsletters etc. can be sent to staff e-mails instead of being given to them on paper.

If an employee is using a printer, they should only print the number of pages that they need and, if possible, duplex them. This can also apply when using a photocopier.

'Electric waste' is also highly important to reduce: bills will be lower, and the building and environment will be more economical. When the working day has ended, all lights should be switched off as well as computers and their components (scanners, printers, photocopiers). Central heating or air conditioning should only be used if necessary.

Diary Systems

A hard copy, or a manual diary system, is often in the form of a bound or ring-bound book. They come in many different day/month formats, so it will need to be considered how many entries will be going into the diary before selecting. The disadvantages of this system are the possibility of loss and the use of paper. Space may be limited in a bound diary which could lead to unclear entries. This could result in entries being misread. Within my organisation, there are one or more wall planners in each staff-maintained room, which are updated regularly. These are useful as they are always within sight. It is a personal decision as to whether we use a 'book-style' diary or not.

Electronic diary systems can be created on a computer, a phone or an electric organiser. On a computer, there are many different programmes you can use to make a diary system, so it is down to personal preference. If diary systems are electronic, there is always the possibility of password encrypting them to ensure only people with authorised access can view and edit them.

Benefits of a Diary System

Using diary systems enables you to efficiently plan and organise your own time as well as others. If diary systems are accessible to other members of staff, this lets them know your general availability for meetings, training days and within my workplace when their admin days are. Diary systems help when planning meetings and events as you will be able to ensure that nothing is going to overlap with them.

When ordering resources, it is often a good idea to keep a diary of what was ordered, when and the quantity of what was ordered. This helps the manager and the petty cash head keep on track of how often resources are being used up and could possibly help solve problems for the reduced waste of resources.

It is vital to include dates and times within a diary system. These should be followed up with names, if necessary, and information about the appointment or event being noted. Diary systems should always be accurate and correct and should contain every detail necessary.

Example of a System in Use

Obtaining correct information when making diary entries is vital. Within my workplace, we use a software called 'SystmOne'. This contains a type of electronic diary system for booking appointments and telephone consultations. It is important that the information on this is correct to avoid clashing appointments, to help with the safeguarding of patients, to ensure the correct patient is entered and so that the doctor or prescribing clerk knows a small summary regarding the patients' symptoms/needs.

We also have the option to keep our own diary systems to enter dates of team meetings and training days. Keeping track of these dates helps us to keep free time available. Attending meetings and training days enables us to communicate with other colleagues, improve any problems we may have during the surgery and helps us to expand our knowledge.
This article is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters. © 2015 Tasha Fox
Tasha Fox (author) from United Kingdom on March 13, 2020:

It's okay!

lewis on March 12, 2020:

Very helpful thank you so much!

ali on December 02, 2019:

Explain the purpose of keeping records of business travel and accommodation.

Tasha Fox (author) from United Kingdom on August 09, 2018:

that's cool haha

jin on March 31, 2018:

Hang on a second..i also use the systemone in my workplace

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Unit 2: Organisation of Travel and Accommodation in Business

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This article is meant to help you with the Level 2 Diploma in business and administration.

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How to Effectively Use a Diary System at Work

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A diary system is maintained to utilise time and complete tasks and appointments in a very effective and efficient way. It helps the organisation as a whole and helps manage my own and other people’s time too. Diaries can be maintained either manually or electronically.

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Essential Office Equipment For Boosting Productivity In The Modern Workplace

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This article explores essential office equipment that significantly enhances productivity in the contemporary workplace.

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A businesses need to ensure that its sales process focuses on keeping customers happy at each stage. The sales process may include:

finding potential customers

approaching potential customers

investigating customers' needs

presenting products on offer

closing the sale by getting the customer to make a purchase

post-sales service

Excellent product knowledge

Every member of sales staff should know all the features and benefits of their company's products and services. This will help them to match the right product or service to the needs of each customer. It also means that the members of staff will be able to answer any questions customers have. For example if staff selling laptops know their features and prices, they can suggest a laptop that has features a customer needs for a price they can afford.

Customer experience

Employees should try to build relationships with customers. This can involve being polite and friendly, and listening to customers.

Businesses should also ensure that the facilities offered to customers, such as fitting rooms or waiting areas, make the customer's experience of the business more enjoyable. This makes customers feel like they are valued by the business. A good example would be a car sales dealership which provides refreshments to customers while they are being helped to choose a new car.

Businesses can also offer extra features to make customers feel special. These could include next-day delivery, free gifts, or .

Post-sales service

After a customer has purchased a product, the business may need to provide an ongoing service. This could include:

user training - showing the customer how to use the product, eg giving a demonstration on how to use a new laptop or TV

- giving the customer access to a telephone line which they can call for help

- some products require regular services to keep them running correctly, and businesses can contact customers when it is time for these services to happen eg a car may include a service package that lasts for the first three years

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Methods of good customer service - Good customer service - AQA - GCSE Business Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize

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A businesses need to ensure that its sales process focuses on keeping customers happy at each stage. The sales process may include: finding potential customers approaching potential customers investigating customers' needs presenting products on offer closing the sale by getting the customer to make a purchase post-sales service Every member of sales staff should know all the features and benefits of their company's products and services.

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Distribution of Business Documents & Policies | 5 Compliance Tips

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Compliance tips for the distribution of business documents and policies. From crafting documents to refining your distribution process.

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Reading time: about 9 min

The foundation of a successful project is a well-written business requirements document (BRD). The BRD describes the problems the project is trying to solve and what outcomes the project needs to achieve.

When done well, the business requirements document directs the project and keeps everyone on the same page. However, requirements documentation can easily become unclear and disorganized, which can quickly send a project off track.

To avoid project creep and ensure that your team delivers the right value, follow these tips for writing a perfect business requirements document.

What is a business requirements document?

A business requirements document describes the business solution for a project (i.e., what a new or updated product should do), including the user's needs and expectations, the purpose behind this solution, and any high-level constraints that could impact a successful deployment.

Essentially, a BRD guides stakeholders as they make decisions regarding project priorities, design, and structure to ensure the project remains aligned with the business's overall goals.

The BRD also represents a basic contract between the customer and the vendor outlining the expectations and deliverables for the project. The BRD sets the standards for determining when a project has reached a successful completion.

Business requirements vs. functional requirements

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, business requirements are not the same as the functional requirements for a project. The business requirements describe what deliverables are needed but not how to accomplish them.

That "how" information should be documented in a project's functional requirements. These are typically outlined within the software requirements documentation for development projects, but some organizations include a functional requirements section in their BRD. These functional requirements detail how a system should operate to fulfill the business requirements.

Essentially, business requirements:

Are high-level.

Describe the problem to be solved.

Describe the business outcomes to be achieved.

Include stakeholder expectations and goals.

In contrast, functional requirements are much more specific and narrowly focused and written from the system's perspective. Functional requirements are the means for delivering an effective solution that meets the business requirements and expectations for that project. Functional requirements:

Explain how to achieve the desired outcomes and goals.

Detail a solution to the problem to be solved.

Keep in mind, functional requirements fall under the umbrella of solution requirements. The other type of solution requirements are non-functional requirements. The main difference between functional vs. non-functional requirements is that functional requirements should include the features and functions of a product while non-functional requirements (also known as quality attributes) describe product properties.

