Have you ever thought about how much hidden cost is caused by inattentiveness and misunderstandings in workplace communication? It's simple: vague instructions, missed emails, and unclear decisions lead to prolonged approvals and financial losses.
In this article, we’ll cover 7 key communication mistakes among employees that can hit a company’s wallet. You'll learn how these mistakes show up in team workflows, the problems they lead to, and what to do about them. Get ready — it’s time to make internal company communication truly effective.
The impact of poor communication on business
Internal corporate communication is a combination of tools and channels through which people in a company interact. The communication system a company builds determines the effectiveness of its processes and all its employees. It’s essentially the company’s “nervous system.” Through internal channels, employees receive tasks, key information, and corporate standards. When this system fails, everyone suffers: tasks get lost, decisions are made blindly, deadlines are pushed back, and employees simply don’t understand what’s expected of them. And this is not uncommon.
For example:
- A manager sends an urgent email, but the recipient doesn’t see it in time — the task stalls, and no one knows what to do next.
- The team forgets to send a report after a meeting — as a result, everyone has a different understanding of who is responsible for what.
- A manager misses an email about deadline changes and doesn’t inform contractors — a week’s work is wasted.
It happens. But the good news is that it’s avoidable. When a clear communication system is in place, employees respond to tasks faster, information reaches everyone without distortion, and no one feels left in the dark.
Communication isn’t just about messaging. It’s an investment — and one that pays off exponentially. The main thing is to find and fix the bottlenecks.
Common employee communication mistakes
Mistake 1: Vague wording
An employee writes an overly general message that lacks detail. Or gives a verbal task “on the go” without clarifying important points.
How it shows up in the team. Colleagues keep asking the same questions or try to figure it out on their own, which delays deadlines. Confusion arises in the chat: some people don’t understand what’s expected — so the result is either late or not what was intended.
Why it’s dangerous for business. Unclear wording leads the recipient to misinterpret the message. As a result, the company pays for redoing tasks and handling complaints from dissatisfied clients.
How to fix it. Before sending a message or formulating a task, think through its structure: a short title, clear bullet points, specific deadlines. Implement communication templates or standards: for example, each report starts with its purpose and deadline, and work requests are labeled “urgent,” “needs clarification,” etc. Don’t hesitate to ask colleagues, “Did I understand the task correctly?” — it’ll save tons of time.
Mistake 2: No feedback
Employees don’t inform colleagues about the results of their work or don’t respond to questions or comments. Sometimes they’re afraid of criticism or just too lazy to reply — so they stay silent.
How it shows up in the team. In chats, one person is waiting for confirmation, while the other is silent. For example, a developer shares a feature update and waits for the tester’s feedback — but gets no response, not even whether the release was accepted. The entire cycle can drag on for a week because no one confirmed the result.
Why it’s dangerous for business. Lack of feedback slows processes and demotivates teams. Mistakes go unnoticed until they grow into problems. Research shows that poor communication increases stress and lowers productivity: people feel unheard and become less engaged.
How to fix it. Foster a culture of regular feedback. Hold short daily meetings or send check-in messages in the chat: the “what’s done – what’s next – any questions” format keeps everyone updated.
Establish feedback formats — whether it’s a weekly report, a project satisfaction survey, or a quick check-in in the corporate messenger.
Regular employee surveys about how satisfied they are with communication provide an overall picture. Get managers involved: when a leader asks, “What do you think?” — people are more willing to share ideas.
Use polls or emoji reactions right in the messenger — for example, eXpress corporate users can create polls within project groups to make decisions faster.
Mistake 3: Delayed responses and ignoring messages
An employee takes too long to reply to emails, messenger messages, or calls. Sometimes they just ignore notifications, thinking they’re unimportant.
How it shows up in the team. When someone stays silent too long, the team gets worried — deadlines are missed, and workplace relationships suffer.
Why it’s dangerous for business. Every hour of delay is downtime and lost revenue. If a contractor is waiting for document approval and the manager postpones the email — the project halts. That leads to budget overruns, and the client might turn to competitors. Plus, constant message ignoring breaks trust: employees feel like their questions go unnoticed and become less invested.
How to fix it. Set clear rules for using chat, email, and calls. For example, agree that urgent questions in messenger are answered within an hour, and emails — within the business day. Enable notifications and use priority tags (flags like “important,” or mentions in the chat). For emergencies, define an alternative channel: a quick video call, SMS, or tagging in the group chat. Quick calls also help resolve things faster — always leave buffer time in the calendar for urgent discussions.
Mistake 4: Uncoordinated communication channels
The company lacks clear guidelines on which communication channels to use for specific purposes. People jump between email, multiple messengers, and video conferencing tools.
How it shows up in the team. Because of fragmented communication, colleagues miss key information. For example, a deadline change notice gets buried in private messages, while new project requirements are dropped into the CRM. Deadlines slip, information is duplicated across multiple channels, and employees waste time constantly checking all the tools the company uses.
Why it’s dangerous for business. Task duplication increases, document versions diverge, and messenger chats turn into endless clarification threads.
For instance, two employees might independently prepare the same report — just because no one coordinated tasks ahead of time. The manager finds out only after time and resources have already been wasted. Instead of solving real problems, the team spends energy just trying to coordinate and sync.
