Fierce Inc., a Seattle-based communication, training, and leadership development company, recently released a survey that suggests a disconnect between the priorities of managers and employees in terms of workplace communication.

Nearly 800 corporate executives, employees, and educators across the finance, health care, retail, aerospace, and defense sectors participated in the study.

To ensure that everyone is putting their best foot forward, organizations create practices, both written and unspoken, with the overall goal of supporting their employees. Many employees, however, feel their organization's workplace practices are ineffective, an assertion supported by 44 percent of survey respondents who claim that their company's best practices actually hinder employee productivity and morale. Another 47 percent reported that their organization's current practices consistently get in the way of desired results, rather than optimize the overall success of the business.

While these practices are established with the best intentions, it's clear that most are missing the mark when it comes to supporting the needs of their workforce. When asked which practices hold their organization back, nearly half identified a lack of companywide transparency and too little involvement in company decisions as key areas of concern. Also, nearly half of survey respondents identified the most beneficial practices as those that encouraged accountability, development, and individual empowerment.