Let’s get this out of the way: most of us don’t know exactly how well our internal comms are working. We know what we send… but what actually lands? That’s a bit of a fuzzier picture.

And yet leadership keeps asking, “What’s the ROI?” Tough question to answer if you’re not even sure which messages get read, which ones bounce around the break room, and which ones vanish into the void.

That’s where The Pulse Audit comes in. 

About the Pulse Audit

The Pulse Audit is a framework created by Lynn Zimmerman, ABC, SCMP®, the CEO, Swing Communication, designed to help organizations assess the health of their internal comms — especially for frontline teams.

It is a quick, repeatable way to assess the current state of your frontline communication—four simple practices that show you what’s working, what isn’t, and what you need to change next. No extra tools required. Just focus and consistency.

Step 1: Review the numbers

I know — comms people love words, not spreadsheets. But numbers are your secret weapon. Forget vanity metrics for a second (like “reactions” on your last intranet post). Lynn’s approach is to scan the numbers that actually reflect business outcomes:

• Safety statistics → If incidents are up, maybe comms aren’t landing. If they’re down, maybe you’re doing something right.
• Onboarding times → Shorter training cycles often mean communication is clearer.
• Retention data → High turnover? That’s often a symptom of people feeling disconnected or unheard.

The goal here isn’t to impress the CFO with complex graphs. It’s to ask: What are the numbers telling us about whether communication is helping — or hurting?

Your next move: Pick two metrics you already have (e.g., safety incidents + onboarding days). Record today’s baseline. Re-check monthly. And remember: trends beat snapshots.

Step 2: Ask your audience

Here’s the thing about frontline workers: they notice more than we give them credit for. They know when information is late, when updates don’t make sense, or when they’re the last to find out about a policy change. But unless you ask, you won’t hear it.

Use light-touch inputs:

• Pulse surveys (short, focused, mobile-friendly)
• QR codes in break areas for 30-second feedback
• Listening sessions with small groups
• Stand-up drop-ins to hear what gets repeated (and what gets lost)

You’ll hear practical blockers fast: “We never see emails,” “The safety reminder didn’t include our shift,” “I don’t know how to sign up for training.” That’s gold. Fixing these is how engagement—and trust—grows.

Your next move: Run one 3-question pulse this week: “What helped you most? What’s unclear? What would you change?” Share what you heard and what you’ll do about it.

Step 3: Connect with leadership

Alignment matters. Meet quarterly with senior leaders and ask the same few questions every time:

1. What’s working well in comms?
2. What’s falling flat?
3. What does “success” look like for you this quarter?

Then loop in the real amplifiers: frontline supervisors. Most frontline employees see their immediate manager as their leader. If supervisors aren’t supported to communicate—brief, clear, local—your messages stall.

Give them:

• Simple posting prompts/templates (recognition, shift updates, safety moments)
• Guidance on adding localized context to HQ messages
• Light coaching or short how-to demos (AI helpers, quick video posts)

Your next move: Book 30 minutes with two frontline supervisors. Ask what would make communicating with their teams easier this week. Build that.

Step 4: Field shadowing

You can’t assess frontline comms from a desk. Go see where the messages are supposed to land.

• Ride along. Sit in a morning briefing. Spend a night on the third shift.
• Watch how information moves (often by word of mouth).
• Note where phones are checked, where screens exist, and where paper still rules.
• Listen for friction: “We didn’t know the schedule changed,” “Where’s the new checklist?”

One shift in the field can often reveal more than a month of tracking dashboards. You’ll spot timing issues, channel gaps, and language needs instantly.

Your next move: Shadow one shift this month. Bring back three observations; fix one within a week. Share the win.

Optional add-ons (use after you’ve nailed the 4 practices)

These make your audit sharper without overcomplicating it:

• Mini materials review (quarterly): Pull a sample of what you sent. Was it clear? Useful? In plain language? Did it tie back to your culture and priorities?
• Content map (annually): List every channel and audience. Who are you not reaching (no email, no intranet, language barriers, night shift)?
• Weigh effort vs. impact: If a newsletter takes 40 hours and reaches a sliver of your frontline, rethink it. Shift effort to high-impact formats: local leader posts, recognition, short how-tos, safety moments.

How to use your Pulse Audit results

The Pulse Audit is diagnostic. It tells you where communication helps—and where it hurts—right now. Use it to:

• Prioritize (move effort to the messages that change today’s shift)
• Localize (get supervisors posting; add context to HQ updates)
• Measure (track a few outcomes over time—safety, onboarding, retention signals)
• Prove (tie changes to business outcomes when you brief leadership)

You don’t need a new platform to start. You need four habits you repeat.

Why the Pulse Audit matters

The Pulse Audit is diagnostic. It tells you the truth about your comms as they stand today.

It’s not about being perfect. It’s about getting real. Because if you don’t know whether your frontline messages are reaching people, you can’t improve them. And if you can’t improve them, you’ll never prove ROI.

Or as Lynn put it: 

You can’t show impact if you don’t know where you’re starting from.

3 things to remember

• You can’t prove impact if you don’t know your starting point.
• The Pulse Audit gives you that starting point in four simple practices.
• Do them lightly, consistently, and in the field—then iterate.

When you do, you’ll stop guessing what lands and start showing how better communication drives safer shifts, faster onboarding, lower turnover, and a more connected frontline.

Full webinar: The ROI of Frontline Connection

This blog only scratches the surface of the Pulse Audit. In one of our webinars, Lynn Zimmerman (CEO, Swing Communications) and Daren Jennings (CCO, Speakap) walk through the entire ROI of frontline connection — including this framework, real-world case studies, and practical ways to measure impact.

‍