Employee voice and engagement go hand in hand.
In fact, 74% of people feel more engaged at work when they feel their voice is heard.
But how, exactly? Here’s a closer look at exactly how employee voice impacts engagement—and how engagement impacts employee voice.
1. Employee voice boosts job satisfaction
It’s hard for anyone to see a job where they don’t have a say as anything more than a way to pay the bills.
They might not hate a job that doesn’t give them a voice, but your people are only going to get real, lasting job satisfaction from a role where they have a say in how things are done.
Studies have shown that job autonomy has a significant impact on both job satisfaction and performance. Giving your people a say in how they do their work—and inviting them to contribute to the organisation’s wider strategy—will send job satisfaction through the roof across your organisation.
And people who enjoy their work are a lot more likely to want to do it well, meaning employee voice can unlock another level of productivity from your people.
2. Employee voice creates a greater sense of belonging
Organisations that give their people a voice and act on their feedback are…
And when your employees feel like they belong, they tend to be a lot more comfortable being themselves and opening up about their honest opinions—two key drivers of employee wellbeing.
On the other hand, people who feel like they need to hide part of themselves or play a part when they head into the office will never be able to bring their best selves to work every day. This means there’s a good chance they’ll always have one eye on the door—and won’t truly enjoy work until they move on to another role.
A strong employee voice strategy is the perfect antidote—and a North Star that will guide your organisation in times of adversity.
3. Employee voice builds trust in leadership
If pop culture was anything to go by, a strong leader is someone who has a clear vision for their organisation and will stop at nothing to make it a reality. They aren’t interested in listening to what other people think about their grand plans, least of all their employees. To question themselves is a sign of weakness, so changing course based on feedback from their employees is the last thing they’re interested in doing.
In reality, that leadership style screams “insecurity”. Leaders and managers who acknowledge “the iceberg of ignorance” and invite their employees to fill in their blind spots will inspire a lot more confidence than those who style themselves after Steve Jobs.
Give your people a real say in how things are done and they’ll have a lot more faith their leaders are steering the ship from strength after strength rather than into stormy weather.
💡 Hive use case
Dorset Council discovered that trust in leadership was lower than they would have liked in their first baseline engagement survey with Hive. Listening to their people, they set out to improve communication from their senior leadership team with the aim of improving openness and transparency. In their next survey, the results showed…
4. Employee voice encourages creativity and innovation
Organisations that listen to their people and act on their feedback are…
And it’s not hard to see why. After all, every one of your employees brings their own unique perspective and life experiences with them when they come into work. Inviting them to contribute their ideas to the way you do things can ignite a creative spark within your company that leads to insights your leadership team would never come up with.
Everyone loves a chance to exercise their creative muscles. Create an outlet for your people’s creative energy and you’ll not only get some great ideas—you’ll also guarantee they enjoy their job more.
5. Employee voice breeds a greater sense of achievement
When a company’s leaders call all the shots from on high, its employees aren’t likely to feel much of a sense of ownership over their work. After all, they’re just doing what they’re told. That’s hardly going to inspire a sense of self-efficacy among your people.
Giving your people a real say in how your organisation operates is key to them being invested in the outcome of their work. Rather than just going through the motions with the tasks on their to-do list, they’re a lot more likely to be driven to do their best work—and take pride in the results.
6. Employee voice leads to more loyal employees
Organisations that give their employees a voice are a massive 12X more likely to retain them.
And it’s no wonder why. Empower your people with a real say in how things are done in your organisation and they can carve out the job they want. That’s not going to be something they’ll want to leave in a hurry.
💡 Hive use case
Travelodge set out to discover what was driving employee turnover and how to stop it with the support of Hive’s People Science team. Discovering that career development was a key driver of employee retention, they focused on upskilling people managers and changing the eligibility of their development programmes. They then recorded their best ever year-on-year decrease in employee turnover…
7. Employee voice starts a chain reaction
Encourage your people to give you their open and honest feedback—then act on that feedback—and they’ll naturally be a lot more invested in their job…
…and the more invested someone is in their job, the more motivated they are to do their best work (and the more enjoyable they’re likely to find it)…
…which leads to higher employee engagement…
…and people who are more engaged in their work are more likely to speak up when they spot potential problems and opportunities…
… which makes them more invested in their job.
As you can see, the power of employee voice is that it starts a chain reaction that boosts engagement, wellbeing, and retention—then ultimately how comfortable people are voicing their open and honest opinions.
But it all starts with giving your people a voice.
Employee voice solves the engagement paradox
HR professionals spend a lot of time wrestling with what employee engagement is and how to improve it.
But here’s the thing:
The only people who know how to improve employee engagement in your organisation are your employees, since they’re the ones experiencing it.
Which means the only way your organisation can truly improve engagement is through a strategy that empowers your people to speak up and influence positive change.
If your people don’t have a voice, you’re fighting a losing battle when it comes to making a lasting change to engagement levels across your organisation.
The link between employee voice and organisational performance is clear. Establishing a company culture where your people feel like they have a say in the way your oganisation is run is an essential step in boosting all the metrics that drive engagement, wellbeing, and retention.
Grab your copy of The Power of Employee Voice to find out how to start amplifying your people’s voices today.