Anatomy of a great BRD

Most businesses follow a template for all their project requirements documentation. This helps keep documentation standard across the organization.

The structure may vary but a basic BRD will include the following sections and components:

Project overview

Project scope

Stakeholder identification

Business requirements

Scope of the solution

Project constraints

Quality control measures

Cost-benefit analysis

Project overview

For some BRDs, the first components are split into an executive summary and project objectives. For the purposes of this blog post, we're calling the first component a project overview. A project overview should include the background and vision of the project along with goals and objectives.

Project scope

The project scope is the boundaries of your project, or the deadlines, deliverables, and budget. You can use this section to define what's in scope as well as what's out of scope for the project.

Stakeholder identification

Stakeholders are anybody with a say or interest in the project. This could include those working on the project, approving the project, managing the project, or users and clients who will be affected by the outcome of the project.

Business requirements

The business requirements section is where you'll list the requirements we previously covered, like the problem to be solved, outcomes to be achieved, stakeholder expectations, etc. This is also the section where you can include functional and non-functional requirements if you'd like.

Scope of solution

The scope of solution section is where you'll list current and proposed future states.

Project constraints

The project constraints section is a place to explain further the project scope and risks. This may include budget, training needs, and more.

Quality control measures

Quality control measures are the methods for assessing the quality of your product. This could include testing, benchmarking, and more.

Cost-benefit analysis

Including a cost-benefit analysis of your project in your BRD is optional but may help you gain approval from stakeholders. The analysis will help stakeholders compare the total expected costs against the total expected benefits.

Some teams may need to include additional sections depending on the needs and complexity of the project, such as a current assessment, a future process map, and training needs.

Top 5 tips for writing the perfect BRD

Now that you have a grasp on what a business requirements document should accomplish, you can follow these guidelines to make sure that you write an exceptional one.

1. Practice effective requirements elicitation

Even if you write an impressive BRD, it won't be effective if you haven't identified and documented all the requirements necessary. To ensure your BRD is complete and cohesive, you'll need to apply proper elicitation methods.

A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (more commonly known as the BABOK Guide) lists nine primary elicitation methods:

Brainstorming

Document analysis

Interface analysis

Focus groups

Prototyping

Requirements workshops

Interviews

Observation

Surveys

You could use all nine or a select few, but you will certainly need to incorporate multiple approaches to gather a comprehensive set of requirements.

Whatever methods you use, consider the following tips for improving your elicitation process.

Continually gather requirements

While you usually gather requirements early on in the project life cycle, business analysts should be open to identifying and documenting new requirements as needed. It can be tempting to sweep new information under the rug if you've already progressed past the initial stages of the project. However, the end product will be better if you have fleshed out all the requirements necessary-even if they were added later in the game.

Get to know your stakeholders

Build a rapport with your stakeholders and learn how they operate. Tailor your elicitation methods to their style or preferred method. By adapting your methods to the person, you will be more effective in gathering requirements.

Always be prepared

Come to stakeholder meetings prepared with questions for others and even suggested answers. Offering options can get the group brainstorming and thinking through the problem more strategically.

2. Use clear language without jargon

Requirements documents are often long and text-heavy. To prevent confusion or misinterpretations, use clear language without jargon. Keep in mind that multiple stakeholders will use this document and not all of them will be technically minded. By keeping your language clear, you can ensure everyone can understand it.

When you do need to include jargon or other technical terms, be sure to add those to a project dictionary section in the document. This section can serve as a useful reference of all uncommon terms found throughout the document so no one misunderstands the requirements.

3. Research past projects

A great way to jump-start your documentation process is to research similar projects your organization has completed in the past.

Review the documentation for those projects and use those insights to help you identify requirements and other key points to include in your own BRD. These projects can also help your team justify certain requirements based on successful past results.

4. Validate the documentation

Once you've finished writing the requirements document, have a subject matter expert and the project stakeholders review it. This is the time for everyone to validate the information and offer feedback or corrections.

This step is crucial to creating a successful BRD. Without it, you risk missing key requirements or leaving critical errors that could set your project off track.

5. Include visuals

Although BRDs tend to be text-heavy in nature, visuals play an important role in presenting and clarifying information and making the document more user-friendly. Break up walls of text with data visualizations such as process flows and scope models.

One of the most common diagrams for a BRD is the business process diagram. This diagram visualizes a workflow process and how it relates to your business requirements. Depending on how complex your documentation is, you can use the process diagram to present high-level processes or drill down into more comprehensive and detailed processes for multiple requirements sections.

Business requirements document templates

Want a head start on creating visuals for your BRD? Try out a template!

Use Lucidchart's business requirements document template to build and share process visuals and requirements documentation with ease. Our extensive library of ready-made shapes and templates lets you quickly draft a professional-quality diagram in a fraction of the time it would normally take you.

Business requirements document template (click to use template)

BRD example (click to use template)

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Tips for Writing Business Requirements Documents

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A business requirements document (BRD) describes the problems that a project aims to solve and the required outcomes necessary to deliver value. Set your project up for success-follow these tips for writing a perfect business requirements document.

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The Data Protection Act 2018 controls how your personal information is used by organisations, businesses or the government.

The Data Protection Act 2018 is the UK's implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Everyone responsible for using personal data has to follow strict rules called 'data protection principles'. They must make sure the information is:

used fairly, lawfully and transparently

used for specified, explicit purposes

used in a way that is adequate, relevant and limited to only what is necessary

accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date

kept for no longer than is necessary

handled in a way that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unlawful or unauthorised processing, access, loss, destruction or damage

There is stronger legal protection for more sensitive information, such as:

race

ethnic background

political opinions

religious beliefs

trade union membership

genetics

biometrics (where used for identification)

health

sex life or orientation

There are separate safeguards for personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences.

Your rights

Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the right to find out what information the government and other organisations store about you. These include the right to:

be informed about how your data is being used

access personal data

have incorrect data updated

have data erased

stop or restrict the processing of your data

data portability (allowing you to get and reuse your data for different services)

object to how your data is processed in certain circumstances

You also have rights when an organisation is using your personal data for:

automated decision-making processes (without human involvement)

profiling, for example to predict your behaviour or interests

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The Data Protection Act (DPA) controls how personal information can be used and your rights to ask for information about yourself

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Improving Communication in the Workplace: Tips & Techniques

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Why is communication so important in the workplace? Learn how effective communication at work boosts employee morale, engagement, productivity, and more.

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The way we communicate with others is such a habitual part of us that we rarely stop and think about it. This translates into business communication too. Organizations, after all, aren't faceless entities, but groups of real people.

Effective communication affects processes, efficiency, and every layer of a company.

In this guide, we'll cover all you need to know to set up a successful business communication process.

The importance of business communication also lies in:

Presenting options/new business ideas

Making plans and proposals (business writing)

Executing decisions

Reaching agreements

Sending and fulfilling orders

Successful selling

Effective meetings

Providing feedback to employees and customers

All organized activity in a company relies on the process of business communication and your communication strategy. This could be anything from managerial communication to technical communication with vendors.

And once communication becomes unclear, the company's core systems risk falling apart. Data shows that 60% of internal communications professionals do not measure internal communications. Potential reasons include not knowing where to start, the next steps, or how to calculate ROI.

Why is business communication important?

