The one mistake 47% of companies make that costs them billions of dollars every year is not having a digital internal communications strategy. A digital workplace can revolutionize an organization, save money, and make a company more competitive. Productivity, engagement, and experience all benefit from a digital workplace, and the success and savings ripple out to the rest of a company, all the way to the customer.

The majority of the global workforce is on the frontlines, untethered to a desk or corporate communications, but they’re the ones most in need of engagement boosts. To reach those employees, companies need a business communication app that’s specifically designed for a mobile workforce. According to research scientist Kristine Dery of MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research, companies who employ a digital workplace outperform their competition thanks to an engaged and productive workforce. In fact, companies with higher employee engagement outperform competitors by 20%. But employers spend just 1% of corporate technology expenses on this vital population, and it’s costing them billions.

Here are some of the hidden costs of not going digital to engage employees:

1. Lack of Reliable Tech Results in Low Retention

According to the Straits Times, companies suffer from low retention when they don’t utilize good technology for corporate two-way communications with a personal touch. Employees are 450% more likely to leave their jobs when the company is behind the tech times.

2. Slower Productivity Without a Digital Workplace

Without a digital workplace, paper pushing slows productivity way down. Management and employees spend more time getting tasks done. Some estimates show work gets done 5x faster with a digital workplace.

3. The Big Disconnect Between Management and Employees

The most engaged employees are the most informed about their company and have the most direct communication with management, a benefit of a digital workplace. But statistics show those employees are in the minority. Almost 50% of workers say they don’t have a clear sense of their company’s direction. 84% don’t believe they get enough information from management. And 75% felt out of the loop when it came to hearing about policy changes. With such a big disconnect in corporate communications, employees are more likely to move on to another job.

4. Disconnected Frontline Workforces Have the Lowest Engagement

There are 2.7 billion frontline workers in the world. But only 13% of them feel engaged at work. That’s over 20 percentage points lower than the average worker. The frontline workforce also receives the least investment in digital workplace technology and are often left out of internal communications. Linking these employees to a business communication app engages and empowers them with information. Every employee wants to be included in corporate updates.

5. The Hard Cost of a Workforce without a Digital Workplace

Low engagement results in low productivity. But there’s a hard number linked to this loss. Lack of engagement costs companies an incredible $450 billion every single year. The cost benefit analysis of a digital workplace proves that a simple strategic shift of internal communications can eliminate needless business losses like these.

6. Miscommunication With a High Price Tag

Every year, companies lose $37 billion simply from miscommunication. A business communication app can streamline clear information to specified end users. And with a digital workplace platform a confirmation campaign could make sure the recipient has read the message to reduce the chance of miscommunication.

7. Time Wasted and Productivity Lost from High Frontline Turnover

Industries with deskless workers have the highest turnover rates. F&B outlets have a turnover of about 67% with fast food restaurants close to 100%. Employee departures disrupt workflows and it takes more and more time to fill an open position. Being short staffed lowers productivity and cuts revenue. Many employees leave a job because they aren’t invested emotionally in the company. A digital workplace connects the communication dots and builds a bridge to that hard-to-reach workforce.

8. The Cost of Replacing and Retraining Employees

The average cost of replacing an hourly worker is between 16% and 20% of their annual wages. Companies with frontline workers face the highest turnover and thus the highest cost in employee replacement and training. 1 Hotel in New York wanted to find a way to keep their team dedicated, engaged, and on board with the company. When they adopted a digital workplace App their turnover rate dropped by 39%.

9. A Calendar Month Lost to Bad Internal Communications

In some companies, the technology pendulum swings too far the opposite way. In an attempt to build internal comms, companies adopt too many apps, overwhelming employees with numerous messages and too many portals with different sign-ins. The result? 32 days a year are wasted from app overcrowding. With a central digital workplace, a company can integrate multiple business communication apps into one hub. When one Grocery Chain adopted a digital workplace App, there was a 90% reduction in emails, streamlining communications through one employee portal.

10. The Cost of the Customer Experience

Most companies compete based on customer experience alone which is defined by their interaction with a company’s frontline workforce. Educating, informing, and communicating with that team through a business communication app can build customer loyalty. Without it you stand to lose business. Every year companies waste billions of dollars, sacrifice customers and lose workers from the wrong internal communications strategy. 

So what’s the worth of a digital workplace? Priceless.