What Poor Communication Really Costs Your Business

And why it’s more than you think 

It’s easy to spot a missed deadline or a dropped ball. What’s harder to see—and often more damaging—is the ripple effect of poor communication across your team or organization.

There is a tendency to refer to “communication issues” as soft problems. Interpersonal. Inevitable. Something to bring up in a 360 review or a quarterly training. And here’s the truth: poor communication isn’t simply a culture issue—it’s a business risk. One that quietly erodes productivity, trust, and profitability every single day it goes unaddressed.

Let’s uncover what it really costs.

1- Lost Time You’ll Never Get Back

Misaligned priorities. Endless email threads. Meetings that feel like déjà vu. When teams aren’t clear on expectations, timelines, or ownership, even high performers can spin their wheels.

And it’s not only frustrating—it’s expensive.

According to a McKinsey study, employees spend an average of 28% of their workweek on email and another 20% on internal collaboration—much of it duplicative or misdirected due to unclear communication. That’s nearly half the week spent trying to get clarity rather than doing the actual work.

2- Unspoken Tension and Avoidable Turnover 

Poor communication doesn’t always sound like yelling or finger-pointing. Sometimes, it’s silence. People withholding concerns because they don’t feel heard. Leaders assuming alignment that doesn’t actually exist. Conflict simmering just below the surface.

The result? Tension builds. Engagement drops. And eventually, your best people leave—not because they can’t do the job, but because they’re tired of navigating communication breakdowns to get it done.

3- Wasted Resources and Missed Opportunities

Whether you’re running a team of five or a company of 500, inefficiency has a price tag.

When communication falters, you end up redoing work, delaying deliverables, or launching initiatives that never quite land because they weren’t grounded in shared understanding. It’s not simply internal disruption—it’s missed revenue, strained client relationships, and a competitive edge that slowly slips away.

4- A Culture That Can’t Scale

If you’re trying to grow, hire, or adapt—your culture will only scale if your communication does.

That means building systems where clarity, candor, and collaboration aren’t left to chance. It means training people what to say, and how to say it—especially in moments that are complex, high-stakes, or emotionally charged. And it means giving your leaders and teams the tools to practice these skills, not simply learn them in theory.

What Better Communication Unlocks

When communication becomes intentional—not reactive—you get more than efficiency. You get alignment. Accountability. Momentum.

Ready to change how your team communicates?

If you’re tired of watching talent, time and results slip through the cracks of unclear communication, listen up!

We designed our new Digital Encore Program for exactly that.

It’s a digital, high-impact training experience that helps teams shift from miscommunication and micro-drama to clarity, connection, and execution. It’s built for organizations that want more than a quick fix—they want lasting change in how their people show up, speak up, and move the business forward together.

Join the waiting list for our Digital Encore Program, or schedule a call to see how we can help your team build the skills—and systems—for truly effective communication.