Importance of the employee voice

Employee voice is a two-way communication method between the employer and the employee. It is the process of the employer interacting with the employee as well as receiving and listening to the employee's communication (CIPD, 2021).

                                         Figure 1 : Why employee need a voice (Source: Fridayplus, 2021)

The meaning of employee voice is as follows (Dundon et al., 2004).

  • Expression of individual dissatisfaction is raised with the line manager or through the grievance procedure.
  • Expression of collective dissatisfaction raised by trade unions through collective bargaining or industrial action
  • Contribution to management decision-making through upward problem solving, suggestion schemes, and attitude surveys.
  • Demonstration of mutuality through partnership agreements, joint consultative committees, and work councils.

Expression of employee voice

The degree to which employees have a voice will differ considerably (Boxall and Purcell, 2003).

  • Downward – good to say
  • Some- chance to make ideas
  • Two way- Consulted in both directions throughout decision making
  • Two way plus - Consulted at all levels of decision-making and execution
  • A lot - the ability to postpone a decision.
  • The power to affect the outcome- the ability to reject a decision
  • Substantial – fairness in decision-making or co-determination

Methods of implementing

The following factors are identified as the method of implementing employee voice (Armstrong, 2014).

Joint consultation: allows managers and employee representatives to meet on a daily basis to discuss ideas, make use of members' skills and expertise, and deal with issues of common interest that are not the topic of collective bargaining.

Attitude surveys: this is a method of involving employees by seeking their opinions on issues that affect them.

By utilizing structured questions

With the use of interviews

Using a questionnaire and an interview

Assessing results: It is more important to examine specific aspects of satisfaction or dissatisfaction to assess whether or not action is required.

The significance of employee voice

Employees' voices will become more important to organizations as they focus on collecting employee feedback. Some of the important facts about employee voice are as follows:

It enhances organizational agility.

It improves the employer brand and customer acquisition.

Improvements in team and organizational collective learning

Protection against different effects of negative emotions

Conclusion

Voice behavior is a realistic option that managers should examine if they want to improve employee well-being in the workplace. Direct employee voice involves communication between management and employees.

References

Armstrong, M., 2014. Armstrong's Handbook of Human Recource Management Practice. 13 ed. London: Kogan Page.

Boxall, P F & Purcell, J (2003) Strategy and Human Resource Management, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

CIPD, 2021. Employee voice. [Online] Available from: https://www.cipd.co.uk/news-views/viewpoint/employee-voice#66500
[Accessed 15 December 2021].

Dundon, T., Wilkinson, A., Marchington , M. & Ackers, P., 2004. The meanings and purpose of mployee voice. September.15(6).

Fridayplus, 2021. On the Record: Why Employees Need a Voice. [Online]
Available from: https://fridaypulse.com/on-the-record-why-employees-need-a-voice/
[Accessed 15 December 2021].

 

 

 

 


Comments

  1. Eranda Kumara16 December 2021 at 22:31

    When employees communicate with their superiors, they transform into better team members. This makes them feel like they are not only employees in the organization but part of a team. Employee voice will help to organizational improvement, increased job satisfaction, greater influence and better opportunities for development. Good article.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ARSHAD MBA17 December 2021 at 07:00

    Communication between the team members will create a better understanding and create a bond also can understand their grievance to manage them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Manoj Thudawahewa17 December 2021 at 09:46

    The importance placed upon capturing voice of employee has increased as organizations realize that there are multiple benefits associated with it.
    Increased Retention, Increased Engagement, Improved Job Satisfaction, Higher Performance Ratings. It will be a big challenge to HR team to manage employee voice with the new norm conditions due to social restrictions. Very informative article.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Benjamin Thason18 December 2021 at 01:58

    Importance of the employee voice , which is not considered as important factor by many organization , most of the time the employee grievances are not heard by the employer , therefore the no of employees are work under stress and not satisfied and tend to look for another better opportunities

    ReplyDelete
  5. Steffni_D18 December 2021 at 07:02

    Employee voice is a two-way communication tool used by employers and employees. It is the procedure by which the employer interacts with the employee while also receiving and listening to the employee's communication.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Charith-MBA-202118 December 2021 at 10:56

    Employee voice is the means by which people communicate their views to their employer and influence matters that affect them at work. It assists managers and subordinates in forming open and friendly relationships, which can lead to organizational success. Employers benefit from effective voice because it leads to employee trust, innovation, productivity, and improvement.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Varuni Gunasekera18 December 2021 at 23:28

    Employee voice is defined as giving people opportunities to express ideas, concerns, and perspectives with authenticity and without fear of social or workplace values. That means employees have the talent to influence decisions at work through their feedback. 

    ReplyDelete
  8. Manoj Jude19 December 2021 at 02:30

    Listening employee voice is very much essential for management, More than the senior Management team, they know many important things where the Management yet to be made aware. Specially the old and veterans in any organization possess ample knowledge and know how which can be used for the betterment of the institution

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dilrukshi indurugolla19 December 2021 at 08:52

    It is vital to have a meaningful voice in order to have a better work experience and better job outcomes. However, as the structure of the job relationship and the makeup of the workforce become more diverse, this will become more difficult.

    ReplyDelete

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