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Many managers delight in designing intricate organization charts, paying enormous attention to roles, hierarchies and job titles.
However, too many are happy to spare themselves the Sisyphus fatigue to design information flows in a conscious, focused and orderly way.
This neglect comes at a frightening price.
Some staggering figures, just to be clear
Let's start with the research by Grammarly and The Harris Poll, eloquently titled "The State of Business Communication" - but a more appropriate name would be "The State of Internal Communication" or "The State of Workplace Communication".
The research involved 251 business leaders and 1001 knowledge workers in the United States.
Some significant data:
The research involved 251 business leaders and 1001 knowledge workers in the United States.
Some significant data:
- Poor communication costs US businesses $ 1.2 trillions every year
- Poor communication costs an average of $ 12,506 per employee every year
- Knowledge workers dedicate an average of 19.93 hours per week to written communication: exactly half of their work time
- Business leaders believe poor communication burns an average of 7.47 hours per week (one workday per week, one fifth of the entire work time)
The problem of a poor workplace communication is particularly pressing for that department that thrives on communication more than any other: marketing!
Ironically, 93% of business leaders say effective communication is the backbone of their business - but then, if we all agree, where is the problem?
Unfortunately, there is the proverbial ocean between declarations of intent and concrete commitments.
By the way, an odd but significant fact concerns the answer to the fateful question: how much time do teams spend collaborating?
Employees say 49%, business leaders say 29%: perhaps the latter underestimate the importance of collaboration and the amount of effort and time it requires.
Ironically, 93% of business leaders say effective communication is the backbone of their business - but then, if we all agree, where is the problem?
Unfortunately, there is the proverbial ocean between declarations of intent and concrete commitments.
By the way, an odd but significant fact concerns the answer to the fateful question: how much time do teams spend collaborating?
Employees say 49%, business leaders say 29%: perhaps the latter underestimate the importance of collaboration and the amount of effort and time it requires.
What problems does poor communication produce in the workplace?
We are spoiled for choice: lower productivity; higher costs; missed or prolonged deadlines; less prospects for new sales; bad reputation inside and outside; failure to share corporate values and culture; poor emotional involvement of employees; morale under your feet...
Obviously, you must frame the research in its geographical and economic context and remember that it is still a sample survey.
According to another research a few years ago, knowledge workers spent an average of 2.5 hours a day searching for information and 25% of them faced stress and health issues when they had to manage an excessive volume of information.
It goes without saying that often this search for information becomes winding because the information is managed in a disordered way, placed in separate and non-communicating silos, stored without a linear logic, not updated, wrong, even hidden in bad faith...
Obviously, you must frame the research in its geographical and economic context and remember that it is still a sample survey.
According to another research a few years ago, knowledge workers spent an average of 2.5 hours a day searching for information and 25% of them faced stress and health issues when they had to manage an excessive volume of information.
It goes without saying that often this search for information becomes winding because the information is managed in a disordered way, placed in separate and non-communicating silos, stored without a linear logic, not updated, wrong, even hidden in bad faith...
Does working remotely mean teams collaborate less?
No, absolutely not: for the simple reason that teams need to collaborate. If they can't do it live, they'll do it remotely.
It's brutally simple but many employers don't grasp it, probably because they are overwhelmed by their anxiety for control or their distrust of their own co-workers.
Our bosses should change their perspective: from a short-term stifling surveillance to a long-term strategy vision, focused on the goals to be achieved rather than the schedules to be met.
Yes, it’s easier said than done: but this is why strategists exist.
It's brutally simple but many employers don't grasp it, probably because they are overwhelmed by their anxiety for control or their distrust of their own co-workers.
Our bosses should change their perspective: from a short-term stifling surveillance to a long-term strategy vision, focused on the goals to be achieved rather than the schedules to be met.
Yes, it’s easier said than done: but this is why strategists exist.
So, can mental (and documentary) confusion hurt?
Sure, and generally it's an immense damage.
When I talked about it in some previous workplaces, they almost laughed in my face: the most superficial and prosaic bosses only see the final products (apps, websites, videos, business presentations...) because the final products bring money.
This approach is both shortsighted and counterproductive.
Final products exist thanks to the process behind them: this process can take place in a planned or improvised way, with or without a strategy and a vision, but it happens nonetheless.
Leaving it to chance or chaos means devouring time, energy and resources: roles are confused, people do not know exactly what to do, feedback and criteria on how to evaluate their contribution are lacking, crucial information is dispersed in thousands of documents without a common logic.
And the team often ends up not having an identity, because not even goals, values and milestones are shared within the company.
They live day to day, without any involvement or sense of belonging.
When I talked about it in some previous workplaces, they almost laughed in my face: the most superficial and prosaic bosses only see the final products (apps, websites, videos, business presentations...) because the final products bring money.
This approach is both shortsighted and counterproductive.
Final products exist thanks to the process behind them: this process can take place in a planned or improvised way, with or without a strategy and a vision, but it happens nonetheless.
Leaving it to chance or chaos means devouring time, energy and resources: roles are confused, people do not know exactly what to do, feedback and criteria on how to evaluate their contribution are lacking, crucial information is dispersed in thousands of documents without a common logic.
And the team often ends up not having an identity, because not even goals, values and milestones are shared within the company.
They live day to day, without any involvement or sense of belonging.
So what: how to improve communication in the workplace?
A few lines are not enough to address the limitless range of solutions to be evaluated.
However, here are some tips to be acted right away:
However, here are some tips to be acted right away:
- Establish consistent guidelines for business presentations
- Establish consistent guidelines for a centralized repository with all team resources
- Use a standard format to sum up the highlights of each project
- Cut all the useless and the redundant (and do it immediately, nipping the chaotic accumulation of unstructured information in the bud)
- Severely punish the many sloppy and messy colleagues
Simple, trivial things... that often make a difference.
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