Business communication is important to the success of any small- and large-scale businesses. It is the company’s lifeblood, delivering information to employees and providing a mechanism for building and strengthening relationships at work. Communication is a necessity, especially in the workplace, where teamwork, technology, and remote work are becoming more common. Solid communication systems and relationships are required for a business to thrive, meet deadlines, and exceed goals.
Poor communication in the workplace can have a wide-ranging impact, even leaking to customers. Employees feel disconnected from management individually as there is no clear direction, resulting in low satisfaction, engagement, and performance. At the department level, silos prevent teams from working efficiently together, and the lack of a clear vision and goals from the top can lead to poor performance. Organizations that fail to prioritize business communication and ensure that employees are aligned with company goals are likely to suffer a variety of negative consequences. We have discussed a few in this blog.
1. Workplace Stress
High levels of stress in the workplace are a clear indicator of communication issues. Poor communication can give the impression that everything on your to-do list is urgent, causing you and others to rush, feel tense, overworked, and lose your sense of humor. Good communication creates a sense of stability and predictability, whereas a lack of communication or unhealthy communication creates tension, which is counterproductive to efficiency.
Employees who are stressed all day return home stressed and exhausted, affecting their families. Instead of a spouse or parent who is excited to be home, the family is stuck with someone who has so many emotions to unload from the day that an evening is a barely enough time to get it all out. Because of their tension and stress levels, employees may begin to feel guilty or even experience conflict at home. This stress follows them into the next workday, making it difficult, if not impossible, to get ahead.
2. Unsatisfied Needs and Expectations
Unmet expectations result from a lack of communication. Teams miss deadlines, clients miss appointments, and project participants appear to be unsure of their roles. When employees are unsure of what their priorities should be, they frequently make the wrong decision and disappoint their superiors. It is impossible to know where to begin or how to complete a project efficiently unless expectations and priorities are clearly communicated.
3. Arguments and Other Relationship Disruptions
If you have ever opened your work email inbox to find an accusatory message from a coworker, employee, or boss, you have probably felt the frustration, anger, hurt, fear, and helplessness that can accompany poor business communication. Instead of asking how a project is progressing or what your priorities and goals are, the email is accusatory and demanding.
You may feel strained in your previously positive relationship, so when you pass your coworker’s or boss’s cubicle, you may want to hide rather than sit down and have a friendly solution-finding conversation. You may even be hesitant to seek conflict resolution because you are concerned about how it will affect your job security. It is also common to experience feelings of insecurity or a lack of fulfilment when completing daily tasks, and all of these emotions reduce workplace productivity.
4. Turnover and low morale
When people are dealing with intense emotions, they devote more time to emotional management than usual. Productivity declines and morale is replaced by a sense of accomplishment from making it through the day. Workplace survival mode can be a serious issue. When business relationships are harmed and cannot be repaired, trust is lost, making it difficult to collaborate to meet deadlines. When people miss deadlines, they tend to have low self-esteem. This vicious cycle prevents organizations and teams from reaching their full potential.
5. Problems with Physical and Mental Health
When things go wrong at work and home, it is not uncommon to suffer mental or physical health consequences. During stressful times, mental health issues and chronic health problems are more likely to develop, especially if an employee has no outlet for stress relief, is exhausted from self-care, or lacks emotional management skills. When these issues arise, encourage proper professional care and use it as an opportunity to turn the situation around.
6. Dissatisfied clients
Client dissatisfaction can be a sign of poor communication. Superiors are frustrated and stressed when teams miss deadlines or appointments, but clients are as well. If your client expected phone service to start before the grand opening and your installation team missed the deadline, your client might be out of money. If your legal team is not fully prepared to present a case in court and is winging it at the last minute, the ruling may not be favorable to your client. When nursing staff misses a deadline, a patient may not receive medication or a bath on time.
When customers are dissatisfied, they frequently take their business elsewhere, costing your company money.
7. Enhancing Communication
If poor communication has a negative impact on stress, deadlines, morale, health, and the bottom line, then good communication can have a positive and healing effect. Make clear job and project descriptions, and check in to see how things are going. Make good use of email and messaging apps. Treat others with the courtesy you expect in return. Make a written priority list for times when there is more work than time, and perhaps set aside time each week to directly address workplace concerns and brainstorm solutions.
Active listening skills should be practised with coworkers, and clients should be assumed to have good intentions. Create a culture that recognizes and rewards accomplishments and progress. Seek the assistance of a corporate psychologist or communications consultant as needed to teach your team communication, self-care, active listening, and emotional management skills. Remember that none of us has perfect business communication skills; however, by adopting a growth mindset and moving in a positive direction, we can see rapid improvements.
Conclusion
Poor business communication has an undeniable impact on the bottom line. Effective communication skills, strategies, and tools are required for businesses to remain competitive. Fortunately, extensive research has been conducted to determine exactly what organizations can do to drive business results through communication.
To improve business communication, many people prefer communication apps such as Clariti, which is completely free to use. If you are a desktop user, this tool will be a perfect choice for you. Using this tool, you can access your email, add important events to calendars, make a call, save a file or document, and send instant messages to coworkers all in one place. It also has a “Content rich subject chat” feature that makes the conversation very simple. Clariti is one of the best business communication apps for small- and large-scale companies.
If you are still confused about choosing the right business communication tool, try Clariti now!