Healthy Organisation

Poor Communication Within The Organization – RESULTS – 35

When communication inside the organization is unclear, delayed, or inconsistent, even good strategies and capable teams struggle to deliver results, because people simply do not have the information they need to act effectively.

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Where you’ll notice this in everyday work

Poor internal communication rarely appears as one obvious failure. More often, it shows up as a collection of small breakdowns that gradually slow work down and increase frustration across teams.

• Information arrives late, after decisions have already been made or deadlines passed.
• Different teams have different versions of the truth, leading to confusion and rework.
• Important messages are buried in long emails, chats, or documents that few people fully read.
• People hear about changes indirectly, through colleagues rather than official communication.
• Questions keep repeating because answers are not shared clearly or consistently.
• Meetings feel unproductive, with time spent aligning instead of moving forward.

Over time, teams stop trusting communication channels and rely on informal networks, which increases inequality and risk.

Why it happens

Poor communication is usually not caused by lack of effort, but by unclear structures, overloaded channels, and missing ownership for communication itself.

• No clear communication standards: people don’t know what to share, when, or where.
• Too many channels: email, chat, meetings, tools — without clear purpose.
• Assumptions instead of clarity: “I thought everyone knew.”
• Top-down overload: long messages without clear priorities or actions.
• Weak feedback loops: senders don’t check if messages were understood.

When communication lacks structure, people compensate with guesses, workarounds, and repeated alignment.

How it affects results

Over time, poor communication becomes a direct performance issue, not just a “soft” organizational problem.

• delays and duplicated work,
• lower quality and more errors,
• missed opportunities and slow decision-making,
• frustration and disengagement,
• loss of trust between teams and management.

How to reduce and overcome it

Improving communication does not mean “more communication”, but clearer, simpler, and more intentional communication.

1. Define communication rules: what goes where, for whom, and by when.
2. Clarify ownership: every key message has a sender responsible for clarity.
3. Separate information from decisions: clearly mark what requires action.
4. Reduce channels: fewer tools, clearer purpose.
5. Close the loop: check understanding and confirm next steps.

Practical communication tools

1) Communication Charter (one page)

A simple agreement that defines which channels are used for which type of message, expected response times, and who needs to be informed.

2) Message Clarity Template

Structure important messages using four lines: context → decision → action → deadline.

3) Weekly Alignment Update

One short weekly message covering priorities, changes, and risks, sent consistently in the same format and channel.

4) “Read & Confirm” rule

For critical information, require a simple acknowledgment or short summary, not just silent receipt.

Recommended links

• Harvard Business Review – organizational communication
• Google re:Work – effective communication
• Atlassian Team Playbook – clarity and alignment
• MindTools – communication skills and tools
• Poslovna Znanja – communication & team effectiveness programs