Employment Industry News
Encouraging Shy Employees to Speak Up
August 2011
Are today’s employees afraid to speak up, given the many protections built into today’s workplace, from explicit corporate policies to whistle-blower laws?
According to a study by James R. Detert and Amy C. Edmondson of Harvard Business School, the answer is, unfortunately, “Yes.” Many workers are either afraid to speak up at work or feel they’re not encouraged to speak their minds.
The problems of too-shy employees are clear: When an employee chooses not to speak up, valuable information may be lost, warning signs of trouble missed. When many employees routinely choose not to speak up, organizational performance is almost certain to suffer.
What keeps employees from raising their voices are their own perceptions about how safe it is to share their opinions, perspectives, recommendations and constructive feedback. That those perceptions of safety may not reflect reality doesn’t matter. When employees believe there is some risk in sharing their true opinions, silence is their only safe option.
Encouraging Communication
How can you break through this wall of fear to ensure open dialogue?
- Communicate to employees. Convey the importance of their honest input and the organization’s desire to provide a safe environment for them to share their feedback.
- Provide processes that meet all employees’ needs. While some employees will feel comfortable sharing feedback in open settings, others require anonymity or private face-to-face meetings to make them comfortable giving feedback. Some may be comfortable talking about their concerns; others may be much more comfortable writing out what they think.
- Lead through example. If the organization says one thing and does another, employees will notice. Observing a single employee being “shot down” for speaking up will dramatically increase the odds against others sharing information in the future.
- Provide training. Both managers and employees need to understand the benefits of giving and receiving positive, constructive feedback.
- Manage expectations. Make clear to employees that their ability to share feedback doesn’t guarantee their feedback will be implemented. Assure them that all feedback, however, is listened to, evaluated and sincerely appreciated by management. ▲
For more information:
How to Help Employees Speak Up
http://www.nyreport.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Feature.showFeature&FeatureID=410
10 Ways to Manage Employees' Comfort and Fear
http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/comfeartable.htm