North American businesses spent more than $340 billion on learning and development last year. It’s a sign that talent development is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s strategic.
But budgets are shifting. For the first time, traditional in-person training budgets are shrinking while investment in digital learning is rising, according to the 2023 LinkedIn Learning Report. The reason is simple: the old approaches aren’t delivering, and organizations are under pressure to prove that development efforts are actually moving the needle.
When it comes to communication skills in particular, the stakes are even higher.
Why Communication Deserves More Attention
Communication is the most common activity at work, yet one of the least effectively developed. Leaders cite it as a top skill gap, and poor communication isn’t just annoying—it’s expensive. Studies have shown:
- Businesses spend 15% of their collective time in meetings—many of which go nowhere.
- Miscommunication at companies with just 100 employees can cost over $500,000 annually.
- Talent-related risks, including poor communication, are seen as a top concern by 75% of global leaders.
And yet, more than half of companies still lack structured programs to improve communication.
Why Communication ROI Is Now Measurable
Traditionally, soft skills like communication were tough to measure—let alone tie to performance. Feedback was anecdotal. Improvement was assumed rather than verified. That’s changing.
New tools and platforms now make it possible to evaluate communication with data, track progress over time, and connect individual performance to broader business outcomes. It’s not just theoretical.
Research has found:
- Companies with strong communication practices are 3.5 times more likely to outperform peers.
- High-performing communicators drive 47% higher total return to shareholders.
Even more compelling? When communication skills are tied to real-world scenarios—like sales conversations, product launches, or onboarding—it becomes easier to draw a straight line from capability to outcomes.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Sales teams offer one of the clearest examples. A great product won’t sell itself, and no amount of features will matter if a rep can’t communicate value clearly and confidently.
More companies are embracing simulated practice environments where reps rehearse common sales scenarios and get structured feedback. These can be used for onboarding, certifying product messaging, or refining objection handling. When designed well, they help sales reps improve quickly—without the friction or subjectivity of traditional roleplay.
And when organizations start tracking performance data from these simulations, they don’t just improve individual skills—they unlock insights that guide coaching, hiring, and even messaging strategy.
Related: Conversation Engine 3.0: Our Most Realistic AI Roleplay Yet
From “Soft Skill” to Strategic Priority
Investing in communication skills—especially when done intentionally and with measurement in mind—can improve:
- Productivity: Less time clarifying confusion or correcting missteps.
- Retention: Employees who feel confident communicating are more likely to stay and grow.
- Sales outcomes: Reps who can articulate value with clarity close more deals.
- Customer trust: Precise, confident communication builds credibility.
In short, communication touches every part of the business—and it’s finally possible to treat it like the business-critical capability it is.
Bringing It All Together
If your team’s development programs still treat communication as a soft skill that’s hard to measure, it may be time to rethink your approach.
At Quantified, we’ve seen firsthand how scalable, realistic practice can transform rep performance, especially in high-stakes fields like pharma, tech, and financial services. When reps rehearse with AI-powered simulations and receive objective, actionable feedback, they improve faster—and so do the business outcomes.
But regardless of what tools you use, the message is clear: communication deserves a seat at the strategy table. And if you can measure it, you can improve it—and prove it.
Curious how others are tackling this? Browse case studies or request a demo to see how communication is being built like a capability, not a checkbox.
Explore More:
- A View from the Top: What Pharma’s L&D Leaders Are Prioritizing (and What They’ve Left Behind)
- Behind the Training, Episode 4: Steve Muccini
- The Pharma Compliance Problem Nobody Talks About
- What Pharma Gets Wrong About AI Training
- Quantified Named to 2025 Inc. 5000, One of the 50 Fastest-Growing AI Firms in the U.S.