Communication is key. Without it, we'd all be hermits. Barely a minute goes by where we're not responding to a phone call, email or Facebook message. It's easy to forget just how much we actually need communication. Especially in the workplace. 

If an employee is part of a company, he or she will need certain channels through which to communicate, whether this is a company email, an intranet, an employee app, or even a few spare minutes to bend the boss’ ear.

But what if a company doesn’t have any of these things in place?  You might not realise it, but you’re building up a series of walls, boxing in employees and isolating them from the company as a whole.

So what are the pitfalls of poor communication?

· An Isolated Workforce is a Disengaged Workforce – Employees are at their most productive when morale is high, and morale is high when employees feel valued, part of a team and well informed. If employees are working in an environment in which they’re isolated from the rest of their peers, it is even more critical that they are kept in the loop. It's no surprise that a recent study by Accountemps shows a staggering 33% of employees report low morale as a result of poor communication.

· Disrupting the Flow of Business – If communication is not circulating through the business and an employee’s day-to-day engagement leaves them as little more than a hermit, then business will suffer, both within the realms of the company and outside. In fact, A Clear Company study reports that 86% of employees and executives say lack of collaboration or ineffective communication is linked to workplace failures.

· Employees Set Off for Pastures New – This is perhaps the worst-case scenario. If employees are detached from their work and their colleagues, they may end up drifting away to another job. This ends up putting management through a costly recruitment process, impacting on the employer brand and ultimately the bottom line. 

Every employee within a company has the capacity to be a conduit for information and engagement. Communication in the business is not just the best way a company moves forward. It is the only way a company moves forward. And with the right communication strategy, you can break down those walls.

If employees feel safe and valued, feeling as though they belong, they will reach a state of motivated esteem and a realisation of full potential. Open communication is the foundation on which a loyal workforce stands.