Internal Communication Email Benchmarks: How To Measure It?

Employee communication has become even more important in our modern, dynamic business environment. Hence, it becomes challenging but necessary to maintain transparent and consistent lines of communication with workers. The most commonly used form of internal communication is electronic mail (email).

However, understanding how valuable it can prove can be a bit challenging without proper measurement and analysis. This is where internal communications email benchmarks come into the picture.

Now, you might be wondering what internal communication email benchmarks are. Well, these benchmarks are essential for enhancing the impact on your organization’s internal communications. Efficiently utilizing internal communications email benchmarks can result in several benefits, such as increased organizational performance, better employee involvement, and alignment with company goals.

Furthermore, as per research, companies with highly engaged employees are 21% more profitable than those with low engagement levels.

The Importance of Measuring Internal Communication Emails

Before moving on to the benchmarks, it is important to understand why measuring internal communication emails is essential. Effective internal communication has multiple benefits that are as follows:

1. Enhanced Employee Engagement: Employees who remain well-informed of the internal communications and feel connected to their organization are more likely to be engaged and productive.
2. Improved Alignment: Transparent and effective communication in an organization helps all employees reach a mutual understanding of the organizational purposes and approaches.
3. Reduced Miscommunication: Evaluating the communication outcomes allows one to determine the possible weaknesses and eliminate misunderstandings.

Key Metrics for Measuring Internal Communication Emails

Organizations need to track several key metrics to measure the effectiveness of internal communication emails. Here are some of the most important ones:

Open Rate:

The open rate of the email refers to the proportion of the total recipients that see the message. This measures how catchy the mail topic was or, rather, the target group to which the mail was delivered. The concretions and implications of low open rates. This opening rate can be an indication of questions concerning the title of the email or the time it was delivered.

Benchmark: It is important to note that there is no fixed value of open rates that can be assigned to the industry as it depends on the type of emails. Hence, for internal emails, the open rate benchmark is considered to be around 60-70%. This is higher than the external marketing emails because the messages shared are most often of high organizational relevance and importance to each employee.

Click-through Rate (CTR):

Click-through rate (CTR) is the number of unique people that were active on the campaign, expressed as the percentage of the total recipients of the email that opened at least one link within the received email.

Additionally, CTR defines the conversion success rate of the email’s material and the direct prompts to do so (CTAs). Hence, a high CTR is good as it means the content sent in the email is interesting and relevant to them.

Benchmark: In internal communication, the CTR should be between 20% and 40%. It can depend on what kind of content is being provided and to which industry.

Read Time:

It is the number of seconds recipients, on average, spend time to read the email. Meanwhile, read time also allows you to track how much time people spend reading the content, which will help us to understand how interesting the mail is. A short read time can imply that the contents of the email are not very stimulating or that the email is lengthy.

Benchmark: While it is impossible to define a standard reading time, regularly analyzing reading time can identify averages and problems for further analysis.

Response Rate:

Response rates are the cases where individuals actually open their emails and perhaps reply to any mail from the sender or take any action as instructed in the mail. They measure the effectiveness of the email in prompting the desired action and also indicate the level of engagement and interaction among employees.

Benchmark: Depending on the nature of the email, a response rate of 30-40% is considered good. However, this can vary widely based on the content and the requested action.

Bounce Rate:

Bounce rate measures the extent of bounced mail that could not reach the recipient’s inboxes. If the bounce rate is high, the problem may lie in the list of members’ email addresses, which may be out of date or wrongly typed. It can also impact the efficiency of internal communication and knowledge dissemination.

Benchmark: A bounce rate of less than 2% is generally considered acceptable, especially for internal messages.

Unsubscribe Rate:

It estimates the number of people who opt out of subsequent internal email communications. Although internal emails are often expected, monitoring the unsubscribe rate, if any, may give an indication of the level of satisfaction that employees have concerning the information provided or the frequency of the emails sent out.

Benchmark: In an ideal world, the unsubscribe rate should be as low as possible, especially because internal newsletters are usually considered mandatory for employees.

Best Practices for Measuring Internal Communication Emails

Organizations should follow some best practices to measure and improve internal communication emails effectively. Here’s how to measure internal communication benchmarks effectively.

Set Specific Goals:

Before sending an email, you must set targets. This might include asking questions such as what you will be able to achieve with this interaction. 

This may range from informing employees of changes in business policies, keeping them updated on company events, or even urging them to take action. Clear goals help measure success.

Use Appropriate Instruments:

Invest in tools for tracking and analyzing email metrics. Platforms such as Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, and specialized internal communication tools offer analytics that provide valuable insights.

Segment Your Target Audience:

Different employees will not require the same kind of information. Dividing your audience into departments, posts, or locations can help make the content more relevant and interesting. Consequently, there is potential for an increase in open rates as well as click-through rates.

A/B Testing:

A/B testing includes sending two versions of an email to a small sample of your subscribers to determine which one performs better than the other. It aids in the optimization of subject lines, contents and call-to-actions (CTAs) that have higher levels of engagement.

Analyze and Act on Feedback:

Keep track of the email metrics regularly while collecting feedback from employees. Use this data to make informed decisions and continuously improve your internal communication strategy.

Strategies to Improve Internal Communication Emails

Improving internal communication emails needs a strategic approach. Here are some strategies to consider:

1. Personalization: Personalizing emails can significantly increase engagement. Use the recipient’s name, reference their department, and create content relevant to their role and interests.
2. Clear and Concise Content: Ensure that the content is clear and concise. Bullet points, headings and summaries can help you make the email scannable and to the point.
3. Compelling Subject Line: The subject line should encourage opening because it is what recipients see first. This section should use words that inspire action while indicating a sense of urgency or importance.
4. Mobile Optimization: Most people access their emails using mobile devices at work. The design should be responsive so that employees can easily click on links while reading an email on a smartphone.
5. Visual Content: Photos, infographics, and videos are good examples of visual communications that may be employed to optimize the attractiveness of email and make it more engaging for people interested in going through it, even if they need more time to read everything.

Final Thoughts 

Measuring and improving internal communication emails is essential for facilitating a well-informed, engaged, and aligned workforce. By understanding key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, read time, response rates, bounce rates, and more, business organizations can gain practical insights into how effective their internal email communication is.

Also, implementing all the best practices specified above can further enhance the impact of internal emails and help you build a more productive workforce. 

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Frequently Asked Questions 

Q1. How can I improve the open rate of internal communication emails?

Several strategies will help improve the open rate for internal communication emails. The first one is creating persuasive subject lines that show the importance and relevance of the email to the recipient. Moreover, personalizing subject lines by using the recipient’s name or department can also boost open rates. 

Q2. What should I do if the click-through rate of my internal emails is low?

A low click-through rate (CTR) could mean content or offers need to be more interesting to attract attention from those receiving your messages. To improve CTR, focus on creating concise and visually appealing content that clearly communicates the intended action. Use compelling CTAs that prompt recipients to take specific actions, such as accessing a document or completing a survey.

Q3. How can I ensure that internal communication emails reach all employees?

Ensuring that internal communication emails reach all employees requires a combination of strategies. First, maintain an accurate and up-to-date email distribution list to minimize bounce rates. Segmenting the audience based on department, role, or location can also help tailor communication to specific groups and improve relevance.

Additionally, consider using multiple communication channels, such as email, intranet posts, and team meetings, to reach employees who may not regularly check their email.