Have you ever found yourself in a meeting where everyone nods in agreement, but later, you realize that no one was actually on the same page? You need to realign the team and potentially redo a significant amount of work. Deliverables fall behind and your staff has to put in overtime to get back on track. Everybody is frustrated and your bottom line has taken a hit.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone.

According to Grammarly, 75% of business leaders say their teams struggle with communication. The value of helping their employees develop this critical skill cannot be overstated, however, they often don’t see a need — 69% percent of managers believe they are good communicators. Ironically, 82% of employees feel their leaders need to improve and 66% percent feel the same about their coworkers. A mere 13% of employees strongly agree that their organization communicates effectively.

This disparity alone makes the case for the integration of communications in learning and development initiatives. At ARTÉMIA, we’ve seen firsthand how tailored training can bridge this gap, helping teams work more efficiently and effectively. However, if you aren’t sure it is truly worth the investment, keep reading.

Lost Business

Ineffective communication in the workplace amounts to a loss of $2 trillion annually in the U.S, costing small businesses an average of $420,000 per year and large organizations $62 million. Part of this total comes from missed opportunities, with nearly one in five leaders saying poor communication resulted in lost business. Of those, 68% reported losing $10,000 or more, while 13% said the amount exceeded $50,000.

Companies with teams that communicate effectively, however, reported far different results. Approximately 43% credit it with helping them gain new business and 33% say it’s contributed to cost savings.

Low Engagement & High Turnover

Another major negative impact is decreased productivity. According to Gallup, the cost of employee disengagement worldwide is a staggering $8.8 trillion a year — equivalent to 9% of global GDP. In the U.S. just 33% of the workforce is engaged. For the remaining 77%, poor communication is almost certainly a factor. Employees outside of the C-Suite are often the most aware of the impact of barriers, bottlenecks, and gaps.

Nearly 60% report not receiving clear directions, and 74% miss out on important company information. This lack of clarity directly affects their ability to perform, with a report from Project.co finding that 70% admit wasting time due to communication issues. A significant 97% believe that it impacts the completion of projects. It also takes a significant toll on employees at every level, with 53% saying it’s caused burnout and increased stress. For 63% of workers, it is a key reason for leaving their jobs.

Meanwhile, companies that prioritize effective communication practices experience the opposite, outperforming their competitors by 3.5 times. Nearly 75% of leaders say it has increased their team’s productivity and enabled them to meet customer needs better, while 56% of employees reported higher job satisfaction leading to reduced turnover.

Improving through Education

The long-term benefits of properly training your team to communicate—such as new business, increased productivity and higher customer satisfaction—far outweigh the initial costs. Furthermore, continuous learning opportunities are directly linked to employee retention. Studies show that 76% of employees are more likely to stay with a company that offers ongoing training and development.

However, it is important to understand that like any skill, communication takes practice and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to training your team. In fact, 91% of workers say that personalized education is essential to engagement and job satisfaction.

We specialize in delivering high-impact communication training programs tailored to meet the specific needs of your business and provide your employees with practical, actionable insights they can immediately put to use. Whether it is on-demand learning, one-on-one coaching or live small-group sessions and workshops, ARTÉMIA offers cost-effective, scalable solutions for teams of all sizes.

Get in touch with us at service@artemia.com to learn more about how we can improve your bottom line by eliminating the cost of miscommunication.