Employees, more than ever before, want to be involved in the direction of the company they work for. They don’t want to be communicated to; they want to be communicated with. They want a voice. And they must be given one… for the following reasons:

·         You will boost engagement levels by genuinely involving employees and seeking their opinions and input on business strategy

·         You will increase productivity by encouraging employees to be more involved in the company’s direction

·         You will ensure employees are all pulling in the same direction if they all understand and buy-in to the strategy

·         You will improve customer service as employees feel more personally invested.

Many companies talk of wanting to better engage their employees without being prepared to do what’s needed to achieve this. An annual engagement survey is a good start. This is a minimum requirement though. Aim for more regular, open dialogue – with line managers and their direct reports and between groups of employees.

Keep in mind too that surveys should shape and inform strategy and business planning. They will have little or no value as a separate set of survey actions.

For some companies, the changes needed may be quite small. For others, they will be seismic. Whatever the case is for your organisation, giving your employees a greater voice is a change worth making.