Employee Voice
Employee voice is defined as the ability for individuals to express their thoughts and expectations to management. Since human resources are regarded as the most precious resource, connecting with people is essential for an organization to be succeed.
Employee voice refers to all the communications through employees have a link in the decisions that affect their work and the overall contribution to the organization. It includes direct, indirect, formal, informal, individual and collective communications channels (Torre, Gritti, and Wilkinson, 2022).
According to CIPD (2022) There are two types of employee voice.
01. Individual voice involving direct dialogue between employer and employees whereby individuals can raise their voice about opinions and make suggestions.
02. Collective voice through trade unions and their representatives which include non-union employee representatives.
This includes raising voice to communicate employee expectations, other issues related to work floor and contribute to management decision making. As both forms of voice are equally important, Employers should work to have a variety of procedures to raise voice at workplace. At any form, employees should feel free to raise their voices for the wellbeing of employees as well as successfulness of the organization too.
Levels
of employee voice
According to the Levels of employee
voice Management makes choices unilaterally on one end of
the, and employees decide
unilaterally at another end (this is not practical). There is a range of
midpoints between these extremes, as depicted. The extent of participation that
should or may occur at any level within an organization will depend on the
attitudes, eagerness, and enthusiasm of both management and staff.
It is the responsibility of HRM
professionals to open channels for employees to voice their issues by setting
up frequent meetings and discussion platforms where workers may speak up
without fear.
Allowing employees to raise their voice will give benefits to both employees and the organization as well. This will value employee contribution to the organization. As a result, employee performance will increase and collectively for organizational performance as well. Further it will increase management decision making system as employees’ ideas too considered when making decisions.
Considering Sri Lankan context, we can see that there is no or less space for employees to raise their voice. Most of the companies in a global context have identified the importance of employee voice and there is large space for employees to raise their voice. This concept needs to practice in Sri Lanka as well to have better involvement and participation of employees to contribute for organizational goals.
References:
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S. (2014) Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 13th edn. London: Kogan Page publishers.
CIPD (2022) Employee voice, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/news-views/viewpoint/employee-voice#gref (Accessed: 08 April 2023)
Della Torre, E., Gritti,
A., & Wilkinson, A. (2022). Employee Voice: Meanings, Approaches, and
Research Directions. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and
Management. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190224851.013.326
"employee voice" refers to the opportunity for employees to express their opinions, concerns, and suggestions about their work environment, tasks, and overall organization. It is a means for employees to participate in decision-making processes that affect their work lives, and it can help employers better understand the needs and perspectives of their workforce. Well done!!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. Organizations can promote employee voice by creating a culture of open communication, encouraging feedback and suggestions, and involving employees in decision-making processes. This can be done through regular staff meetings, surveys, suggestion boxes, focus groups, and other communication channels. Additionally, managers and leaders should be receptive to employee feedback and take steps to address their concerns and suggestions.
ReplyDeleteWell done.