Strategic Communication Audits. a Qualitative Research Perspective for Improving Human Resources Management

Abstract

Internal diversity within organizations and the technology-determined restraints of multinational competition raise the need of developing organizational communication more than ever. Communication audits have been approached as an effective tool for improving organizations’ business targets, but this article argues that communication audits go beyond that and fill the diverse communication needs of today’s manpower. 
 Firstly, the article clarifies the nature of strategic communication and the boundaries of this domain. Then, the paper examines the nature of the term „strategic”. We argue that the results of a communication audit are the first step towards a strategic communication plan. In view of this perspective, the article’s main research questions are: What is the link between strategic communication, communication audit and management performance? How do we measure and illustrate where the organization currently stands in terms of its communication performance? 
 The conclusions of this conceptual paper highlight the role of communication audits in providing useful information for the strategic communication process and HR management by clarifying the nature of qualitative data that are instrumental for strategic communication and how should a researcher report the results of a qualitative study in order to be effective for the strategic communication plan.