Dive Brief:

• The majority of the U.S. workforce is "unhappy and ready to quit" because of ineffective company communication — a 30% jump from one year ago, according to Dynamic Signal's Annual State of Employee Communication and Engagement Study. What's more, 52% of employees said they have seen bad communication result in bad financial outcomes such as lost sales and damaged company reputation, the report found. The study surveyed about 1,000 U.S. employees.
• In terms of employee communication, the study also found that 70% of employees feel overwhelmed because of "broken communication methods and fragmented information." Even more respondents said improving employee communication and engagement should be a higher priority for their current employer. Slightly more than half said they don't feel that their employer communicates with them in a way that makes them want to be an advocate for the company.
• Nearly 70% of those surveyed said they would be less likely to quit if their company had a better approach to communication. In fact, 67% would put extra effort into their jobs if they felt more valued and engaged, the report said. 

Dive Insight:

Communication has been called out as a business problem before, and the problem touches HR specifically. A report by HR.com and Ipsos identified communication as one of HR's most significant blind spots. This problem manifested itself in a kind of identity crisis for HR, the survey found; because of HR's communication problems, only 18% of employees viewed HR as strategic, while 43% of HR professionals said they acted strategically in their role. This poses a big challenge to HR professionals, whose communication strategies not only define their identity within their organizations, but also enable them to be more effective with their recruiting strategies, compliance duties and engagement practices.

As Dynamic Signal's research pointed out, employee engagement is a critical element of business that falls within HR's realm. To most effectively boost engagement, HR needs to show employees how they fit into the bigger business picture, experts previously told HR Dive. With clear and open communication, HR can familiarize workers with their employer's mission and validate how their roles and duties help carry out that mission.