The findings come as part of a study from TelephoneSystems.Cloud which identified that poor communication in the workplace could cost small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) £74 billion annually, which works out to over £4,500 per employee.

This amount is higher than the global average, signalling a loss of time and resources compared to overseas competitors. 

SMEs still spend too much time relying on traditional methods based on legacy practices such as face-to-face meetings where one-fifth of time is wasted, according to the report. 

“SMEs still relying on more traditional communication methods based on legacy technology must rethink how this affects productivity and engagement in their business,” said Juliet Moran, technical director at TelephoneSystems. 

According to a survey by Mitel, voice and email remain the most popular modes of communication, with 97% saying they were the most frequently used. The most divisive form of communication remains face-to-face meetings, with 53%  of respondents saying the inefficiencies accompanying face-to-face meetings outweighed the productivity gains.

A rising form of communication in the survey was video conferencing, with 29% of respondents ranking it in their top five most effective ways to communicate.

However, the shift to more remote-based meetings does have its downsides, with one third of respondents saw their lack of training on new communications technology as the barrier between them using it effectively.

The report points out that despite the cost and effort in upskilling employees in new technologies, the 5.5 million UK-based SMEs could benefit from doing more.

82% of employees themselves say their work would be improved if they used updated tools, and almost a quester of business professionals saying resistance to change is a major contributor to inefficiencies in the workplace.

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“An effective communication system is the backbone of a successful business as it improves productivity, leading to growth and boosting morale,” said Moran. “On the other hand, the consequences of ineffective communication in the workplace is lost business, employee attrition and missed opportunities, which has enormous implications.”

An updated communications strategy in SMEs is important now more than ever as remote and hybrid modes of working remain popular. In the post-covid climate 44% of workers are either fully remote or hybrid, according to the office of national statistics. 

Having a system that is capable of keeping up with these new communication demands is therefore vital, according to the research.