Poor Communication Costs U.S. Businesses Up to $2 Trillion a Year

Hard truth: the single greatest barrier to effective communication in your organization may be your leadership team.

Crafting a compelling culture, identity, and story for a company is already a gargantuan task. It’s an even bigger feat to have that message permeate multiple layers of hierarchy, especially across geographies, time zones, or a workforce split between desk workers and frontline employees who aren’t connected to technology all day.

Yes, access to information matters. But communication isn’t just about access. It’s about culture.

Employees need visibility into company strategy and performance. They need clarity and a sense that the organization is moving in unison. When that’s present, people feel informed, motivated, and connected to the work.

Tools and platforms matter. Communications professionals are valuable conduits, shapers, and facilitators. What they can’t do is motivate teams or drive culture and operational results in ways that account for the nuance of individual roles, functions, and locations. That responsibility sits squarely with leaders.

So where do you start?

The answer isn’t tactical. It’s structural.

First: secure buy-in from senior leadership. If the C-suite isn’t genuinely committed to the importance of communications - your team, your resources, your approach, and your messaging - everything else falls flat.

Second: equip middle management to carry the message. Managers are where strategy meets reality. If they aren’t translating intent into meaning today, communications teams should focus less on volume and more on building a strategy that enables managers to succeed.

Why does this matter? Because poor communication is expensive.

Research from Grammarly and The Harris Poll estimates the annual per-employee cost at $12,506 - roughly $1.2 trillion across U.S. businesses. Axios HQ puts the number even higher: $15,000 per employee, or nearly $2 trillion annually.

At the same time, Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace report shows employee engagement continuing to decline. At the root of that decline: disengaged managers and a widening gap between executives and employees.

The bottom line is simple. Managers’ relationships with employees matter more than ever. They’re not just participants in a communications cascade - they’re the linchpin.