Ally Illsley, senior engagement and marketing manager at United Culture, explains why businesses must listen to employees when navigating times of uncertainty.

The world of work has changed beyond recognition and speculation about what will happen next is rife. Against a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty, companies are tightening their belts and refocusing on strategies that can weather the storm. As part of this process some pandemic era working practices are coming into question. Are companies about to mandate a full time return to the office? Is hybrid working actually serving us?

As employees demand increasing agency over their work lives, one thing that’s almost definitely here to stay is the opportunity companies can unlock if they offer their employees a voice in shaping the future.

Recent research from United Culture has revealed that 41% of employees don’t feel they have the opportunity to share differing views and perspectives at work. Whilst a huge 86% consider it vital to be able to be heard in order for businesses to innovate and problem solve.

This is where internal communications teams can play a crucial role. By helping to connect businesses with the perspectives and ideas of their employees they can drive innovation, performance and growth.

There’s not a leadership team worth its salt that would describe their ideal business as one where almost half of their employees don’t feel there’s space for their views and perspectives to be heard. There’s no doubt that dynamic, competitive businesses, that attract the best talent and innovate the most readily are built on strong foundations of diversity of thought, attitude and approach.

The team at easyJet has recently harnessed a diverse set of employee voices to create their employee promises.

Laura Campbell, internal communications director at easyJet, shares the power they have unlocked by unleashing the voice of their people: "We’ve made a conscious effort to co-create the behaviours we want to see across the organisation - to amplify the ones we know have helped us be successful so far and those that will help take us on the next stage of our journey to become Europe's most loved airline. This approach has helped us co-create how we bring the orange spirit to life and has truly engaged our employees in shaping our culture." 

This strategic amplification of employee voices has also been driven by the internal communications team at BT Digital who have been experimenting with online software to offer sentiment tracking and employee feedback in real time. Senior internal communications manager, Stephen Donaldson describes how this not only "allows us to respond to employee feedback almost immediately", but also "offers a very real space for a diverse range of views and reassures colleagues that their perspectives are truly welcomed." 

To truly thrive in this time of unprecedented uncertainty businesses must take steps to free their employees' voices and allow a wide range of views and perspectives to sing. This is vital, not just for employee engagement, but also performance, talent attraction, innovation and growth.

Taking responsibility for amplifying the colleague voice presents a unique and timely opportunity for internal communications teams who can leverage their position to bring the business together, and enhance the impact and relevance of their own roles in the process.