Guide to Encouraging Employee Voice in Your Company

THINK TANK RESULTS (3 April 2019)

Following earlier Think Tank that identified the need to break the circle of silence, we focused on “How to enable a culture in which employees feel free to speak up”

So what did we find out?

Company culture/management style plays a leading role. Respondents talked about a culture of trust, respect, transparency and empowerment. The absence of fear, blame and gossip is a must.

Also important is the development of skills and competencies: learning to address issues in a non-confrontational way, adopting open (non-defensive) attitudes and developing interpersonal skills that support teamwork and collaboration.

A third enabler concerns roles and responsibilities. Management has to ‘walk-the-talk’ by encouraging feedback and using it positively. Employees need to take responsibility for speaking up.

Interestingly, only 50% of the respondents claimed to be (very) comfortable with speaking up at work, There is still significant room for improvement.

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