Beyond Words: The $1.2 Trillion Struggle Organizations Can't Afford to Ignore

Greater Influence

The D4 Newsletter

“Our organization really struggles with communication.”

Mike and I hear people say something like this almost every week.

In fact, after a recent 5 Voices Bootcamp session, one person told us that it was the top issue in their most recent employee engagement survey.

Poor communication can have many different root causes: personality differences, lack of skill levels, lack of priority, being rushed, choice of wrong medium, fear of feedback, etc.

So I recently began to wonder. Has research been done on the cost of poor communication? And yes, there has been.

The Research

I found that Grammarly Business commissioned a study in 2021. It was updated in 2022, and the results have not improved.

The study suggests the cost of poor communication amounts to a staggering $1.2 trillion for U.S. companies.

How did they arrive at that figure?

They surveyed 251 business leaders and 1,001 knowledge workers. Business leaders estimate that their employees lose an average of 7.47 hours per week due to communication issues. This encompasses both written and verbal communication.

According to the surveyed companies, the average annual salary for a knowledge worker was approximately $67,000. That means that these 7.47 hours translate to around $12,000 lost for each employee annually.

Here are other key takeaways.

How Poor Communication Affects All of Us

• 100% of the respondents say it happens at least once a week.

• Effective communication is essential for fostering inclusion.

• 43% of business leaders attribute decreased productivity and the endangerment of strategic business goals to poor communication.

Poor Communication Can Lead to Revenue Loss

• 68% of leaders who lost deals due to miscommunication estimate losses of $10,000 or more, and 13% of them said it cost them more than $50,000.

• Conversely, about 33% of leaders say effective communication has helped them gain new business.

Poor Communication Diminishes Job Satisfaction

• 34% of knowledge workers reveal that poor communication diminishes job satisfaction, and 50% of them say it increases their stress.

• The hybrid work environment only complicates matters, with asynchronous communication and an increased reliance on written communication.

• Over 59% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials report that their personal connections have suffered in the hybrid workplace.

• A significant 79% of workers affirm that effective communication boosts morale and productivity.

The report is full of other valuable insights like brand impact, tone in communication reception, and how adept communicators are better equipped to perform their roles. You can access the full report here.

The report concludes with this compelling message:

Think about that.

Leaders and companies who invest in better communication can unlock “substantial value” within their organizations.

If you were able to save hours per week per employee, then that seems like an accurate conclusion.

And I believe it. Mike and I have seen it time and time again. When people learn how to communicate better, it has a tremendous impact on the whole organization.

Want an example?

Just this past week, Mike told me about a recent coaching call. The client emphasized how our tools empowered her with difficult conversations. (It’s a struggle for most of the leaders that we coach. Don’t think you’re the only one!)

Wow! It's incredibly gratifying to receive such feedback.

Lead Yourself

If you haven’t taken it yet, take our free 5 Voices assessment. This will help you identify your natural style of communication.

Make a list of your communication tendencies.

• Do you have a tendency to be too quiet? Too loud? Talk too much? Be too direct? Hint at what you want?

• How are your tendencies impacting your team?

• How are your tendencies costing you time or creating stress for yourself?

Choose to recognize those tendencies, and choose different to take better actions this week.

Lead Your Team

One of the best things you can do is to help your team understand their unique voices, how to leverage their super powers, and how to avoid using their voice weapons. We teach teams all this and more in our 5 Voices system.

Here’s a client who posted an unsolicited testimonial on LinkedIn just this week:

Reach out to us to learn more about our series of communication workshops centered around the 5 Voices system.

Not looking to commit to an entire series yet? Email me and ask about our standalone workshops on various communication tools that can help.

Lead Your Organization

As a senior leader in your organization, send this newsletter to each of your leadership team. Then discuss the following questions:

• If your strategic plan is not being executed, could a contributing factor be poor communication?

• If people are feeling stressed and anxious, could it be because communication has broken down somewhere?

• If you’re losing deals, could poor communication be to blame?

• Where have we as leaders failed to communicate properly?

Then set aside time and a portion of your budget to improve communication.

• Look to train in new skills - both verbal and written.

• Look for new digital tools that will facilitate communication - especially if you have a hybrid workforce.

• Give additional training to your frontline leaders and managers. These people are key to your communication health.

Check out our Altitude Training program as a great investment in your managers/leaders. It is a great coaching program for new or emerging leaders. The coaching groups are led by me or Mike, and everyone learn tools for better communication.

Updates from Micah and Mike

Speaking of communication, this past month, we had the privilege of doing Communication workshops with the following:

• The High Point Arts Council Board of Directors (High Point, NC)

• Community Business Leader Luncheon (Fayetteville, NC)

• Lenovo - User Insights and Research Group (Durham, NC)

• Liberty Hardware (Winston-Salem, NC)

• Crimson Design (Columbus, OH)

We also had the opportunity to appear on the Greater Winston-Salem podcast. Our friend Ditra Miller at the Winston-Salem Chamber led the conversation where we talked about how we got our start as D4 Concepts, innovation methodology and leadership challenges. You can hear the episode here on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify.

Last Thoughts

Losing time and money to poor communication doesn’t have to be your reality. The rights tools and training can help each of us become better communicators.

What’s your part in reducing poor communication in your workplace?

Together, I believe we can create workplace cultures where everyone is heard and valued, and every place is a great place to do great work.

Micah Ray

Are you a new supervisor or manager? Feeling nervous or not prepared to communicate better in 2024?

Then check out our Altitude Training program.

You will learn from our online training platform each week on your own schedule. Then once per month, you will join a live virtual coaching call where you can ask questions, get feedback from me or Mike as well as others on the call.

New groups start in January, so book your spot now. Ask your manager if they will pay for you out of their budget. It’s only $89/month - a small investment with big returns.

And we guarantee you will become a better communicator and leader by the end of the Altitude Training program!