![]() ![]() And at one national restaurant chain, managers were able to persuade senior leaders to make improvements that reduced employee turnover by 32% and saved at least $1.6 million a year. At several financial services firms, for example, business units whose employees reported speaking up more had significantly better financial and operational results than others. ![]() In a number of studies, we’ve found that when employees can voice their concerns freely, organizations see increased retention and stronger performance. ![]() We’ll also discuss tactics that are much more effective. Here, we’ll look at how leaders’ misguided attempts to promote candor fail to address-and sometimes stir up-those feelings. But they usually fall short, regardless of good intentions, for two key reasons: a fear of consequences (embarrassment, isolation, low performance ratings, lost promotions, and even firing) and a sense of futility (the belief that saying something won’t make a difference, so why bother?). Many of these efforts focus on improving communication up and down the hierarchy. Leaders use a variety of tools to get people to speak up, like “climate” surveys and all-staff feedback sessions. (In our years of studying employee “voice” and advising organizations, we’ve never heard anyone say, “I have a closed-door policy.”) Think about it: How often do employees come to you, on your turf, to tell you the unvarnished truth simply because you’ve encouraged them to do so? The reality is, they worry-rightly or not-that you’ll take their comments personally, or that they’ll come across as disrespectful know-it-alls. This is true even if, like most leaders, you believe you have an open-door policy. No matter how open you are as a manager, our research shows, many of your people are more likely to keep mum than to question initiatives or suggest new ideas at work. Or maybe they’re not sharing their thoughts on ways the business could grow its sales or improve operations. Maybe it’s about a project that’s gone off track or a manager who’s behaving badly. For instance, ask regularly for feedback so that it’s not intimidating to give, be specific about the input you want, tone down the power cues, and establish formal processes for follow-up.Ĭhances are, your employees are withholding valuable intelligence from you. You can create a more vocal culture in a number of ways. When people stay mum, mistakes and bad decisions continue apace, and many smart ideas never see the light of day. When people do speak freely, employee retention goes up and so does financial performance. That’s because they fail to address two big obstacles: a fear of consequences for speaking up and a sense of futility. Leaders try to make it easier for employees to share ideas and concerns-but usually they end up doing the opposite. So getting all this right pays off-both for workers eager to make contributions and for their firms. Research shows that when employees do speak up, organizations see increased performance. And if you really want to know what people think, go ask them. Be transparent about the processes for gathering and following up on ideas. ![]() To make idea sharing less intimidating, tone down the power cues with employees, and gather feedback in regular, casual exchanges. And if you don’t act on feedback, employees will quickly come to believe that providing it is pointless.īut there are several ways to create a much more vocal culture, say the authors. For example, if you ask for anonymous input, you may be signaling that it’s not safe to speak openly in your organization. In this article, two professors look at how leaders’ misguided attempts to promote candid expression fail to address-and sometimes stir up-those feelings. But they usually fall short for two key reasons: a fear of consequences and a sense of futility. Research shows that many people are more likely to keep mum than to raise important questions or suggest new ideas.Ĭompanies use a variety of tactics to get people to open up, like “climate” surveys and all-staff feedback sessions. No matter how approachable you may be as a manager, chances are good that your employees are withholding valuable intelligence from you. ![]()
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