What is Employee Voice?
Simply said it is a two-way communication between the employee and the employer. But this term is more than just two-way communication, here are some more complex definitions:
"Employee voice is the means by which employees communicate their views to their employer. It’s the main way employees can influence matters that affect them at work"
(CIPD, 2018)
"a term designed to cover all types of opportunities for employees to have a say and exert influence over the decisions that affect their interests"
(Boxall and Purcell, 2016, p.133)
This definition down bellow is the first one formulated by Albert Hirschman (1970). Here can be seen how the society has improved since that time (ACAS, 2014).
“An employee is a person who suffers in silence, confident that things will soon get better.”
(Albert Hirschman, 1970 cited in ACAS, 2014, p. 1)
The first evidence of implementing basic elements of employee voice was introduced in Japan in a manufacturing company (CIPD 2014).
For Armstrong (2006) there are four main purposes of employee voice:
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Help with understanding of employee's approach at work
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Help with introduction of a organisation types to management
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Help with influencing leaders' decisions on work related issues
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Help with demonstration of the mutual nature of employee relationship
Here is the CIPD's innovative view on employee voice
This video is very interesting for both employees and employers. Employees, in this kind of event can experience the ability to express themselves and become more comfortable with speaking up. On the other hand, employers can realise how employee voice important within an organisation. Moreover, how many different valuable opinions their employees might have. The management only needs to listen to them.
In recent years we can see a shift in the attitude to employee voice. The CIPD's HR Outlook (2017) found out that 55% of organisations have decided to make changes leading to employee voice improvement over the last 12 months. Additionally, it showed that larger organisations are more likely to communicate with employees through social media than smaller businesses which opt to choose the open-door policy (CIPD, 2017).
