August 2026 Group Learning: From Activity to Impact: Aligning Communications Goals with Business Results

Watch our August Group Learning, “From Activity to Impact: Aligning Communications Goals with Business Results” with Karen Vahouny. 

 Below is the session description and details on the Group Learning format.

Communicators are increasingly expected to demonstrate how their work contributes to organizational success—but making the connection between communications activity, business objectives, and individual performance goals can be challenging. How do you ensure your team is measuring what matters? And how can you translate communications outcomes into meaningful business impact?

In this session, led by Karen Vahouny, CLC’s business fluency coach, you’ll learn practical approaches for connecting communications strategies to organizational priorities and building measurement frameworks that drive accountability and results.

This session will:

• Address broad and industry-specific KPIs and how they're used for benchmarking and performance assessment.
• Examine the difference between outputs, outtakes, and outcomes in communication measurement—and what leaders value the most.
• Share some tips from an organization that's successful linking its goals/objectives, communication goals/objectives, and individual performance objectives. 

Instructor: A former corporate communications VP and later a founding partner at a successful PR/communications agency, Karen Vahouny has been the business fluency coach for Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council since 2022. She has spoken at Ragan’s business fluency bootcamps, has written articles on the topic for PR Daily, and is a former leader at the local, regional and international levels of the International Association of Business Communicators. Her executive communications coaching and investor relations experience have proven valuable in both her consultancy, which she founded over a decade ago, and her role as a professor.

Since 2014, Karen has taught the required business/finance course in the PR and communications master’s program at George Washington University (GWU). She also teaches a strategic communications class for federal government leaders as part of American University’s Key Leadership Institute. Karen’s more recent endeavors have included pro-bono and volunteer work in the areas of food insecurity and climate change, and she is an affiliate faculty member at the Global Food Institute at GWU founded by World Central Kitchen’s José Andrés. 

About Group Learnings: These sessions will take place via Zoom nearly every month and will be 60 minutes long. In addition to a presentation from a credentialed instructor, there will be an interactive/Q&A portion toward the end of the session. If you are unable to join the live program, an on-demand recording will be made available post-event (along with presentation slides).