Encouraging Your Employees to Speak Up More

When employees are vocal and share their ideas often, they can help your company prosper. However, some team members may be afraid to speak up and give their opinions on important organization matters. It's up to you as a business owner to create an environment that supports open communication. Here is some advice on encouraging your employees to speak up more:

Provide Incentives
People tend to respond well to incentives, so consider rewarding your employees when they provide honest and helpful feedback. For example, if a staff member gives you a great idea on how to cut overhead costs, give that person a gift card or more responsibilities at work. If you reward your team members for speaking up, they will know you value their ideas.

Foster Team Communication
Peter Economy, author of "Managing for Dummies," said in Inc. Magazine that organizing your employees by project will encourage more communication.

"When a new project begins, kick things off with a team-building exercise, providing employees with positive, personal interactions and opportunities to build relationships before the project even begins," Economy explained. "By physically intermingling departments, you create an environment that encourages open communication while uniting your people in a common goal – the success of your company."

Give Them More Ways to Speak Up
Some employees might not feel comfortable sharing their ideas during company meetings, so give them more ways to voice their opinions. For example, at the end of every meeting, encourage staff members to swing by your office if they have any new ideas they'd like to share. You could also tell your staff members to write down their ideas on personalized notepads and put them in an anonymous suggestion box outside your door.

Find Out Why Employees Are Silent
If you notice that your staff members are silent during meetings, Joseph Grenny, the co-author of "Crucial Conversations" and the co-founder of VitalSmarts, suggests in Harvard Business Review to find out the reasons behind it. Grenny said it's helpful to come up with a code word to let your employees know they can be honest with you. He explained the phrase helps "frame the issue so that your team knows they have permission to be honest and open."