A strong communication strategy in a company will likely result in higher employee engagement. And companies with connected employees in the workplace have seen a spike in productivity of up to 25%.

Companies with an engaged workforce see a 19.2% growth in operating income over a 12-month period. Those with low engagement scores earn 32.7% less.

How much more successful would you be if you had better employee engagement?

And how can you ensure a business communication process that will make it possible?

Types of Business Communication

Let's first differentiate the main types of communication in a typical organization.

First, we have internal business communication.
Internal business communication can be:

Upward communication: any communication that comes from a subordinate to a manager. Or from another person up the organizational hierarchy.

Downward communication/Managerial communication: anything that comes from a superior to a subordinate.

Lateral communication/Technical communication: internal or cross-departmental communication between coworkers

Then, there is external business communication.

External business communication is any messaging that leaves your office and internal staff. It involves dealing with customers, vendors, or anything that impacts your brand.

You can sort all communication in this spectrum into four types of business communication.

1. Getting and receiving instructions and assignments both upward and downward. This includes an effective delegation from one person to another. Most problems in business begin with unclear communications in this area.

2. Sharing and discussing information, including information sharing that goes on in meetings. When communication fails in this area, it causes tasks to be done improperly or not at all.

3. Giving feedback to people who report to you so they can do their jobs better. Giving great, actionable feedback is a key skill for anyone in a leadership position. Non-verbal communication and body language also play a role here.

4. Problem-solving and decision-making meetings and discussions. These are considered among the most important discussions for any organization. This involves higher critical thinking and better communication technology.

5. Public relations can even be considered a form of external communication. Public perception is an essential aspect of a business communication strategy.

How is it different from business communication services?

Business communication typically refers to the act of communicating in your business. On the other hand, business communication services refer to the types of software solutions you could use to help facilitate communication and collaboration across your business.

Business communication services include:

Voice solutions like VoIP

Software that allows you to conduct video meetings

Email services

Contact center software that manages communication with your customers

Small business VoIP that let you take calls and communicate from anywhere

Which Business Communication Services Does My Business Need?

The answer largely depends on the size and preferences of your business. There's no one-size-fits-all solution. One thing is for sure: you will set yourself up for success by only using the business communication services you need and will actually use.

For example:

You want a forum board, so you and your staff spend weeks finding the best solution and setting it up.
After a while, you learn that no one is using it because they get their answers quicker from their team or documents. An unnecessary solution has cost you valuable time and money.
Or you install a quality video conferencing system, when in reality you only need a reliable business phone system to run your remote meetings.
Every business will use web-based communication. All the other methods, however, will depend on individual company circumstances. Take the time to mindfully consider the value of each for your unique situation.

Problems That Effective Business Communication Can Solve

Clear and effective business communication is critical for teams, employees, managers, and executives to perform their jobs and fulfill their responsibilities.
Without the right processes and tools in place, the flow of information is interrupted and people are left in the dark. This can lead to serious consequences for the company, from unsatisfied employees and customers to lost profits.
The transparent flow of information is an obvious overarching goal of a business communication process. But what are some deeper problems that successful business communication solves?

1) Email overload and lack of everyday productivity and clarity

In many workplaces, people are simply overwhelmed by the number of messages they receive in a single day. In his book Message Not Received, Phil Simon said the average person receives 120 to 150 emails per day.
We easily misplace or completely overlook a crucial piece of information. With a business communication system in place, companies can reduce digital distractions and create space for ideas and thinking.

2) Horizontal and vertical communication silos

Oftentimes, teams and departments don't exchange essential information. Other times, there's no easy way of reaching out to a department manager when there's an issue inside a team. These silos form easily and often without anyone noticing but can easily be remedied with a communication plan in place.

3) Poor communication with remote employees

Remote work is here to stay. The State of Remote Work report from Buffer shows that the vast majority of employees would like to work remotely for at least some of the time.
They list collaboration and communication among the top three struggles when it comes to working remotely, proving the value of the right communication systems in place.
Related: Telecommuting Technology: The Essentials for Remote Work

4) Employee turnover/Low employee engagement

Losing the ideal people from your organization puts your ability to serve customers at risk. It's also expensive.
Losing an employee can cost as much as twice their annual salary, but when companies communicate effectively, they are 50% more likely to report turnover levels below the industry average.

5) Poor customer service

If there's poor communication in an organization, two things happen when it comes to customer service. First, employees in customer-facing roles won't have the information they need. Second, customers will sense low employee morale and have a negative experience.
In fact, one study found that employee attitude improvement impacts customer satisfaction, which then results in an increase in revenue.

What is the importance of non-verbal communication in business?

Non-verbal communication covers so much ground - from your facial expressions to your tone in an email. Considering the vast majority of business communication happens asynchronously (meaning anything other than a 1-1, face-to-face meeting) via email, project management task boards, or chats...almost all of our business communication can be considered non-verbal. Therefore, it's incredibly important to work on your verbal communication as well.

Top tip? Read something out loud before you hit "send." This is a good gut check to hear how your message is coming across.

5 Steps to Set Up Your Business Communication Process

A solid business communication process is essential for the happiness of your employees and customers. Ultimately, this leads to financial stability.
One report discovered 29% of employees believe their current internal comms tools aren't working.
Here are some of the reasons they listed:

Irrelevant information, exclusion, dishonesty, and lack of access to key information is something your own workforce likely experienced, too.
A study by Salesforce found that 86% of executives, employees, and educators consider inefficient communication to be the reason behind workplace failures.
We can no longer ignore the importance of teamwork and chemistry and their impact on employee productivity, engagement, and advocacy.

Here are the steps you can follow to ensure a successful business communication process.

1) Audit your current state of business communication and set goals

No matter the stage of your business, you need a business communication plan in place.
However, you will make it the most useful if you focus on the areas that need the biggest improvement right now and work your way to all other areas later on.
For example, these might be some of the reasons your communication needs revisiting:

Low employee satisfaction or high turnover

Lower than expected outputs across the company

Fast growth, which leads to losing track of information

Lack of information transparency due to remote work

You might experience more than one of these or a completely different scenario. Identify it and set goals for your business communication process based on it. For example, your goals can include:

A specific employee turnover or satisfaction rate

Customer satisfaction rate

Number of projects completed

Number of interactions between departments

...and more.

2) Identify core groups in your organization and their relationships with each other

Look into the structure of your organization and all the groups involved in its ability to function.
Take note of every group that requires information to function. This should include:

Horizontal classification, i.e., departments (operations, marketing, design, human resources, sales, customer support, finance, and more)

Vertical classification: professionals in teams, team leaders, department managers, executives

External groups: customers, suppliers, partners, and more

From here, considering the work they do on an ongoing basis and the results expected of them. Map out the way they need to communicate in order for their jobs to get done.
Depending on your company size, this might be a large task, so give yourself plenty of time. Some of the main questions to answer are:

Which teams and people have to talk to whom on a daily basis? What about weekly, biweekly, and monthly?

What communication happens only when there's an ongoing crisis?

How are managers and team leaders maintaining progress in their departments? How does reporting work?

Is there a knowledge library that has the potential to reduce unnecessary meetings and conversations?

Which projects and processes need approvals from other people in the company? How are approvals requested and facilitated?

At a minimum, these answers should give you an insight into the necessary amount of emails, messages, calls, meetings, and documents for everything to happen in the designated time frame.

