Taking action after fielding a survey can be a challenge. But I have a simple strategy to ensure the results don’t languish: consider what you want to achieve/change, identify the stakeholders you need to get there, and then share the insights you gathered. Sharing your knowledge is a very powerful way to garner support for change and position yourself as an expert.

I worked with a Director of Internal Communication on her first comprehensive survey. After reviewing the report and recommendations, she made a list of the stakeholders where she would need their support or input to make changes.

She met with four key groups to present the survey findings and worked with each team to agree on next steps. Here’s the tour she completed and examples of actions (BTW, every time she presented, she tweaked the presentation for her audience):

• Met with her internal communication team (and invited the broader communication team to join). Action: The team developed guidelines for broadcast emails and the intranet.
• Met with business unit communicators (who do not report to her). Action: They agreed to conduct integrated planning annually.
• Met with HR (a team she supports). Action: Her HR colleagues agreed to target and streamline communication, rather than hit everyone with everything.
• Met with senior management. Action: Leaders agreed to devote resources to communicate about the business strategy and to play a role.