What is considered a soft measure of communication effectiveness?

Employee awareness, understanding, or satisfaction is considered a soft measure of communication effectiveness because it focuses on the perceptions and feelings of employees in response to communication efforts. These measures are qualitative in nature and gauge the impact of communication on individuals rather than quantifying financial outcomes or output metrics, such as the quantity of materials distributed or cost savings achieved.

Understanding employee awareness assesses how well employees grasp the information being communicated, which is vital for ensuring that strategic messages resonate with the intended audience. Similarly, employee satisfaction pertains to their overall reaction to the communications, reflecting whether the messages are well-received and valued.

In contrast, counting the number of press releases distributed, calculating savings generated, or analyzing return on investment reports all represent more tangible and quantifiable metrics. These hard measures focus on outputs, efficiency, and direct financial implications, rather than on the subjective experience of employees as influenced by communication efforts.