Invest in Employee Voice

Companies routinely refer to their employees as their ‘greatest asset’, when in reality most employers still think of, and treat, employees as subordinates. It’s an outdated, unsustainable mindset. Here’s how to change it.

Spend five minutes on websites, such as Glassdoor, Comparably or Vault and you’ll realise just how much the relationship between employers and employees has changed. Where traditionally, power resided with employers, today’s employees – empowered by social media – can easily disseminate information about their organisations and raise awareness of their companies’ working conditions, management styles and cultures.

Whether leadership likes it or not, transparency is a business reality.

Fortunately, many organisations are embracing this reality, making transparency a goal, and deepening their stakeholder engagement, a strategic priority. It’s smart, sustainability-driven thinking. For, at its core is the understanding that dialogue is a vital part of operational success and that, as long as stakeholders engage in open, honest and transparent communication, everyone involved has a sense of connection and continuation into the future.

Organisations that fail to invest in employee voice are jeopardizing their own success and even their survival. Why? Because, when fully integrated into an organisation’s strategy and culture, employee voice has the power to improve engagement, drive innovation and enhance decision-making.

Employee voice, defined

But what is employee voice, exactly?

The definitions vary, which in itself, is rather telling. Earlier definitions of employee voice reflect the traditional balance of power, whereby employees had little say or influence over issues affecting them at work. Current definitions of employee reflect the shift in power more clearly:

Employee voice is when “an organization sees its people not as the problem, rather as central to the solution, to be involved, listened to and invited to contribute their experience, expertise and ideas.”

– David MacLeod, Engage for Success and Nita Clarke, The Involvement and Participation Association

The digital transformation of the workplace has done much to democratize the way people work. In a typical day, employees communicate, collaborate and ideate using any number of workplace platforms: Think Slack, Workplace, Microsoft Teams, Trello, Jira and Zoom. Then there are platforms that enable managers and employees to review, recognize, and reward each other. Cloud-based platforms, such as Workhuman and bountiXP are closing the gap between employees and management, while delivering bottom-line results. bountiXP, particularly, leverages social recognition and engagement to align strategy and culture.

Yet, even with this proliferation of collaboration and communication tools, are organisations listening to employee voice effectively? And are they harnessing the potential of employee voice as a catalyst for success? The short answer, is no. But there’s a lot organisations can do to embrace the power of voice towards gaining sustainable advantage.

Five fundamentals to release employee voice

1. Leadership support

Without the endorsement of employee voice by an organisation’s leaders, the practice goes nowhere fast. Leaders need to acknowledge the intrinsic value of employee voice and demonstrate their commitment by becoming actively involved – essentially, joining the conversation.

For many organisations this may mean, first, having to have the difficult conversation with leaders about the shift in power between employees and employers. The fact is that the world of work has changed and today, employees have real influence and authority. Getting leaders to see and support this change is a necessary starting point. Thereafter, selling leaders on the advantages associated with releasing employee voice is simple: Tell them to look at the latest ‘Best Places to Work’ list, and then to look at the share prices of those companies.

2. Leadership involvement

Nothing says ‘pro-voice’ louder than an open-door policy among an organisation’s leaders. This doesn’t mean that they have to be available for employees, nine to five. It simply means that dedicated time should be scheduled in their diaries to meet with employees. Also, leaders should be urged to form and join workplace groups on messaging apps, such as WhatsApp. Voice notes are an effective way for leaders to communicate authentically. Nothing beats the human voice for conveying emotion.

3. Integration of employee voice into strategy and culture

For many organisations, employee voice starts and ends with the annual staff survey. This is not to say that employee surveys aren’t important – they’re a vital feedback mechanism. Only, organisations that put voice and listening onto their strategic agendas are already sending a positive message to employees; that their inputs and opinions matter. By making employee voice a strategic imperative, it won’t be long before voice becomes a defining practice of an organisation’s culture.

4. Training in empathy and active listening

For employee voice to be effective requires that leaders – managers, especially – become better at listening. Active listening involves being fully present when a person is speaking, seeking nothing from them but to understand. In a state of receptive awareness, judgement and criticism are suspended, and one’s sole focus and attention are given to the speaker. The result is a greater sense of clarity and connection between listener and speaker. With the right training, leaders and managers can become expert enablers of employee voice.

5. Channel analysis and expansion

Communication channels should be assessed for their ability to facilitate multi-way dialogue. Ideally, communication should flow up, down and across an organisation. Also, additional forums for engagement can be formed, ones that promote employee voice, specifically. An example is the organisational debate, whereby employees are invited to argue the case for an issue relevant to the business, from different perspectives. Debates are a great way to advance critical thinking in the workplace, and to give employees the opportunity to hone their public speaking and presentation skills.

When released effectively and given amplification, employee voice can be a source of extraordinary business knowledge and expertise. It is also a means of deepening engagement, furthering innovation and improving decision-making. But employee voice is more than a means to an end. Employee voice is a human need. When employees are heard, really heard, they feel valued. And that is the key to value creation.