National Railways Development and Maintenance

Key Experts Group conducted a 360-degree communication audit of the company, including an in-depth review of its communication strategy and policies, its strategic partnerships and audiences, communication campaigns and materials. The auditors reviewed the effectiveness and efficiency of the established communication practices and developed recommendations addressing each of the identified problems as well as issue management mechanisms to prevent future crises and improve the communication flow between the company and its key stakeholders. The communication audit had a special focus on employee relations and employee perceptions of the company's communication processes.
More specifically, the communication audit achieved the following objectives:
o Identified the place and value of communication and public relations to the company as perceived by senior management and how it aligns and contributes to the company's goals and strategies for growth;
o Measured employee perceptions of the company's communication and information practices and their relationship with overall satisfaction with the job; pinpointed areas of disconnect between management and employees;
o Analysed the status of the communication practices as performed by the public relations professionals in the company;
o Evaluated effectiveness, creativity and relevance of communication channels and produced materials (website, memoranda, brochures, media releases, etc.) and suggested ways of aligning them with the goals of the company and the needs of the employees;
o Developed short- and long-term strategies with underlying tactics and next steps to bring communication in the company to the next level.
The communication audit was the first in its kind attempt to analyse the communication processes in the company and align them with its goals and the needs of the employees. It was embraced by both management and rank-and-file employees, and will be conducted annually to monitor progress and measure the effect of the new communication strategies on audience satisfaction.

Communication Audit designed to determine the status of the communication and public relations processes in the company and generate recommendation on their optimisation and successful implementation. Key Experts Group employed the following array of services in the audit:
o In-depth interviews with senior management to identify goals and strategies of the company, as well as the place and value of communication and public relations to the company.
o Customized research: employee satisfaction with the job and with communication and information flow was measured and analysed through qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (survey) research methods.
o Website and communication (public relations) materials analysis
o Reputation and communication policy development: based on the audit findings and research conclusions, recommendations were developed for reputation building and re-alignment of the communication policy aimed at improving the company's relations with its stakeholders and ultimately its business success.