A numerical perspective on the benefits of effective communication
Employees feel disconnected in companies with poor communication. Why effective communication is needed in a workplace without it:
40%: Employees who feel disconnected at work.
67%: Workers who do not identify with or are motivated to help the company attain its business goals and objectives.
25%: Employees who show up just to collect a paycheck. (1)
49%: Employees who feel their company is open and honest in its communication.
55%: Employees who feel that senior leadership only talks at them, but doesn’t listen to them.
51%: Employees without a channel to communicate up the corporate organizational chart. (2)
Benefits to companies that communicate better. Company that communicate effectively enjoy these statistical benefits over firms with poor communication:
30: Percent increase in market valuation. (3)
57: Percent higher in total return to share-holders than companies that communicated least effectively.
4.5: Times more likely to benefit from employees meaningfully connected with the company.
20: Percent who are more likely to experience lower turnover rates. (4)
1: Number of Communication Plans that a company must implement to achieve effective communication.
Succeeding with better communication. From an employee’s perspective, effective communication encompasses these elements:
- Open and honest exchanges of information.
- Clear, easy-to-understand materials.
- Timely distributions.
- Trusted sources.
- Two-way feedback systems.
- Clear demonstrations of senior leadership’s interest in employees.
- Continual improvements in communication.
- Consistent messaging across sources. (5)
Source Notes.
- “U.S. Job Satisfaction Keeps Falling, The Conference Board Reports Today”, The Conference Board. 28 February 2005.
- “Study Offers Insights on Effective Communication from the Perspective of Employees”, Towers Perrin. January 2005.
- “Connecting Organizational Communication to Financial Performance—2003/2004 Communication ROI Study”, Watson Wyatt & Company. 3 November 2003.
- “Effective Communication: A Leading Indicator of Financial Performance—2005/2006 Communication ROI Study”, Watson Wyatt & Company. December 2005.
- “Study Offers Insights on Effective Communication”, Towers Perrin.
—Rich Maggiani
[Note: This post is one of our position papers originally published in 2012.]