TOP TEN RISKS TO A COMPANY WITH INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION:
- Inability to attract qualified job applicants.
- Poor hiring decisions.
- Miscommunication of key information resulting in either rework or errors.
- Staff burnout due to low morale and lack of motivation.
- Reduced staff retention and subsequent increased staff turnover.
- Inability to meet critical deadlines.
- Costly purchasing errors with vendors.
- Damage to company image and loss of revenue.
- Frustration among internal customers which leads to downtime.
- Misperceptions and frustrations among external customers which equates to dissatisfied customers.
As you can deduce from the preceding top ten risks, ineffective communication is generally not limited to one or two situations or a few employees. Rather it can start out on a small scale and if left unattended, can have a spiraling effect across departments. This can manifest itself in a pervasive company problem, which often leads to finger pointing or passing the buck. While these behaviors are part of being human, they certainly don’t address the problem and all the while your valued customers are dwindling and that can only mean good news for your competitors. While certainly no one strives to intentionally miscommunicate, it happens every day. So, where are the culprits you ask? Is it Human Resources, Customer Service, Administrative Support, Sales and Marketing, or Management?
Believe it or not, it’s not one single department or even one particular person, but rather something that can exist anywhere if communication skills are not taught and reinforced. Most likely you and your staff already have some strengths in communication. Now the question is, are you maximizing your potential? Could you be learning new skills to enhance your communication and build your self-confidence?
