Introduction
The Clarity Audit ™
A Clarity Audit is a tool for gathering information about how an organization communicates, from the perspective of both management and unionized employees. It is not a test – it does not single out any one person. Instead, it gives everyone a chance to comment on the clarity and quality of the communications they encounter in the municipal workplace.
Doing the Clarity Audit helps clear language champions in municipal workplaces find out what is happening in the organization. Analyzing the results helps you plan how to move forward with a clear language initiative.
The Clarity Audit was developed by the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), with support from the Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program, Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC).
Seven Important Reasons to Do a Clarity Audit
- A Clarity Audit builds support for the clear language initiative across the organization by consulting with people in a respectful way.
- It makes the case for a clear language initiative by pointing to well-researched needs, spotting problems and identifying priorities.
- It helps you find out what kinds of clear language projects and practices are already in place in the organization – activities that you can build on while avoiding duplication.
- It helps you to identify champions – people you can recruit to promote the clear language initiative, build support, find resources, and act as mentors.
- It gives you information about the ‘lay of the land’ – strategic information about what is going on in the organization
that might help or hinder a clear language initiative.
- It reveals how the need for clear language skills is linked to the need for other kinds of workplace training, such as literacy and foundational skills training.
- It identifies the different interests and common concerns of management and unionized workers.
How to Carry Out a Clarity Audit
The Clarity Audit asks a series of questions that help you get a picture of what’s happening in your organization around clear language. Filling out the questionnaire also helps people in your organization to become more aware of clarity issues.
There are a number of ways you can collect your information:
- Send out a broadcast email with the Clarity Audit as an attachment. Establish one central email address for collecting the results.
- Post the Clarity Audit on your intranet as an online survey.
- Pass out the Clarity Audit as a group exercise when you make clear language presentations.
- Organize focus groups throughout your organization with the Clarity Audit as the centrepiece.
- Interview key people one-on-one to make sure you get complete information for the audit.