Internal Communications ROI Calculator
Quantify the cost of poor internal communication and calculate ROI on improving employee communications and collaboration tools.
Organization Details
Communication Habits
% of comms time wasted
Internal Comms Investment
Cost of Poor Communication
187.2
Hours wasted/employee/year
$5,400
Cost per employee/year
$2,700,000
Total annual waste
Total IC Investment
$210,000
$420/employee
Potential Savings (50% improvement)
$1,350,000
$2,700/employee
Net Annual Benefit
$1,140,000
ROI on IC Investment
543%
Productivity Recovery
93.6
Hours recovered per employee/year
11.7
Productive days recovered/employee
Key Insight:
The average employee spends 12 hours/week on internal communication. A 30% inefficiency rate costs your organization $2,700,000 annually in lost productivity.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter your employee count and average salary.
Add weekly hours spent on meetings and email.
Estimate your communication inefficiency rate.
Compare internal comms investment to potential savings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does poor communication really cost?
Studies estimate poor communication costs organizations $12,500+ per employee annually. For a 500-person company, that's over $6 million in lost productivity. Costs include wasted meetings, miscommunication delays, duplicated work, and employee disengagement.
What percentage of communication is inefficient?
Research suggests 20-40% of meeting time is unproductive, and employees spend 2+ hours daily on unnecessary email. A conservative 25-30% inefficiency rate is typical for most organizations. Companies with strong internal comms programs reduce this to 15-20%.
What internal comms investments have the highest ROI?
Highest-ROI investments include: clear communication channels and guidelines (reducing email), meeting optimization (agendas, fewer attendees), employee intranet or app, manager communication training, and regular all-hands updates. Start with process changes before adding new tools.
How many internal comms staff should we have?
Industry benchmarks suggest 1 internal comms professional per 1,000-2,500 employees. Smaller companies often share this with HR or marketing. As you scale past 500 employees, dedicated internal comms becomes increasingly valuable for culture and engagement.
How do we measure internal comms effectiveness?
Track: email open/click rates, intranet engagement, employee survey scores, meeting time trends, response time to announcements, and manager communication feedback. Tie these to business outcomes like eNPS, retention, and productivity metrics where possible.
Why Use This Calculator
- Calculate the hidden cost of poor communication
- Quantify productivity lost to inefficient meetings and email
- Build a business case for internal comms investment
- Compare investment costs to potential savings
- Identify productivity recovery opportunities
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