Employee Voice Survey

Key findings:

The vast majority of respondents believe voice has a positive impact on engagement and performance.
Respondents defined ‘employee voice’ not just as allowing staff to express of their opinions, but also actively listening and involving them in decision-making.
‘Direct’ channels of voice between employees and line managers/senior leaders are both more common and seen as more important than ‘indirect’ or ‘representative’ channels.
Employers – particularly larger organisations – remain very wary about employees using social media to express opinions about them.
Most respondents measure voice and the wider area of engagement through a staff survey. Some just use informal conversations with managers.
One in two respondents correlate voice measures with other indicators. This was normally engagement overall or organisational health, but some correlated voice with performance.
Employee voice focuses on both ‘personnel’ and ‘business improvement’ issues. It was used to negotiate the settlement between employer and employee and to allow employees to contribute ideas to improving their business.
Respondents said that the main barriers to accessing voice arise from staff themselves. These include overcoming cynicism and getting their buy-in.
Advice on accessing voice included getting manager buy-in; feeding back and acting on issues raised; using a variety of channels; and being open and honest.