3) Define methods of communication

Next, choose the methods of communication that align with your business communication goals, as well as the interactions between core groups in your company.
Review the list of methods of communication we discussed earlier and make sure to add any unique to your company:

Web-based communication

Telephone meetings

Video conferencing

Face-to-face meetings

Reports and official documents

Presentations

Forum boards and FAQs

Surveys

Customer management activities

Which of these are essential for your organization to reach its goals? What's optional and might see resistance in adoption? Which ones create the risk of adding too many tools and should be simplified?
Be realistic about your specific needs.
For example, a five-person startup where everyone works in the same office will likely focus on:

Web-based communication

Face-to-face meetings

Customer management

A 50-person company that is fully remote will invest more resources into:

Phone and video conferencing

Document organization to be able to diligently track their processes

A large global enterprise will probably use all of the listed methods of communication and have dedicated teams for many of them.

4) Choose the right tools

There's no handbook that defines which tools are absolutely best for each purpose.
Gmail versus Outlook. Google Drive versus Dropbox. Slack versus Nextiva Chat.
The battles go on, but your choice is entirely up to the preference of you and your workforce.
While we can't give you a list of software tools and leave you be, we can share these tips when it comes to selecting the right tools:

Use cloud storage to preserve important documents and other data. Enable automatic sync and backup to avoid human error and forgetting to manually save information to it.

Use a single platform for emails and calendars.

Use a single tool for chat messaging. For example, if some people use Slack and others Hangouts in their Gmail, it will create friction and impede communication.

Implement an easy-to-use, reliable VoIP phone system if many of your meetings happen remotely.

Develop brand and editorial guidelines that detail the tone of voice and use of brand elements. This way, all communication is unified, internally and externally.

5) Document the process

Finally, take note of everything you do throughout this setup and turn in into a shared document visible to the entire organization.
This way, each employee can refer to an intentionally developed communication plan and decide on the best action for the situation they're in.
The document will also help newly on-boarded employees easily grasp all the tools and best communication practices.
You can create a recurring calendar reminder for yourself and your team to revisit the document once a quarter. This way, you will ensure the plan is still serving its best purpose and update it if necessary.

Business Communication Channels

When business communication actually happens, it's either verbal or written.

Communication takes place either in many forms - verbal or written, in-person or remotely, but it is critical to the happiness of your employees in the workplace.

Neither of these are better or worse for your company on their own and entirely depends on the context.

Written communication is great for keeping a paper trail of decisions and actions made as well as for putting together strategies and plans in place. Verbal interactions enable instantaneous idea generation and a more open flow of thoughts.

These are the methods of business communication applicable to some or all of the above scenarios:

1) Web-based communication

This includes everyday communication channels like emails and instant messaging applications (such as Slack, Hangouts, or even Nextiva Chat).

The benefits of emails and messages lie in the ability to lead private conversations in a busy office environment, as well as sharing a message with many people-from a few to hundreds-all at once.

2) Telephone meetings

Phones removed the location barrier to running productive, fast-moving meetings. It allows for better idea exchange thanks to the non-verbal communication (tone of voice) compared to written communication. Cloud phone systems can accelerate onboarding and overall team collaboration.

3) Video conferencing

Great video conferencing systems enable people at remote locations to run meetings that feel as close to in-person meetings as possible. They take phone meetings one step up.

4) Face-to-face meetings

In-person meetings can help a business move forward with ideas quickly. Research shows that in-person meetings generate more ideas than virtual meetings.

However, having a rock-solid meeting agenda is essential for effective meetings. 46% of employees rarely or never leave a meeting knowing what they're supposed to do next.

5) Reports and official documents

Documenting activities that impact other people and departments is a crucial part of a well-oiled business communication system.
The ability to refer to a written document at any moment reduces the chance for confusion or disagreement and provides extra clarity in communication.

6) Presentations

Presentations supported by reports and PowerPoint slide decks are often how meetings with larger groups are conducted.

These are great for sharing new ideas in a way that creates space for questions and any clarifications.

7) Forum boards and FAQs

An internal area for employees to refer to frequently asked questions on various departmental topics and to ask new ones that will make them more productive and up-to-date on a matter.

8) Surveys

Both internal and customer surveys are ideal ways to gather feedback and ratings on important topics. Surveys facilitate a healthy cycle of feedback-supported improvements and open a communication channel between all levels inside an organization.

9) Customer management activities

This can include any customer relations activity. Examples include live chat support, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, customer onboarding processes, customer reviews, and more.

Your Company Success Starts With Communication

Poor communication carries too many risks to an organization to count.

Great communication, however, brings an opportunity for outstanding employee and customer engagement. It creates clarity, more significant outputs, and growth in revenue and profit.
Helpful Guide: What Is a VoIP Phone & How Does It Work?
Whether you have a business communication system in place or are yet to establish one, remember to:

Set and revisit your communication goals as a company based on the current state of communication in your company

Identify everyone involved in processes that make your company do its job, day after day

Analyze their needs to communicate with each other and identify methods that make the information flow possible

Look for the most appropriate tools and platforms that will enable the methods you identified

Share this setup transparently with the whole organization

As a result, you'll see happy, productive people excited to work on projects and create meaningful results for the benefit of everyone involved.

Ready to improve your business communication?

Nextiva's business communications platform organizes your team's communication by bringing it all into a single platform. No more shuffling around to find what you need, no more frustration flipping between screens. It's all here in a single platform. This tool makes your work life more simple and helps bring all your communication into one view.

Talk to an expert today to see how we can help simplify your business communication.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nextiva

Nextiva is the future-of-work software company that helps sales, service, and marketing teams achieve higher productivity and deliver better customer engagement. Nextiva's cloud-based platform brings together business communications applications, intelligence, and automation to help companies build deeper connections with customers and manage all conversations and relationships in one place.

Posts from this author

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What is Business Communication? Why Do You Need It?

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The way we communicate with others is such a habitual part of us that we rarely stop and think about it. This translates into business communication too. Organizations, after all, aren't faceless entities, but groups of real people. Effective communication affects processes, efficiency, and every layer of a company.

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Methods of Communication Within a Business

Many methods of communication take place in both large and small business settings. Understanding the availability, benefits and drawbacks of the various options can help businesspeople choose the communication tools most likely to resonate with audiences. Today communication can occur in a variety of ways - in person, through print documents, through broadcast messages or, increasingly, online.

Face to Face Communication

While technology is rampant, face-to-face communication remains a key method for communicating in business environments. An in-person conversation can improve understanding, help solidify a team and build trust among co-workers. A face to face meeting, when possible, also allows you to interpret body language and pick-up on non-verbal cues during a conversation, a particularly important skill when workers are involved in a group project that requires team effort and compromise.

Email Conversations and Communication

Email remains a popular way to communicate in many organizations and is used even when people may sit in offices or cubicles next to each other. Email can be used to communicate quickly with one or thousands of individuals in a variety of locations and offers flexibility, convenience and low-cost. It also provides an opportunity to hold a private conversation in a bustling or crowded office.

Communication in Business Meetings

Meetings are often the butt of jokes in many business settings and in comic strips, such as Dilbert, but they continue to serve as an important method of communication in many organizations. Successful meetings - those with a stated agenda, specific starting and ending time, skilled facilitation and minutes to indicate who will be responsible for what after the meeting - are important elements that can guarantee communication success.

