In this Between the Seasons episode, hosts Pinaki Kathiari and Chris Lee welcome Amanda Todd, Senior Director of Strategic Communications at Temporal Technologies, for a practical and honest conversation about measuring what actually matters in internal communications.

The episode kicks off with a Reddit post asking a familiar question: why is it so hard to define meaningful KPIs for internal comms, especially when reporting to executives? From there, the conversation moves beyond open rates and attendance numbers to examine clarity as a powerful indicator of understanding, behavior, and business impact.

Amanda shares why clarity is often the missing link between communication activity and outcomes, and how tying comms metrics to strategy, retention, and employee lifetime value can change how leaders see the function. Chris and Pinaki add perspective on leading versus lagging indicators, why executives care more about outcomes than outputs, and how internal comms teams can advocate for their value without burning themselves out.

Together, they explore what it means to measure understanding, action, and impact, and why internal communicators deserve credit for the sheer volume and visibility of the work they ship every day.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Why traditional comms metrics fall short with executive audiences
• Clarity as a measurable driver of performance and retention
• Leading vs. lagging indicators in internal communications
• How to align comms metrics to company strategy
• Why internal comms teams should track and own their productivity
• What executives actually care about when it comes to measurement

It’s a grounded, validating conversation for anyone in internal communications who’s ever been told to “just show the numbers” and wondered which ones truly matter.

Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to Between the Seasons

01:30 – Introducing Amanda Todd and today’s Reddit post

03:00 – Why comms measurement feels so hard

05:30 – The limits of open rates and attendance metrics

07:30 – Clarity as a meaningful indicator

10:00 – Leading vs. lagging indicators explained

12:30 – What executives actually care about

15:00 – Productivity, visibility, and internal comms burnout

17:30 – Tying clarity to retention and business outcomes

18:45 – Closing thoughts and what’s next

Connect with Us

Pinaki Kathiari – LinkedIn  | Local Wisdom

Chris Lee – LinkedIn | Gallagher Communication

Bree Bartos – LinkedIn | Local Wisdom

Special thanks to digital communication agency Local Wisdom (www.localwisdom.com) for really believing in our mission and making this podcast possible. 

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We also bring these important conversations to conferences and private workshops, creating space for real, meaningful change. Take the first step at www.whydoesitfeelsowrong.com.

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