How to fix it. Define rules for each channel. Document clear policies — for example, use email for formal decisions and reports, corporate chat for quick work-related questions, and meetings or video calls for discussing strategies and results. Stick to the agreements: if news is posted on the company portal, everyone should regularly check it.
Adopt modern communication platforms. For instance, the eXpress platform combines a messenger, video conferencing, corporate portal, and mini-apps in one interface. These kinds of superapps (where multiple services exist in one app) centralize communication, enable document sharing in one place, and maintain message history — the key to process transparency.
Mistake 5: Avoiding conflicts
When disagreements arise in a team, people often stay silent for the sake of a “good atmosphere.” But problems don’t disappear — they’re just postponed. As a result, real dialogue never happens.
How it shows up in the team. On the surface, meetings follow the agenda and tasks are formally discussed, but no real decisions are made. Communication becomes passive, and participants stick to neutral comments, avoiding specifics. You can spot the tension only through indirect signs: delays, misalignments between departments, or sudden withdrawals from initiatives. Often, leadership hears about the problem only when the situation has escalated and needs urgent attention.
Why it’s dangerous for business. Unresolved conflicts reduce overall efficiency. Projects stall because details weren’t agreed on in time, and disagreements hold the team back.
How to fix it. Openness is the key to a healthy work environment. If tension is sensed, ask directly: “What’s preventing us from moving forward right now?” That’s often easier than fixing the aftermath later. If no immediate agreement is reached, record the differing viewpoints in chat or a shared document — a short summary helps reduce misunderstandings.
Addressing tough topics early shows the team isn’t afraid of growth. The sooner a team learns to speak honestly, the more resilient the business becomes.
Mistake 6: Weak communication management in projects
A common issue in project work is the lack of a formal communication plan. There’s no one assigned to inform the team, no deadlines or channels defined for data sharing, and no rules for client communication. Everything happens ad hoc — based on the situation.
How it shows up in the team. Project chats become overloaded: important messages get buried in an unstructured stream. The same issues are discussed repeatedly, key details are lost, and approvals get delayed.
Why it’s dangerous for business. Without defined roles, it's easy to miss budget approvals, overlook scope changes, or lose track of priorities. The project stops working as a unified system: each team moves at its own pace, and fixing errors takes much more time. This is especially critical during integration and delivery phases, where missed details surface too late.
How to fix it. Start by defining the structure: who shares what, with whom, and when. Set clear formats: where status updates are discussed, where changes are tracked, and which issues are brought to meetings. Regular updates — daily check-ins or short recap messages — help reduce the number of clarifications needed.
It’s easiest to manage this on a unified platform: when chats, files, tasks, and meetings are all in one place, project communication becomes much more manageable.
Mistake 7: Passive communication
According to Gallup research, employees with low engagement in communication make twice as many mistakes and miss deadlines more often. And companies with a high share of engaged employees lose up to 18% less productivity at the team level.
How it shows up in the team. Passive participation in communication can be subtle: an employee is present at meetings but doesn’t comment or ask questions. They may say they understand everything — even if they don’t. This creates a false sense of engagement.
Why it’s dangerous for business. Teams with low initiative generate fewer optimization ideas — meaning missed opportunities to improve products, reduce development time, or cut operational costs.
The financial impact includes:
- extended revision cycles,
- repeated task execution,
- increased workload on managers,
- higher costs for manual process oversight.
How to fix it. Engagement doesn’t happen on its own — it needs to be nurtured. Communication should be not just informative, but interactive.
As of 2025, Russian communication platform developers offer a wide range of solutions with convenient features for team collaboration. For example, messengers include private and group chats, discussion threads, reactions, and statuses. There are also great tools for running internal corporate news channels. Using polls — including anonymous ones — inside team chats is also helpful for gathering employee feedback.
How to improve team communication
- Develop guidelines and templates. Define standard formats for communication: set rules for writing emails, meeting notes, and announcements. Clarify who reports project statuses and how, so nothing falls through the cracks. Templates reduce routine work and help employees receive information in familiar formats faster.
- Hold daily meetings. Organize short daily or weekly check-ins for current projects. The “what’s done – what’s planned” format helps identify delays early and coordinate next steps.
- Identify effective communication tools. Review all communication tools your company uses and evaluate their pros and cons. Make a list of tasks you want to cover with communication tools. Then gather requirements from different departments and identify strong and weak points in your current corporate communication processes.
- Collect feedback and monitor engagement. Regular employee surveys, one-on-one calls, and analyzing activity in communication channels help adjust to the team’s real needs and prevent drops in efficiency. Questionnaires like “Do you clearly understand your tasks?” and “What information do you feel is missing?” give valuable insights. Team activity (number of replies, comments, and reactions) is also a key indicator of communication effectiveness.
Communication mistakes really cost companies — lost time, trust, and efficiency turn into financial losses. But these mistakes are fixable. Start with a diagnosis: identify where breakdowns happen — in wording, timing, channels, or interaction rules. This helps find bottlenecks, build a transparent communication structure, and choose a technology platform that supports the team at all levels.
