Workplace Communication is Declining, But Technology is Helping Resolve It

Communication may be the most important facet in any business. In the workplace, being able interact with co-workers and share ideas freely is key to a productive and efficient operation. However, a recent study suggests that communication systems in corporate America is now on a decline.

The 2018 State of Employee Communication and Engagement Report released by company communications platform, Dynamic Signal, revealed some enlightening data about the state of communication in the workplace. According to the data, 50% of U.S. workers are stressed out by communication systems that ought to be improving their connections with their organizations. In fact, 33% of employees are so frustrated with poor communication that they consider quitting their jobs.

Moreover, 52% of c-level executives say ineffective communication and workforce misalignment had negative financial implications.

Communication problems may pose a big challenge to business executives who, on their part, have the responsibility of disseminating important information to both internal and external stakeholders, especially through meetings. Anyone would agree that communication is the bedrock of every meeting.

It is generally reported that non-productive meetings are a big issue. While most publications like the World Street Journal quote that 11 million formal meetings are held within organizations in the United States per day, Lucid Meetings recently debunked that the number could be as high as between 36 to 56 million meetings. Out of this, up to 50% are considered a “waste of time,” partly because of poor communication is costing the U.S. economy somewhere between $70 and $283 billion per year.

Being a result-minded business executive, how can you solve this problem in your organization?

The answer is: communication technology.

Communication technology has seen some major advancements in the past decade. New innovations are being introduced into the mix every day and more and more people are buying into it.

For instance, up to 83.6% of people in Australia have access to smartphone in 2018, according to Statista. This is something you can leverage upon to create efficient meeting presence even while people are constantly being connected to their devices.

How? It's by interfusing meetings and technology.

No doubt, society is now well-versed in face-to-face meetings, but the workplace is rapidly changing. Just consider team members that are working remotely. It’s necessary to adapt accordingly and improve how to communicate and interact with other executives and even employees. This can be achieved through online meetings.

Online meetings are easier, faster, and a lot more fun to run. It's cheaper, too.

There are different easy-to-use solutions you can adopt for this — webinars, web conferencing/video conferencing, and so on. It started with applications like Skype, but now several softwares even offer better features and overall services.

Services like this can be used for executive meetings, sales presentations, brainstorming sessions, interviews, or even to provide customer support.

For instance, a platform like ClickMeeting enables businesses interactive features, such as white boards, popup CTAs, screen sharing, and polls, which are effective for increasing participants’ engagement during meetings.

Hosting an in-person meeting usually require you look for a physical venue, travel long distances, and spend on unnecessary logistics. But with online meetings, anyone with a good internet connection can host or participate in meetings from the comfort of their office, home, or even out of the Whitehaven Beach.

We’ve all been stuck in a bad meeting. You arrive on time only to have the meeting begin fifteen minutes late. The agenda? Unclear. The presiding person? Unknown.

Some people start to suggest ideas while others kick them down. Nothing is really decided and the meeting wraps up, as you silently lament the lost hour.

Today, corporate companies would not have to waste time on a bad meeting. With the right tools and services, companies can be sure to run meetings that are not only productive, but also secure and engaging.