In this episode, Chandrasekhar, an L&D professional who has been working with data for the past few years, discusses data in communications. He explains how data can be used to create more targeted and personalized internal communications.

Check out his Story:

Transcript (Auto Generated)

0:01 Data tells you a story.
0:02 Every number tells you something. Try to read that.
0:09 there are various ways to look at data, do not get stuck to one way, try and look at
visualized data I think that’s very easy to consume and you can look at the story very
easily.
0:29 I think I started using data way back in my career maybe a couple of years when I started working The first interaction with data was when I was working with the Hutchison, my power company for the three mobile brand we were looking at we’re looking at customer’s usage data that required a lot of analytics in terms of providing the
right set of plans etcetera.
0:55 I think that was my first interaction where I was involved in building a tool for the building team.
1:03 That gave me that gave me the knack in terms of you know looking at data, what does data tells you if you look at numbers reports, visualize the data.
1:14 The interesting part is there is a story that should come out I think you know that the entire understanding of data was buried from these kind of experiences I had over a number of years.
1:30 then how do we use that data to connect to the projects to connect to a certain
initiatives.
1:40 and use of course communication connected data I think two parts data and communications so so well bound together you can’t really work without either.
1:51 These are a few initial experiences that had were alert that you know how to use data.
1:58 How do you look at various aspects?
2:01 How do you build a story which data tells you And of course communication plays a super strong role in being able to achieve what you’re trying to achieve.
2:14 What are the objectives you have for a certain initiative supported by data.
2:19 And of course you have to go back from communication to data back and forth to have materialized your execution.
2:32 One of my favorite campaigns was around when I got into insurance organizations, I mean way back I think 2014 I wasn’t learning and development working with certain projects, programs for the organization and we started, we started with this particular
program for first time managers.
2:58 when we initiated the project of course there was the definite need in terms of making sure that you know people who get promoted as managers for the first time ever go through certain kind of trainings to shift from individual contributor to managing a
team.
3:14 What we realized that there wasn’t such a strong program and we redesigned everything.
3:20 What helped us in understanding how to evolve this particular program was the data.
3:25 When you start looking at data of people who went through this kind of training and we were not, we realized there are very certain behavioral patterns coming up.
3:34 We realized there are certain you know certain patterns or way they operate has
shifted and shifted for the good of course they are more aligned to the organization’s
vision and culture that are such a big important data point.
3:49 So these are, these are some examples where you know data has helped me look
at perspective very differently.
3:58 I was working with another organization and we started looking at data for our own
employees and started looking at attrition, So attrition was a concern and we want to see
why you know people do a try of course there could be various reasons one would give
for inspiration, but when you start looking at the life cycle called we administered that
there is a particular pattern we can derive when you’re looking at cohorts of employees
and how they have actually progressed through the organization, the point they actually
exit the organization, very interesting patterns came out and we could figure out what
are the various triggers which will lead to attrition and if there is a way we can start
addressing those triggers through various initiatives.
4:47 So that is very strong data point to tell you predictive lee if an employee is going to
leave the organization and these these data points were just fantastic in such a big, such
a strong, you know, leverage the organization can have, if you work with the data in the
right way.
5:15 Internal communication is very, very important.
5:18 I mean, if you look at any organization, I think there’s a constant and ever to
develop the organization when it comes to people if you have to develop your
organization, you need to develop your people.
5:32 If you need to develop your people, you need to be extremely clear what kind of
culture you’re going to build in, what kind of capabilities you’re gonna build in, what is the
skill density in the organization?
5:44 How are you ensuring that there is talent density in the organization.
5:48 Are you injecting new talent, how you’re developing the current talent and so on.
5:53When you’re, when you’re looking at all these various aspect, communication plays
the key role, it’s just the spinal cord of all of this, how you communicate to the 50
employees is going to create a perception of the brand, how you’re gonna initiate certain
projects or initiatives for them will create a perception about the brand, how you behave,
what kind of messages you give out right from a small email to big campaigns will
create, you know, that excitement or you know, a negative feeling about the brand,
about the people in the message.
6:31 And so that’s the reason I say that communication especially internal
communication is going to be the backbone for any organization when we work when we
work in in learning and development, especially for projects, which impact behaviors or
projects, which is looking at organization development, there is a very strong focus on
what kind of messaging goes out, there is a very strong focus in terms of what right to
the extent of what words do we use because that is that is the impact communication
can have if one wrong message, one wrong poster somewhere, one wrong statement by
a senior executive can actually break your entire project.
7:22 So communication plays a super super strong role and I think if leverage right any
organization can create a talent base very easily.
7:34 Any organization can attract external talent very easily.
7:43 So in my general experience I think there are a lot of brands who have faced some
kind of negative review off let the biggest one I remember is nestle.
7:53 I’m sure we all have seen that for any brand, I believe one is in general I would say
people are very forgiving very honestly one particular instance, one small negative
review but not really hammer your brand value or drastically.
8:14 However very honestly if not corrected at the right time or you don’t take necessary
actions right.
8:20 That these negative reviews may pile up definitely will impact the brand.
8:24 How we should look at.
8:26 It is very honestly every negative review has some value to be added to your
organization.
