We believe that companies that value the Voice of Employees (VoE) have a safe and inclusive work environment that helps people feel more engaged not only on the topics that matter to them, but to the business overall. 

We are running an “Ask the Expert Series”, to get experts to share their valuable insight on various topics related to VoE. This month, we invite Nigesh Armon, the COO at Necole, to share his perspectives on what he believes companies can do to encourage an inclusive voice in the workplace. 

Provide suitable spaces

Companies must first understand the concept of give and take, in which they must allow all employees a chance to speak. To do that, you must give appropriate and safe forums or spaces for people to express their thoughts. This is to ensure that they are comfortable sharing their thoughts regardless of the circumstances they are in. Also, their personal preferences or personality traits might allow them to speak up only in certain situations. So the more “spaces” they can speak in, the better. 

Be open-minded when listening to your people 

Once the right employee listening channel is established, leaders must be ready to listen to their employees with an open mind without being judgmental. They must also be aware that individuals vary in personalities and behaviours; therefore, how they express themselves will be different. We need to cut through this noise and try to understand the meaning behind their shared opinions.

Be constructive when responding

Furthermore, leaders who listen to their employees must equip themselves with the right skill set to respond to them in a manner that is fruitful, conducive and constructive. Do not put down employees’ ideas by stating that it is illogical or not practical. Leaders should instead understand the message the employees are trying to deliver and the motivation behind it. At the same time, it is critical to ensure that it is a two-way communication by responding to the feedback while encouraging them to be more confident to speak out in the workplace. 

Be transparent

Upon receiving feedback, leaders must ensure there is transparency in the conversation to avoid any misunderstandings amongst themselves and other employees. Most frustrations are due to a lack of communication. Leaders should communicate more, not only about the situation being addressed but perhaps any and all actions that are being considered. They should even communicate even if the said situation is not a priority to the company. If there is not enough communication, some employees will choose to bottle up their emotions as they feel that their voice does not matter, all due to a lack of transparency.

It is critical to shift the mindset by having clarity in the workplace through sharing information with employees. At the same time, leaders must understand the connection between the information that is communicated and how it will impact employees in finding their voice. Therefore, leaders must be transparent, truthful and sincere while ensuring the information is helpful to the employees.

Focus on the situation, not the person  

We often focus on individuals who highlight the situation instead of what they actually said, leading to an undesirable outcome, such as a personal attack. Therefore, it is critical to steer the conversation to move forward by ensuring both parties are gaining from the discussion.

A strong mechanism for employee voice combined with open-minded and participative management enables you to better understand the reality on the ground. Consequently, leaders can make better decisions, leading to better employee satisfaction and performance. 

To create the right situation, leaders need to be transparent while helping their people to build confidence in speaking out. Therefore, listening to employees with an open mind is essential as it allows a better understanding of the challenges and the support they may need at work.  Ultimately this will help everyone move towards achieving business goals.

If you are exploring a better way of developing an inclusive workplace, schedule a free consultation with our friendly expert team to let us guide you through this.