If there’s one thing employees really value in an organisation today, it’s having a voice. And that voice being heard and taken notice of.

In fact, it’s often the only way they can be heard and get their point of view across in some organisations. This then leads to a workforce that feels more involved and valued because someone’s listening. Engagement then shoots up, as does creativity and productivity. Everyone’s a winner.

But it’s no good having an employee voice that rings out loud and clear if you’re not in tune with what it’s saying. Encouraging people to speak out is great, but it’s equally important to listen to what’s being said and act on it.

So how do you go about doing that?

The first thing to do is make sure your employees are involved in decision making, particularly when there’s changes happening that affect them. Ask them to offer their honest opinion on things. This is getting the employee voice set up.

Next, you need to assure them they’ll be listened to so they’ll open up. To tune into your employee voice, you really need to listen to what’s being said by everyone in the organisation. No-one’s point of view is more important than anyone else’s so take everyone’s opinion into account.

Once you’ve done this, you can see what your employees’ needs are in the organisation, and start to communicate what they are. More importantly – you can also start to talk about what you’re going to do to address them. This shows you’re really in-tune with your workforce and have properly listened to their voice.

It’s this two-way communication that’s really important. Updating the people inside your organisation with what’s happening creates the engagement we discussed earlier. Don’t stop there though – let people use their voice to question things if they think a behaviour or direction the organisation’s decided to start or take is wrong.

Regular consultation like this helps show you’re well in harmony with your employees’ needs. This then creates involvement and encourages people to keep speaking up, offering ideas and help move your business forward.

A strong, confident employee voice plays a part in every aspect of your organisation, from values, processes and skills. It should be a clarion call for everything you do, so let it ring out loud and clear when you’re looking at fairness, equality and wellbeing or how you manage your performance reviews.

In other words, the everyday things that are important to each and every person in your organisation.