Badly written communications drain productivity

Wasted time, lost productivity and errors the result of poorly written communications

Badly written communications are bad for business, according to a new survey. When asked to identify the costs of weak workplace writing, 85 per cent of those surveyed identified wasted time as a key issue.

Seventy per cent cited lost productivity and 63 per cent of those surveyed identified errors as a key result of badly written verbiage as the main consequence of poorly written communications.

The survey, by Canadian consulting firm Communicare, asked 523 employees to identify the key issues surrounding poorly written communications in the workplace.

The survey shows badly written communications result in 28 per cent of workers often missing key information and 63 per cent missing key information once in a while.

A startling seventy-one per cent of respondents have heard co-workers complain many times about poorly written communications. The survey also reveals that 58 per cent of Canadian workers spend two to four hours per day reading e-mails, reports, the employee intranet and memos.

“Canadian workers are deluged with written communications. Since workers are diverted from key tasks, Canadian businesses have a major productivity gap,” says Neill MacMillan, president of Communicare.

There is some good news for the human resources department though. When asked to identify the departments with the clearest communications the HR department shined, with 33 per cent of respondents citing it as the best. The president’s office came a close second with 32 per cent.

The IT and operations departments share the shameful top spot for distributing the most unclear communications.

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