Clear technical communication determines whether projects run smoothly or spiral into errors and rework. Poor technical communication leads to misunderstandings, delays, safety incidents, and preventable costs. In fact, nearly half of rework stems from miscommunication, with poor team coordination and insufficient communication as the top risk factors contributing to rework and safety lapses.
Worse, it’s not just bad writing that contributes to poor technical communication, though. Process failures such as inconsistent document standards and weak review protocols magnify writing problems. The best solution is a combination of a communication audit to accurately diagnose points of communication failure, followed by strategy improvements and technical writing training.
Correcting poor technical communication strengthens quality, safety, and project outcomes across organizations
In every technical field, every project runs on human communication long before it runs on machinery or code.
Unfortunately, that communication is just as prone to breakdown as any machine or software. A drawing gets misinterpreted. A specification goes unread or is misunderstood. Instructions are poorly explained. A rushed update never makes it into the official documentation, and its omission goes unnoticed.
These aren’t necessarily, or even usually, failures resulting from technical incompetence. Instead, they grow out of the subtler and more pervasive issues of poor technical communication.
Communication lapses are indisputably a major source of error and rework. In construction, at least, these lapses account for nearly half (48%) of all rework. Consider: one study tried to identify the most common causes of rework and safety issues in construction projects and found the top five are
- Poor coordination
- Insufficient communication
- Poor subcontractor management
- Improper supervision and inspection
- Poor site management
Out of these five, all but one essentially centers around communication to some degree. For example, poor coordination almost always involves communication failures.
The Real Cost of Poor Technical Communication
In turn, the problems caused by poor technical communication can be huge. It’s estimated that rework related to poor communication and poor data management adds up to around $31 billion annually in the U.S. Those costs can include:
- Change orders: when an out-of-scope change is required, the subsequent change order almost always comes with an added fee or surcharge.
- Delays: Organizations can handle schedule problems in a variety of ways, but all of them add new costs. Paying for overtime to keep a project on track, keeping labor onsite longer than expected, and so on can cause project costs to balloon.
- Error correction: If an error has been made, it must be fixed. If a component was built incorrectly because the specifications weren’t accurately or clearly communicated, it will have to be modified or outright replaced, adding more material costs.
- Legal expenses: When projects really go awry, companies can find themselves in “liquidated damages” territory, where they owe fees and penalties for the contractual terms they failed to meet.
Improving communication during the planning and coordination phase would reduce many of those overruns before they begin. In fact, even when the project isn’t in danger of an outright problem, good technical communication will still improve outcomes. “Beyond direct dollars, improved communication yields higher quality work and safer jobsites,” argues BMD Materials, a construction sector materials vendor. “Mistakes caught in time prevent expensive tear-outs later, and clarity in instructions leads to better craftsmanship.”
Plus, eliminating delays through clearer communication processes yields enormous productive value. A 10% productivity gain across a large-scale, labor-intensive technical project can potentially translate into increased capacity worth hundreds of thousands, millions, or even (in extreme cases) billions of dollars.
Not Just Writing Problems, Process Problems
Clearly, poor technical communication imposes major risks and costs on projects in technical fields such as construction, manufacturing, engineering, software, and more. Improving that communication can thus yield tremendous benefits.
So, how can organizations fix their technical writing problems?
First, they must address the baseline quality of their team’s writing
This step is especially important in preventing errors and problems in the first place. For example, writers must be able to produce technical guidance and specifications that are clear and instructions that the intended reader can easily understand.
Unfortunately, far too many technical experts, no matter how knowledgeable they may be in their core domain, receive inadequate technical writing and communication training specifically. In fact, through no fault of their own, most employees leave college well-versed in their chosen field but lacking in writing and communication skills.
There’s more to “writing better” than just good grammar, however. Truly effective communication involves critical thinking and strategy skills as much as knowing where to put punctuation marks. For example, technical communications can involve a lot of back-and-forth involving technical peers, non-technical stakeholders, executives, and even the public. In those cases, the writers need to have a solid grasp of their readers so they can produce documents that speak to each reader’s understanding level, viewpoint, and personal goals.
Weaknesses here can cause more problems than just misunderstandings. One of our clients had a manager who was spending hours every day rewriting their team’s documents, which turned into a huge time burden and reduced capacity. You can also check out our proposal writing classes if that interests you.
Second, teams need to develop strong communication frameworks and processes
Good communication upfront can prevent errors, but it’s perhaps even more important to develop and implement good communication protocols for responding to errors.
“A shift from a position of ‘preventing’ to ‘managing’ errors is required to enable learning to become an embedded feature of an organisation’s culture,” writes a group of Australian researchers in the journal Production Planning & Control: The Management of Operations.
What do we mean by frameworks and processes?
- Many organizations lack an underlying writing framework to ensure consistency, repeatability, and reliability in the written documentation they produce.
- Then, they may short-change review and revision procedures when it comes to documentation. Without robust review procedures, errors in documents can escape notice. Then, when errors occur, they risk being repeated if the appropriate communications aren’t updated.
- They also need solid information distribution tools and processes. Even the best writing is worthless if it fails to reach the right people at the right time.
Audit Your Communication Situation and then Train Your Teams
To address issues with poor technical communication, we recommend starting with a communications diagnostic. A good fix always starts with an accurate understanding of the problem. Leaders need to understand where communication bottlenecks occur, which documents cause the most confusion, and how information flows between departments and partners. Only from there can organizations invest wisely in communication strategy, document design, and training tailored to technical readers.
Next, train your teams to write and communicate more effectively. Communication experts can guide teams through best practices in structuring technical documents, clarifying specifications, writing for multiple readers, and developing processes that support both error prevention and error management.
FAQ
Why does poor technical communication cause so much rework?
Technical environments depend on shared understanding. When specifications are ambiguous or documentation is inconsistent, teams interpret requirements differently. These differences lead directly to errors, missed steps, and early decisions that must be undone later. Studies consistently show that miscommunication is one of the strongest predictors of rework.
Is communication failure usually a writing problem or a process problem?
It is often both. Many issues arise when teams have no standardized templates, unclear ownership of documents, weak review processes, or conflicting versions of the same instructions. Even strong writers struggle in the absence of structure. Process improvements usually amplify the benefits of writing improvements.
Does communication affect safety?
Yes. Research shows that rework and safety problems share common drivers such as poor coordination and insufficient communication. When technical instructions, hazard information, and updates are unclear, safety incidents become more likely.
How can organizations reduce communication-related errors?
Improvements typically begin with a communication diagnostic to diagnose the issues specific to each organization, followed by a clearer writing strategy, better document standards, and targeted technical writing training. Organizations often see substantial benefits when teams learn to write with clarity, structure, and technical accuracy.
Better Technical Communication Means Better Outcomes
Certainly, even the best communicators using the smartest communication processes won’t eliminate all mistakes and rework. Nevertheless, fixing poor technical communications will get your team much, much closer to optimal performance by reducing confusion, strengthening collaboration, and raising the overall standard of performance. In technical environments where precision matters, the cost of improvement is negligible compared to the benefits your team stands to gain and the costs of poor technical communication.
To learn how to improve technical communications at your organization, contact Hurley Write for a custom, no-obligation consultation. We offer one-stop solutions, including communication audits, technical writing workshops, and more.