Social Media Applications

Although social media is often considered a communication tool to be used with the general public, many organizations are also using social media internally to communicate among specific groups that have shared interests. Facebook and other tools can be used quite effectively to establish bonds between employees who may work in dispersed locations because it offers not only the opportunity for interaction but the use of photos that can help create a more personal connection between employees who may not otherwise have the opportunity to meet face to face.

Team Messaging Applications

Many workplaces now have a favored team messaging service to keep communications secure while embracing a degree of informality. Services such as Skype allow for instant messaging, video conferences and business phone calls while tools like Slack let your teams create different chats for unique projects and collaborate within the system. Alternatives such as Google Hangouts and Workplace by Facebook allow employees to utilize existing accounts for both work projects and casual conversation.

About the Author

Leigh Richards has been a writer since 1980. Her work has been published in "Entrepreneur," "Complete Woman" and "Toastmaster," among many other trade and professional publications. She has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Arts in organizational management from the University of Phoenix.

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Methods of Communication Within a Business

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Workplace communication isn't limited to face-to-face conversations or team meetings any longer. A variety of tools allow workers to converse in groups or in private using the internet. Email, social media and team messaging platforms let teams collaborate online or engage in casual conversation.

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What is an organizational structure?

At some point, you have likely seen an organizational chart for your company. And we can probably guess what it looked like.

The typical org chart looks like a pyramid, your C-level executives at the top with lines stretching down to middle management and finally staff-level employees.

But not every company functions best with a hierarchical organizational structure. Many types of organizational charts exist because many types of organizational structures exist.

In this post, we go through the 10 common types of org structures and reasons why you might consider each of them.

1. Hierarchical org structure

The pyramid-shaped organizational chart we referred to earlier is known as a hierarchical org chart. It's the most common type of organizational structure-the chain of command goes from the top (e.g., the CEO or manager) down (e.g., entry-level and lower-level employees), and each employee has a supervisor.

Pros

Better defines levels of authority and responsibility

Shows who each person reports to or who to talk to about specific projects

Motivates employees with clear career paths and chances for promotion

Gives each employee a specialty

Creates camaraderie between employees within the same department

Cons

2. Functional org structure

Similar to a hierarchical organizational structure, a functional org structure starts with positions with the highest levels of responsibility at the top and goes down from there. Primarily, though, employees are organized according to their specific skills and their corresponding function in the company. Each separate department is managed independently.

Pros

Allows employees to focus on their role

Encourages specialization

Help teams and departments feel self-determined

Is easily scalable in any sized company

Cons

3. Horizontal or flat org structure

A horizontal or flat organizational structure fits companies with few levels between upper management and staff-level employees. Many startup businesses use a horizontal org structure before they grow large enough to build out different departments, but some organizations maintain this structure since it encourages less supervision and more involvement from all employees.

Pros
Cons
4. Divisional org structure

In divisional organizational structures, a company's divisions have control over their own resources, essentially operating like their own company within the larger organization. Each division can have its own marketing team, sales team, IT team, etc. This structure works well for large companies as it empowers the various divisions to make decisions without everyone having to report to just a few executives.

Depending on your organization's focus, there are a few variations to consider.

Market-based divisional org structure

Divisions are separated by market, industry, or customer type. A large consumer goods company, like Target or Walmart, might separate its durable goods (clothing, electronics, furniture, etc.) from its food or logistics divisions.

Product-based divisional org structure

Divisions are separated by product line. For example, a tech company might have a division dedicated to its cloud offerings, while the rest of the divisions focus on the different software offerings-e.g., Adobe and its creative suite of Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, etc.

Geographic divisional org structure

Divisions are separated by region, territories, or districts, offering more effective localization and logistics. Companies might establish satellite offices across the country or the globe in order to stay close to their customers.

5. Matrix org structure

A matrix organizational chart looks like a grid, and it shows cross-functional teams that form for special projects. For example, an engineer may regularly belong to the engineering department (led by an engineering director) but work on a temporary project (led by a project manager). The matrix org chart accounts for both of these roles and reporting relationships.
Pros Cons
6. Team-based org structure

It'll come as no surprise that a team-based organizational structure groups employees according to teams-think Scrum teams or tiger teams. A team organizational structure is meant to disrupt the traditional hierarchy, focusing more on problem-solving, cooperation, and giving employees more control.
Pros

Increases productivity, performance, and transparency by breaking down silo mentality

Promotes a growth mindset

Changes the traditional career models by getting people to move laterally

Values experience rather than seniority

Requires minimal management

Fits well with agile companies with Scrum or tiger teams

Cons

Goes against many companies' natural inclination of a purely hierarchical structure

Might make promotional paths less clear for employees

See why forming tiger teams is a smart move for your organization.

7. Network org structure

These days, few businesses have all their services under one roof, and juggling the multitudes of vendors, subcontractors, freelancers, offsite locations, and satellite offices can get confusing. A network organizational structure makes sense of the spread of resources. It can also describe an internal structure that focuses more on open communication and relationships rather than hierarchy.
Pros

Visualizes the complex web of onsite and offsite relationships in companies

Allows companies to be more flexible and agile

Give more power to all employees to collaborate, take initiative, and make decisions

Helps employees and stakeholders understand workflows and processes

Cons

Can quickly become overly complex when dealing with lots of offsite processes

Can make it more difficult for employees to know who has final say

Consider the needs of your organization, including the company culture that you want to develop, and choose one of these organizational structures.

8. Process-based structure

A process-based structure organizes employees into groups or departments based on steps of a process. The leader of the company is listed at the top, as they oversee all processes. Each step of the process has a supervisor and employees who do work in that process. The chart reads from left to right. One process can not begin until the process before it is completed.

Pros

Can lead to faster and more efficient processes

Promotes teamwork within departments and across departments

Cons

Can lead to barriers between departments

Can lead to miscommunication between departments, especially during handoffs

9. Circular structure

A circular organizational structure puts leaders of the organization at the center rather than the top so they can share information outward rather than pass it down a chain of command. Employees in different departments are also seen as part of a larger whole rather than siloed off by department.

Pros

Promotes the flow of information across the organization

Promotes communication and collaboration between employees and departments

Cons

Can cause confusion around who to report to, especially for new employees

Can take longer to make decisions

10. Line structure

A line structure is one of the simplest organizational structures as authority flows from top to bottom. Each department is ran by a manager and works toward a common organizational goal.

Pros

Reporting structure is clear

Stable environment

Cons

Can be inflexible

Can limit innovation and specialization

Can lead to managers having a lot of power

Once you've chosen the right org structure to pursue, learn the steps in the company reorganization process.

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The typical org chart looks like a pyramid, but not every company functions along a hierarchical organizational structure. Let's go through the seven common types of org structures and reasons why you might consider each of them.

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Company Formation and Company Registration UK

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Register a UK limited company and start trading within 24 hours. We offer the best packages and business bank accounts to start your business journey.

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The Secrets of Great Teamwork: Building High-Performing Teams

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Explore the four essential requirements for productive cooperation and teamwork in today’s dynamic, diverse, and digital teams.

