TOP 5 COST OF POOR COMMUNICATION PRACTICES IN THE CORPORATE WORLD:

In our new business work era, the ability to communicate clearly and effectively is more critical than ever. But existing communication shortfalls among teams have been made worse by the disconnect that comes with an ever-changing mix of in-office and remote workers.

As corporations around the world seek to shift mindsets to the new world of work and strike a balance between in-person office and work-from-home team relationships, well-developed?business communication ?skills are crucial to help keep employees more engaged, healthy, and productive.

These skills are also important for collaboration and critical for driving innovation and growth.

The Impact of Poor Communication Skills: 5 Challenges

Here are five key challenges highlighted in the Grammarly study that reinforce the importance of strong?communications skills training :

Challenge 1: Performance Poor business communication is impacting overall performance:

Almost 9 in 10 (eighty-nine percent) of business leaders say poor communication in the workplace has adversely impacted performance in their organization, contributing to increased costs, missed deadlines and resolution times, and harming brand reputation and credibility.

Leaders revealed that ineffective communication is a widespread problem, and conceded that they lack the proper tools and strategies to communicate effectively.

Challenge 2: Culture Business communication issues hurt workplace culture:

Nearly three out of four business leaders (72 percent) said their teams have “struggled with?communicating effectively?over the last year,” in the “State of Business Communication” survey. Most (86 percent) knowledge workers said that they experience communication issues in the workplace.

They cite clarity and responsiveness as major pain points. Both groups say they were “concerned about?effective communication?with remote or hybrid working models in the future.”

Challenge 3: Wasted Time Poor business communication wastes the precious resource of time.

Business leaders estimate that poor communication results in 7.47 wasted hours per week per worker that’s nearly one in five work days per week or 20 percent of total productivity.

Three in four leaders say their team spends “too much time and energy resolving miscommunications,” and the majority experience the negative effects of those miscommunications on a weekly basis.

Challenge 4: Financial Costs Ineffective business communication costs companies money.

Based on data provided by corporate leadership, a lack of effective communication and collaboration is costing the companies surveyed an estimated $12,506 per employee per year based on an average salary of $66,967. And that’s only part of the picture.

Poor communication can have a direct financial cost and indirect cost attributed to operations and talent that could cost American companies as much as $1.2 trillion annually.

Challenge 5: Strategic Goals A lack of effective business communication skills is a major roadblock for achieving strategic goals.

Many business leaders (87 percent) surveyed said their team “will not be able to meet their goals without effective communication skills.” And 94 percent of leaders surveyed said, “New tools and/or strategies are needed to achieve effective communication in a hybrid or remote workplace.”

Leaders and teams need to learn how to transcend all forms of communication, and how to bridge the gaps that happen with hybrid teams. How are you guiding your teams to collaborate when some are in the office and others working at home?

How do you deliver performance feedback virtually? How do you connect and inspire your hybrid teams in a balanced way – and make sure you are drawing out all their perspectives?