Chances are your employees are withholding really great ideas from you. Maybe they are not sharing their views on how your business can grow faster and better. Communicating with the employees is the lifeblood of any organization, no matter the size, sector or geographic location. If the communication is effective and positive, it will make employees feel valuable and boost their confidence. Sometimes, even if the manager is really open with his employees, they hesitate to present their opinions.
Why don’t your employees speak up? Maybe it could be the fear of offending the manager or that they may come across as know-it-alls. Also, your employees might think that their opinions might not matter, so why to bother!
So, what can an organization or managers do to make their employees speak up? Here are some ways to provide enough employee freedom and create an open environment at your workplace:
Take feedbacks regularly
By taking regular feedbacks, idea sharing will become a casual process. Schedule more meetings and let your employees speak up during the session. Sometimes let employee feedback be the top priority of a meeting. You can also inform employees about the agenda of the meeting, which may give them enough time for thinking on the issues. Thank your employees for their input and consider implementing one of those inputs. Once you implement some of the suggestions, give credit to the employee who came up with it.
Diminish the power cues
Even when you don’t realize it, chances are you are conveying your power through slight cues. Such signals may prevent employees from presenting their views.
If you want your employees to present some information or feedback, you have to play down your power when communicating with them. Either go to their desk to have a word or make your office friendlier for guests. You can change your office to a friendlier one by replacing the rectangular or oval table with a round one and placing similar chairs for yourself and the employees so that you can sit beside them. You can also make some changes to your attire to make sure that it doesn’t intimidate your guests.
Acknowledge changes
Let your employees know that their ideas and suggestions matter. They need to know that their ideas are not dumped in the trash and are implemented gradually. Employees should not think that it is futile to suggest changes as they won’t be implemented anyway. Inform them about how they are implemented and what can be the possible outcomes.
These strategies will help you make your organization a place with more employee freedom and continuous exchange of ideas.