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Buddying new starters: the benefits of peer support

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Have you ever started a new job and found yourself overwhelmed with new systems, new processes, and new information? Perhaps you work in a role that has a particularly steep learning curve? In

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Our section on Working in Groups and Teams, starting with What is a Group?, defines groups and explains some of the issues and challenges of working in a group. It explains the Group Life-Cycle, and how groups can change over time.

This page builds on those, and sets out some of the specific skills that you may need when working in a group or a team.

Effective Teams

Our page on Group Roles explains that there are a number of roles that any one person can take on in a team.

In summary these are:

Belbin's Team Roles

1. Shaper - drives work forward and gets things done, has a clear idea of the desired direction of travel;

2. Implementer - also gets things done, looking for ways to turn talk into action and generate practical activity;

3. Completer-Finisher - focuses on completing tasks, and tidying up all the loose ends;

4. Coordinator - manage the group dynamics, often in a leadership role;

5. Team Worker - helps the team to work effectively by supporting personal relationships;

6. Resource Investigator - gathers external resources and information to help the team;

7. Plant - generates ideas and creative solutions, not all of them practical;

8. Monitor-Evaluator - good at critically assessing ideas and proposals, and at making decisions; and

9. Specialist - brings expert knowledge to the group, not always necessary to effective functioning.

Research shows that the most effective teams have someone who can take on each of the nine key roles. That doesn't mean that a team has to contain nine people, as most people can take on two or even three roles at a time.

Teams that struggle to operate effectively, however, tend to lack one or more of the nine key roles.

Task vs. Process Team Roles

Belbin's team roles can be divided into Task and Process roles.

Task roles focus on 'what': the job in hand, and getting it done. The key 'task-focused' team roles are Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Monitor-Evaluator, Plant and Specialist.

Process roles focus on 'how', and particularly on the people involved. They include Coordinator, Resource Investigator, and Team Worker.

The most effective team-workers are those who can see what skills are available within the group, and use their own skills to fill any gaps. People tend to be either task- or process-focused, rather than a mixture.

It is perfectly possible to learn to take on the other focus, if you want to do so, and this will make you a highly effective team member.

Key Task-Focused Team Skills

The skills which are needed to take on task-focused team roles include:

Organising and Planning Skills
Being organised is essential to getting tasks done.
If you don't know what needs to be done, and by when, it's quite hard to make it happen by your deadline. Shapers, Implementers and Completer-Finishers are all characterised by good organising skills, and can usually be relied upon to put in place strong systems for managing projects well.

Some people are naturally more organised than others, and if this is an area in which you struggle, take a look at our pages on Organising Skills and Time Management for some ideas. For larger projects, have a look at our pages on Project Management, Project Planning and Action Planning.

Decision-Making
Being able to make decisions is also crucial to moving things forward.
It is often important to take time to gather information, and ensure that the decision is right. However, there may come a time when any decision is better than none.
Group decision-making often requires compromise, and sometimes a willingness to give up one's own point of view in favour of the group's shared decision. However, as our page on Group Decision-Making makes clear, group decisions are not always correct simply because they are agreed by the whole group.
Shapers and Monitor-Evaluators are both good decision-makers.

Shapers tend to make their own decisions quickly and then may struggle to compromise. They should try to allow others to speak first to avoid biasing the group. Their willingness to argue their point regardless of views expressed by previous speakers will be helpful to the group's decision-making process.

Monitor-Evaluators tend to look for the right decision from the available evidence, and may be slow to make a decision if there is a shortage of evidence. They may also lean too heavily on evidence known to more people, and on the views of more senior group members.

For more about this area, see our pages on Decision-Making Skills and Group Decision-Making.

Problem-Solving
Task-focused people are often adept at problem-solving, especially if the problem relates to the task.
Plants look for innovative ideas to solve the problem, and Implementers will turn ideas into practical action.

Shapers will see the 'big picture' and the overall plan, making sure that the solution to the problem does not result in a change of direction.

For more about good problem-solving skills, see our pages on Problem Solving.

Key Process-Focused Team Skills

Process-focused skills tend to be about people, and about building rapport within the group and making it work cohesively and effectively. Those who take on process-focused group roles tend to have very good interpersonal skills, and in particular:

Communication Skills

Good Coordinators, Team-Workers and Resource Investigators are good at Verbal Communication, Listening, and Questioning. They work hard to ensure that the group communicates well, helping to make sure that there are no misunderstandings or unexpressed difficulties between team members.

For more about developing these skills, see our page on Improving your Communication Skills.

Ability to Build Rapport

These people are also good at developing a sense of harmony within the group. They help to build rapport with others, creating a coherent team.

Persuasion and Influencing Skills

One of the key areas of process skills is in persuading and influencing. If the group is to come to a shared decision, for example, several members may need to be persuaded of the merits of a particular course of action.

See our page on Persuasion and Influencing Skills for more on this, and for an example of a particularly adept piece of influencing in a group situation.

Facilitation Skills

Managing a process is basically about facilitating it, or making it easier. Good facilitation skills are therefore vital in team-working, although they are often wrongly seen as crucial only for managing workshops.

For more about this, see our page on Facilitation Skills.

Feedback Skills

Giving and receiving feedback well is essential in any team-working situation. Being able to give clear and effective feedback to others is vital to keep the group process running effectively, and to plan. It also helps to ensure that you do not get irritated and angry with the way that others are behaving. It follows that you also need to be able to receive feedback gracefully, and then act on it calmly.

See our page on Giving and Receiving Feedback for more.

Skills in Chairing Meetings

Group work often involves meetings, whether those are committee meetings or much bigger and more formal meetings. Skilled Coordinators often have highly developed skills in chairing meetings, and use them in small and large groups alike.

For more about this, see our page on Conducting a Meeting.

Conflict resolution

Finally, you have to recognise that there may be situations when you need to deal with difficult people or situations, or even resolve a conflict.

For more about this, see our pages on Difficult Group Behaviour, Conflict Resolution and on Communication in Difficult Situations.

And Finally...

...it is important to remember that all team-working situations are fundamentally about working with other people.

If you have good interpersonal skills, and are open to receiving feedback and improving them as a result, then you will become, and be, a good person to work with in a team. It truly is as simple as that.

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Our section on Working in Groups and Teams, starting with What is a Group?, defines groups and explains some of the issues and challenges of working in a group. It explains the Group Life-Cycle, and how groups can change over time.

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What are social media metrics? And why are they important to track?

As a social media professional, they're your chance to demonstrate the value of your work, and the impact of the decisions you've made.

If your boss asks you to talk data, take the opportunity to be a pro and go beyond the surface-level, "vanity" metrics-the likes and shares and retweets. Instead, focus on the data that matters-the numbers that prove your effort has had a positive, bottom-line impact on the business.

The right data will assure executives that their investment in social is paying off. It'll also help you continue to make smarter, more data-driven decisions moving forward.

This article identifies the social media metrics that really matter, why they're important, and how to track them.

Ready to make an impression?

Table of contents

Bonus: Get a free social media report template to easily and effectively present your social media performance to key stakeholders.

The most important social media metrics for marketers

The social funnel: a breakdown

Before diving into social media metrics, let's review where each one lives in the social funnel.

For the purposes of this article, we'll segment the funnel into four key customer journey stages:

Awareness: these metrics illuminate your current and potential audience.

Engagement: these metrics show how audiences are interacting with your content.

Conversion: these metrics demonstrate the effectiveness of your social engagement.

