While most of us suspect we waste too much of our working day in meetings and dealing with emails, employee communications startup Traffyk.AI has had a look at the size of the problem – it’s a day a week – and done something about it.
The enterprise software startup has raised $1.8 million in a Seed round led by Matt Williams.
Founded by Kate Abrahams, the former communications boss at CBA, Alex Manchester, Traffyk analyses workplace data to calculate the cost of communications, and improve the effectiveness and productivity.
Abrahams, the CEO, said the funding will be on product improvements and deliver “an enterprise solution that makes work communications more measurable, targeted, and impactful”
The software company also plans to double its team by the end of 2023.
Around 20% of the working week is wasted as teams try to communicate.
“US business leaders said that, on average, 7.5 hours are lost by each employee weekly due to poor communication and pointless meetings that never needed to happen in the first place,” Abrahams said.
“My experience is that it is the same here in Australia. It’s a big, hidden problem because there’s been no way to quantify the wasted time.”
She believes hybrid work has made it worse.
“The pandemic forced organisations to get more serious about their employee comms. But, because there is no reliable data to show which channel or messages cut through, the typical response was to build new channels, send more comms, and ask for more video calls,” Abrahams said.
“Too often, employee comms is treated as a mass communication broadcast, underpinned by the belief that employees are paid to take notice. Employees are bombarded by emails, internal newsletters, intranet posts, videos, and all-hands meetings that they feel spammed by their bosses. The actual cost is high – but has never before been measured.”
Traffyk allows companies can analyse a team’s digital footprint, price the communications load, and give actionable insights on improving cut-through and productivity.
“Every one of our early customers has been shocked at the sheer volume of communications their teams are expected to get through every day” she said.
“The fix is straightforward – and everyone in the organisation wins.”
Investor Matt Williams said low employee engagement is a frequent issue for management.
“We know it needs to be addressed. I have been fortunate to work closely with Kate in the past. She is one of the best in the business and great at what she does,” he said.
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