Just how bad is the writing in corporate communications?

Bad enough to make 120 major U.S. companies employing 8 million people spend more than $3 billion (with a b) annually for remedial writing training.

According to a CollegeBoard survey of those companies, writing is a “threshold skill” for hiring and promoting professional employees. You can’t move in, or up, without it.

The Business Roundtable, an association of leading CEOs (including those from Michigan-based Dow Chemical Co., Steelcase Inc. and Stryker Corp.) encouraged its members to participate in the survey. No surprise there, since writing is not just for writers anymore. Two-thirds of salaried employees in large companies have some writing responsibility, due in part to increased reliance on email.

A recent Inc.com story called the amount being spent on remedial training “shocking.” But consider the tremendously important role communicators play, as the survey notes: “Much of what is important in American public and economic life depends on clear oral and written communication.”

The bottom line is that most companies can’t afford writing errors. That’s why Truscott Rossman puts a premium on effective writing. We know a deep writing bench is invaluable to our clients.

But good writing is challenging. How to start?

First, write shorter sentences. Shoot for sentences that average 16 to 20 words. Not every sentence should be that length – can you say monotonous?  – but make that the average.

It will pay off – for your customers, clients and your company.