Consumer: these metrics reflect how active customers think and feel about your brand.

Every stage is populated with its own set of must-measure metrics, KPIs that shed light on the effectiveness of your social media marketing.

Let's dive in.

Awareness metrics

These numbers illuminate your current and potential audience.

1. Brand Awareness

Brand Awareness is the attention your brand gets-across all social media-during a reporting period, or a specific span of time that yields statistically relevant data.

Attention can be expressed through a variety of social media metrics, including @mentions, shares, links, and impressions. Reporting periods are also variable, usually lasting a week, a month, or a quarter.

How to track it:

Note: A brand monitoring tool makes it easier to track every time someone mentions you on social media, with or without an @mention.

2. Audience Growth Rate

Audience Growth Rate measures the speed at which your brand's following increases on social media. It's how quickly you gain followers.

As access to the internet continues to increase around the world, brands' social media followings will also increase.

But the question you should be asking is not, "How many net new followers did we get last month?" Instead, ask, "How fast did we gain last month's net new followers-and was it faster than our competition?"

How to track it:

Note: You can track your competitors' progress the same way.

3. Post Reach

Post Reach denotes how many people have seen a post since it went live.

This metric is easy to find and even easier to understand. Most importantly, it's actionable, since it's affected by the timing (i.e., when is your audience online?) and the content (i.e., what does your audience find valuable?) of your post.
How to track it:
Note: On Facebook, the "When Your Fans Are Online" feature will tell you the optimal time to post. Use this data to increase your reach.

4. Potential Reach

Potential Reach measures the number of people who could, realistically, see a post during a reporting period.

In other words, if one of your followers shared your post with her network, approximately 2% to 5% of her followers would factor into the post's potential reach.

Understanding this metric is important because, as a social marketer, you should always be working to expand your audience. Knowing your potential reach enables you to gauge your progress.
How to track it:
STEP 1: Use a brand monitoring tool to track your total number of brand mentions.
STEP 2: Record how many followers saw each mention (i.e., the audience of the account that mentioned you).
STEP 3: Multiply those two numbers together to get your Theoretical Reach, or the absolute maximum number of people who could, in theory, see your brand mentions.

Your potential reach is 2% to 5% of your theoretical reach.

5. Social Share of Voice (SSoV)

Social Share of Voice measures how many people are mentioning your brand on social media compared to your competitors.

Mentions can be either:

1. Direct (e.g., "@Hootsuite")

2. Indirect (e.g., "hootsuite")

SSoV is, essentially, competitive analysis: how visible-and, therefore, relevant-is your brand in the market?
How to track it:
STEP 1: Measure every mention your brand receives-direct and indirect-across your social networks.
STEP 2: Measure your competitors' mentions during the same reporting period.
STEP 3: Add your mentions and those of your competitors to get the total industry mentions.
STEP 4: Divide your brand mentions by the grand total and multiply by 100 to get your SSoV percentage.

Note: Using social media analytics tools will make this process easier.

Engagement metrics

These numbers show how people are interacting with your content.

6. Applause Rate

Applause Rate is the number of approval actions (e.g., likes, favorites) a post receives relative to your total number of followers.

When a follower likes or favorites one of your posts, she's acknowledging that it's valuable to her. Knowing what percentage of your audience finds value in the things you post can-and should -inform your content moving forward.
How to track it:
Note: Use a social media impact tool to help track approval actions and simplify the process.

7. Average Engagement Rate

Average Engagement Rate is the number of engagement actions (e.g., likes, shares, comments) a post receives relative to your total number of followers.

It's an important metric because higher engagement means your content is resonating with the audience. To prove that, track the engagement rate of every post. If you have a high engagement rate, the actual number of likes and shares and comments is irrelevant.
How to track it:
Note: The benchmark for this metric is different on every platform.

Facebook and Twitter, for example, typically have lower engagement rates (e.g., 0.5% to 1%). Instagram, on the other hand, is known for its relatively high engagement rates (e.g., 3% to 6%).

8. Amplification Rate

Amplification Rate is the ratio of shares per post to the number of overall followers.

Coined by Avinash Kaushik, author and digital marketing evangelist at Google, amplification is "the rate at which your followers take your content and share it through their networks."

Basically, the higher your amplification rate, the more willing your followers are to associate themselves with your brand.
How to track it:
9. Virality Rate

Virality Rate is the number of people who shared your post relative to the number of unique views (i.e., impressions) it had during a reporting period.

Like the other metrics on this list, virality rate goes beneath the surface. It's about more than just likes.

"A post that gets 17,000 likes may only get 0.1% virality," writes Nicolas Gremion, "while another post that receives 10,000 likes gets 9.97% virality-and that's a far better post."
How to track it:
STEP 1: Measure a post's impressions.
STEP 2: Measure a post's shares.
STEP 3: Divide the number of shares by the number of impressions and multiply by 100 to get your virality rate percentage.

Conversion metrics

These numbers demonstrate the effectiveness of your social engagement.

10. Conversion rate

Conversion Rate is the number of visitors who, after clicking on a link in your post, take action on a page (e.g., subscribe to your newsletter, download a gated content asset, register for a webinar) against that page's total visitors.

A high conversion rate means your content is valuable and compelling to the target audience. From a social media standpoint, it's a sign that your post was relevant to the offer. In other words, it kept its promise.
How to track it:
STEP 1: Create a post with a call-to-action link. Use a URL shortener to make it trackable.
STEP 2: Place a "cookie" on the user's machine. Doing so attaches the lead to a campaign.
STEP 3: Use the campaign reporting to track the total number of clicks and conversions generated by the post.
STEP 4: Divide conversions by total clicks and multiply by 100 to get your conversion rate percentage.

Note: A post's conversion rate can be high even if traffic is low. The two metrics are mutually exclusive.

11. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Click-Through Rate, or CTR, is how often people click on the call-to-action link in your post.

Not to be confused with other engagement actions (e.g., shares, likes, comments), your CTR is specifically tied to a link that brings the audience to additional content.

Tracking CTR, often and accurately, will give you invaluable insight into how compelling your offer is to the target audience.
How to track it:
Note: Don't forget to measure clicks and impressions within the same reporting period.

12. Bounce Rate

Bounce Rate, is the percentage of page visitors who click on a link in your post, only to quickly leave the page they land on without taking an action.

Bounce rate lets you measure your social media traffic-and, in turn, ROI -against other sources of traffic (e.g., traffic from a Facebook post vs. traffic from an organic Google search).

If your social media bounce rate is lower than that of other sources, it's proof that your social media campaigns are targeting the right audience-and, in turn, driving high-value traffic.
How to track it:
STEP 1: Set up Google Analytics.
STEP 2: Open the "Acquisition" tab, and look under "All Traffic" for the "Channels" segment.

STEP 3: Click on the "Bounce Rate" button, which will rank all of the channels from lowest bounce rate to highest.

Note: Demonstrating the relative effectiveness of your social media efforts will go a long way in proving its value to the business.

13. Cost-Per-Click (CPC)

Cost-Per-Click, or CPC, is the amount you pay per individual click on your sponsored social media post.

Whether you choose to advertise on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Linkedin, don't focus on your total spend. Instead, look to your CPC. It'll help you weigh if your investment in attention is efficient, or wasteful.
How to track it:
Note: Never let your CPC campaigns go unattended for an extended period of time.

14. Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)

Cost Per Thousands Impressions, or CPM, is the amount you pay every time a thousand people scroll past your sponsored social media post.

Unlike in a CPC campaign, a CPM post won't necessarily drive action. It'll only create impressions, views. Therefore, CPM is a faster and less expensive way to split test content.
How to track it:
Note: Never let your CPM campaigns go unattended for an extended period of time.

15. Social Media Conversion Rate

Social Media Conversion Rate is the total number of conversions that came from social media, expressed as a percentage.

Understanding this metric will give you clear insight into the effectiveness of each post in a campaign. In other words, it answers this question: how well does this offer resonate with our target audience?
How to track it:
16. Conversation Rate

Conversation Rate is the ratio of comments per post to the number of overall followers you have.

It's another metric coined by Avinash Kaushik -and it's better than tracking comments without any context. After all, getting an average of 20 comments per post is a lot more impressive if you only have 200 followers.

Tracking your conversation rate will help you understand how much of your audience is compelled to add their voice to the content you post on social. Or as Kaushik puts it, "Is what you are saying interesting enough to spark the most social of all things: a conversation?"

How to track it:

STEP 1: Use a tool like Hootsuite Analytics to pull the number of comments you received during a reporting period.
STEP 2: Divide that number by your total number of followers and multiply by 100 to get you conversation rate percentage.

Customer metrics

These numbers reflect how your active customers think and feel about your brand.

17. Customer Testimonials

Customer Testimonials are any customer review, assessment, comment, endorsement, or interview relating to a brand.

Ultimately, great testimonials are the product of customer delight. If your brand makes people happy, they'll be more likely to share their good experience with others.

The benefits are clear: a consistent stream of sincere testimonials on social media will garner trust and credibility while boosting your brand's presence.

Want more customer testimonials?

Ask your best customers to leave a review. Never offer to compensate them for their effort, of course, as that would undermine your credibility.

Run a social media campaign that encourages people to create written, video, or online testimonials about your product, service, or mission.

Link to your Google My Business review form to make leaving testimonials a simple, seamless process for your brand evangelists.

Bonus: Get a free social media report template to easily and effectively present your social media performance to key stakeholders.

18. Customer Satisfaction (CSat) Score

Customer Satisfaction, or CSAT, is a metric that measures how happy people are with your product or service.

Usually, the CSAT score is the product of one, straightforward question: How would you describe your overall satisfaction with this product?

Customers are then asked to rate their satisfaction on a linear scale, either numerically (e.g., one to 10) or sentimentally (e.g., Poor, Fair, Good, Great, Excellent).

CSAT has become a nearly ubiquitous way to understand how customers feel about your brand, mainly because it's clear, concise, and easy to administer, especially on social media.
How to track it:
19. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score, or NPS, is a metric that measures customer loyalty.

Unlike CSAT, NPS is good at predicting future customer engagement because it is the product of one-and only one-specifically phrased question: How likely is it that you would recommend our [company/product/service] to a friend?

Customers are then asked to answer on a scale of zero to 10. Based on their response, each customer is grouped into one of three categories:

Detractors: 0 - 6 score range

Passives: 7 - 8 score range

Promoters: 9 - 10 score range

NPS is unique in that it measures customer satisfaction as well as future sales, which has made it a valuable, go-to metric for organizations of all sizes.
How to track it:
"Yes, absolutely," you say. "I'd love to talk data."

Whether you meet with your boss once a month or once a day, your conversations about data will be more substantive-and impactful-if you highlight social media metrics that demonstrate the bottom-line impact of your effort.

So dig deeper, and go beyond the readily accessible vanity metrics that literally anyone can report. Showcase your skills by presenting social media analytics that tell a story, a narrative that's inherently valuable to your organization.

You'll work more, but you'll also come away with more than your effort was worth.

See all your social media metrics on a single dashboard

Hootsuite Analytics lets you track your social media performance across every network from one easy-to-use dashboard. See exactly what's driving results and where you can make improvements for better ROI.

Hootsuite Insights goes even further and gives you data from 1.3 trillion social posts in real time. Get super nerdy and save keywords or Boolean strings to find meaningful trends and patterns you might miss with basic social performance tracking. Filter your searches for specifics like dates, demographics, and geographies to learn more about your audience and their behavior than ever before.
These features are of course in addition to Hootsuite's content creation, scheduling, and audience engagement capabilities. Try it all for free today!

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19 Social Media Metrics That Really Matter-And How to Track Them

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What are social media metrics? And why are they important to track? As a social media professional, they're your chance to demonstrate the value of your work, and the impact of the decisions you've made. If your boss asks you to talk data, take the opportunity to be a pro and go beyond the surface-level, "vanity" metrics-the likes and shares and retweets.

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Sustainability is the challenge of our lifetime. At McGill, we are building a culture of sustainability together.

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The best passwords are strong enough to thwart a brute force or dictionary attack. Find out how to create good, easy-to-remember passwords.

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Phishing is a cybercrime in which a target or targets are contacted by email, telephone or text message by someone posing as a legitimate institution to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, banking and credit card details, and passwords.

The information is then used to access important accounts and can result in identity theft and financial loss.

The first phishing lawsuit was filed in 2004 against a Californian teenager who created the imitation of the website "America Online". With this fake website, he was able to gain sensitive information from users and access the credit card details to withdraw money from their accounts. Other than email and website phishing, there's also 'vishing' (voice phishing), 'smishing' (SMS Phishing) and several other phishing techniques cybercriminals are constantly coming up with.

Common Features of Phishing Emails

Here is a great KnowBe4 resource that outlines 22 social engineering red flags commonly seen in phishing emails. We recommend printing out this PDF to pass along to family, friends, and coworkers.

Prevent Phishing Attacks:

Though hackers are constantly coming up with new techniques, there are some things that you can do to protect yourself and your organization:

Generally, emails sent by a cybercriminals are masked so they appear to be sent by a business whose services are used by the recipient. A bank will not ask for personal information via email or suspend your account if you do not update your personal details within a certain period of time. Most banks and financial institutions also usually provide an account number or other personal details within the email, which ensures it's coming from a reliable source.

FreePhishing Security Test

Would your users fall for convincing phishing attacks? Take the first step now and find out before bad actors do. Plus, see how you stack up against your peers with phishing Industry Benchmarks. The Phish-prone percentage is usually higher than you expect and is great ammo to get budget.
Here's how it works:

Immediately start your test for up to 100 users (no need to talk to anyone)

Select from 20+ languages and customize the phishing test template based on your environment

Choose the landing page your users see after they click

Show users which red flags they missed, or a 404 page

Get a PDF emailed to you in 24 hours with your Phish-prone % and charts to share with management

See how your organization compares to others in your industry

PS: Don't like to click on redirected buttons? Cut & Paste this link in your browser:
https://www.phishing.org/phishing-security-test
Related Pages: History of Phishing, Phishing Techniques, 10 Ways To Avoid Phishing Scams

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Phishing is an attempt by cybercriminals posing as legitimate institutions, usually via email, to obtain sensitive information from targeted individuals.

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6 different types of hackers, from black hat to red hat

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Black, white and grey hat hackers are fairly well-known, but what about green, blue and red hats? Learn about the different types of hackers and how they fit into the hacking realm.