Can you hear employee voice, or are you even listening?

The reason why I think employee voice is sometimes underestimated is that, genuinely it is not seen as being the most important thing.

If an employee is unhappy, unengaged and demotivated, this will cause, but is certainly not limited to;No pride being taken in work = resulting in lost revenue;No promoting business’s brand / success = resulting in lost revenue;High turnover, low retention = resulting in lost revenue;Disengagement and lack of productivity = resulting in lost revenue;Destroys morale, which affects others = resulting in lost revenue;Uncommitted employees = resulting in lost revenue; andMore absenteeism = resulting in lost revenue

It is now said that disengaged employees in the UK are costing £85bn a year in lost productivity – can your business really afford not to look at this?

As Head of HR, this is something of which I am extremely passionate on and have developed a Total Rewards Package, which focuses on;Recognition and Reward;Employee Voice and ensuring it is heard;Employee Wellbeing; andEnsuring a good return on investment for the firm.

It is vital that the ingredients for a good Total Rewards Package is mixed and encompasses what is beneficial for the business and its employees – don’t forget, employees are businesses’ most important asset.

Something of which I am extremely proud of is being the instigator and participator of Eric Robinson receiving the Silver Award through Investors in People.

The biggest achievement about this accreditation is that, it is decided on the fact of does your business invest in your employees?  The easy answer to that, is yes we do at Eric Robinson and we bypassed the Achieved and achieved Silver.

Recognition and employee voice does not need necessarily have a financial cost attached; it is could simply be asking your employees “What do you think”, or “Thank you”.  Ask yourself, as an employer – do I invest in my employees?

Love the quote by John Lennon, “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.  When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up; I wrote down happy.  They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life”.

Only way to find out if your employees are happy – ask them…