Miscommunication is incredibly costly to businesses. According to research published by the Mitchell Communications Group, and shared by Salesforce, “miscommunication costs businesses $37 billion” annually. That’s $26,000 for every employee in the U.S. and U.K. — every single year.

Employee communication training seeks to avoid such losses by equipping all team members with the skills they need to communicate effectively, no matter how challenging a project might be. 

But it isn’t just our words that we need to think about when communicating at work. Everything from non-verbal cues and actions can have a bearing on how well we communicate with colleagues, and how well we collaborate with other departments in the workplace. 

Miscommunication can easily snowball and cause real problems that are difficult to come back from, but nipping issues like these in the bud early ensures that everyone can work to their full potential. 

Employee communication training provides staff with the knowledge and skills they need to create a more connected, productive, and collaborative office. In turn, this bolsters staff retention and internal mobility throughout an organization, which is great news for a business’s profitability. 

Read on to learn more about why employee communication training matters. We’ll explain why this is an investment that always pays off.

What is Employee Communication Training? 

Employee communication training provides a dedicated learning space to help employees with a whole range of communication-related skills.

Staff members undergoing communication training will learn how best to empathize with others, helping them to see things from the perspective of those with whom they are working. Training also provides employees with the skills they need to get their personal perspective across, enabling team members to articulate their thoughts and ideas clearly and appropriately.

There are many different kinds of communication training that team members can take part in. These tend to fall into two categories: employee engagement training and employee relations training.

Overall, some of the most common forms of communication training focus on the following skills:

• • Active listening
  • Written communication
  • Self advocacy
  • Non-verbal awareness
  • Articulating business impact

Employee Engagement Training

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report, most employees remain disengaged at work. Such low levels of engagement also come with a hefty price tag. The research team found that “low engagement alone costs the global economy $7.8 trillion.”

Employee engagement training aims to conquer the problem of disengagement, turning things around for employees and businesses alike. 

Engagement training provides employees with the skills they need to connect with one another and collaborate more effectively with their coworkers. Essentially, the training enables team members to work more harmoniously, engaging with one another to provide a  palpable boost to the business as a whole. 

Employee Relations Training

Employee relations training focuses on relationships between a business or brand, and its employees. The term “employee relations” covers both individual relationships and collective relationships between the company and its entire workforce. There’s also a focus on relationships between a company’s managers and those being managed. 

From contractual matters and practical concerns to the emotional side of the relationship between a brand and its employees, there are many factors to consider under the umbrella of employee relations. 

Dedicated employee relations training aims to improve these relationships from varying perspectives, foremost by teaching managers and business leaders how best to champion the relationships between a business and its workforce, in order to boost engagement, motivation, and profitability. 

What’s the Big Picture Value?

Blake Morgan, writing for Forbes, states:

“Being able to get information across clearly makes work more efficient, understandable, and less frustrating. As part of the regular suite of training, every employee at your company should also receive communications training. It is a vital part of keeping an organization running smoothly and cohesively.” 

There’s no question that communication training is enormously valuable to any company. In fact, it is crucial to run a successful business. For teams to work well together, they need to be able to communicate to the best of their abilities. Any breakdown in communication can have devastating effects on the productivity of a company, holding skilled employees back and reducing a company’s output significantly. 

But it’s not always as simple as just introducing training programs for your team. Communication training cannot be effective in a vacuum. Meaning: in order to sustain learning, employees must be able to practice their communication skills amongst peers, in real-time. 

All businesses face tight budgets, so it’s usually a question of prioritizing the training that will make the biggest difference to your team. If that’s the case, it’s worth looking into scalable solutions that offer communication training alongside tips and tutorials focusing on other valuable skills. 

The Forem’s Level Up Enterprise Training and suite of Manager Training courses provide help on a whole range of communication-related skills, as well as tips on networking, collaborating with teammates, and improving connections with internal stakeholders. 

If you’d like to find out more about how to maximize the potential of your team, take a look at our cohort training courses, or get in touch with our team to start tailoring a training program that best suits your company’s needs.