The misalignment between employees and leaders on internal communications is growing
The study found that this year 55% of workers will lose up to two hours each day clarifying details they need to do for their job.
Many organizations struggle to create effective internal communications and the misalignment between employees and leaders is growing.
A new study by Axios HQ found that while 85% of leaders considered their internal updates helpful to team members, only 47% of employees agreed. This gap in understanding widened by 7% from last year’s numbers.
The consequences of these communication gaps are significant. The study found that this year 55% of workers will lose up to two hours each day clarifying details they need to do for their job. Only 26% of workers say leaders define and accomplish an action plan when addressing tough issues.
The impact of ineffective communications is apparent. According to the study, 62% of employees making 200k or more reported that they spend at least an hour or more dealing with poor communications daily. Additionally, employees say that the two topics they receive updates on most frequently are also the least likely to be critical.
Miscommunication puts organizations at risk of losing workers who don’t feel in-line with the company. The study found that nearly 50% of workers who do not feel aligned with their organization are planning to leave their jobs within two years.
Meanwhile, leaders continue to misread the effectiveness of their communications. The study found that leaders are nearly 2x more likely to think communications are helpful and timely compared to employees. When sending critical communications, leaders say their biggest challenges are accounting for changes in team size and hybrid work environments.
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Oftentimes, leaders share effective communications but choose the wrong format to do so. The study found that nearly 30% of leaders choose to share communications through video messages, yet only 11% of employees prefer this method.
Axios HQ suggests that an organization’s success, profitability, employee motivation and retention are directly tied to how effective internal communications are.