8:32 It will tell you a story, it will tell you which are the gaps which we need to bridge and
that’s what makes the brand strong.
8:41 That’s what makes the best brands in this world, what they are today.
8:46 They look at each and every feedback we get from from customers for example the
other day I was reading about Procter and Gamble.
8:55 you know how they actually developed various brands of washing powder, what is
that you look at in a powder?
9:03 People will get into chemical combinations, removing dirt and making clothes clean
etcetera.
9:08 But what they heard when they do benefit surveys with people, what they heard is
what people would want to see versus what’s the fragrance of this washing powder or
you know, liquid.
9:19 and I think that also breakthrough from them.
9:21 So every feedback gives you some kind of opportunity to develop your brand.
9:27 Even for that, I think that we need, we need to not lose that negative reviews will
happen.
9:34 Best of the brand in this organization will have negative reviews.
9:38 best of the brands will have hit out best of the brands will have very strong you
know negative opinions posted on super strong platforms like linkedin or maybe
instagram or twitter, but that does not mean that the brand is bad.
9:57 What people look out for is how does the brand react to it and how they’re going to
correct it the moment you corrected.
10:06 I think I think that adds more value to the plan in my opinion.
10:11 Honestly, a negative review is something as I said, helps you be better.
10:17 Second, a negative review can always be turned around into promoting your
brand even further.
10:25 I mean if I, if I have a particular brand, let’s say that there is a negative review.
10:31 Can I can I honestly go out and say that this is what we heard from you, this is
what will change for the brand and now we are better stronger.I mean people would love
that, right?
10:43People would love to know that this brand listens to you, that’s what people
want.So don’t fret away from negative reviews.
10:52 I mean if you don’t get negative reviews, you’re doing something wrong.If you’re
getting negative reviews that means people are connected to the brand, they feel bad. If
something goes wrong, if you are getting negative review, that means you are making an
impact on people’s lives.
11:10 This brand is making an impact on people’s lives.If you’re getting a negative
review corrected and people who have gone back, I think there are a lot of exciting
things coming out in the future. AI is I think slowly gonna creep in and be everywhere
possible.
11:33 I don’t see I don’t see a single aspect where a I won’t be there even in an internal
communication for that matter.
11:43 I think some form of automation, some form of when it comes to data, some form
of what I what I want to say is simply when you look at data and communication, there
has always been some kind of efforts to ensure that internal communications are strong.
12:04 The messages which you are to the employees has to be in a particular you know,
to only organization would always want, the v I see how, how internal communication
would evolve is, one is, I think organizations have become very sensitive towards their
employees.
12:25 Organizations are looking at employees at as valuable resources, communication
to internal employees, Internal communications, they are changing right the quantum of
communication going out to people right to the last mile. I think it’s increased over a
period of time.
12:47 The new platforms coming up, there is gonna be one phenomenal change in
terms of how people will interact with the organization. They are working for, interact with
people within the organization is also shifting and Covid give us some fantastic ways of
interacting with people.
13:08, I think before Covid we would have heard and may be used online mediums to
connect with people very rarely.
13:15 But I think after Covid just become a norm going out and meeting people is an
effort now.
13:20 So that’s how things are changing. Internal communication will have to adapt to
these chain changes.Internal communication will have to adapt to the new set of
employees coming in.
13:30 We’ve got millennials, we’ve got gen z, how do they think?How do they operate?
What is the kind of reaction time they want?They want things fast, quick, right on their
phones.
13:43 So add a catering to that.So that’s how we need to involve as an organization
tomorrow, you will have gen Zs as your leaders.
13:53 The perspective they bring in is very different after after maybe sometime you will
have the next set of generation who are probably thinking very differently.
14:04 So the organization with its communication needs to evolve continuously.
14:09 There are so many tools available in the market.
14:11 I think every organization should have strong communication tools for all kind of
internal communication, building a brand doesn’t start outside the organization building a
brand starts with the passion of people within the organization and I think we need to
keep that passion always ignited.
14:32 Communication is going to play a very, very internal communication is gonna play
a very critical role in keeping that passion and that fire alive within the organization for
people who are close to data, I would say deep dive into it, Data tells you a story, every
number tells you something, try to read that there are various ways to look at data, do
not get stuck to one way, try and look at visualized data, I think that’s very easy to
consume and you can look at the story very easily if you’re getting into communications
one very, very simple advice I would like to give to people who are in the communication
is start looking at your communication from the consumer perspective, whoever is your
consumer, internal employees or external customer in communication, what at least I
have seen over a period of time is we start looking at communication in a particular
manner, we need to keep refreshing that always a brand would kind of set a pattern of
messages or the time the external start to get very, very corridor at a time.
16:01 I think we need to keep looking at fresh and new ideas, so always look at always
look at your consumer, how do you send out a message and how, how it’s
comprehended.there is a big difference in that right?
16:16 You should always look at how your consumer is complaining, that particular
message.
16:21 Is that message or is that communication sending out the same set of excitement?
16:28 Is sending out the same set of message?
16:30 Is it, is it reaching out to the right set of people at the right time?
16:34 Is super, super critical.
16:36 So 11 simple advice would be begin with the end in mind, like what Stephen
Covey said, you should always look at what is that you want to achieve and start from
there plan everything for what you want to achieve, whether it’s communication, whether
it’s data, whether it’s any kind of initiative that you’re planning, always begin with the end
in mind and track everything back from there.
17:01 There is, there is no way you will fail if you start with the end in mind