In companies and organizations, the opinions of workers and employees are of fundamental value, as they are the ones who know all the daily incidents and details that might be left out of work plans and task lists. The most brilliant leaders understand the power of this accumulated knowledge and seek to leverage it, while giving their subordinates the opportunity to express ideas that could positively impact the entire organization and its operations.
In the reliability and asset management industry, there is a concept known as Tribal Wisdom, which is a series of accumulated knowledge gained from experience that may not be properly expressed in equipment manuals, but which more experienced workers can recognize and pass on to younger ones. This unwritten expertise, which is related to constant practice, years of service, and a little intuition, is extremely valuable to any company, especially in industrial environments. That is why it is so important to listen to workers. They have a lot to say.
Personally, I like to listen to my subordinates. Their opinions are very important to me because they can record data and information that is highly valuable to our functions. I trust my employees because I know they can fully accomplish what is assigned to them, but I also trust their experience, their different skills, and areas of expertise because this enriches our work and shields our services from possible vulnerabilities. As someone who is passionate about communication, I have learned that it flows through different channels, some of which are underground rivers full of valuable information that only the most experienced leaders are able to bring to light and leverage for more robust and optimized processes.
The Worker Voice and Equity (WVE) element of the People and Culture at Work domain, one of the recent domains added to the Uptime® Elements Framework, explains that listening to workers is closely linked to creating positive workspaces and healthy dynamics in which everyone can flourish.
“Being heard, regardless of salary, job function, or seniority, is important for company morale,” notes the WVE document, arguing that simple solutions such as the Comment Box, now enriched with contemporary technologies such as email, surveys, or online forms, are a way to give workers a voice and really know what they think. The document also emphasizes that it is important to follow up on the opinions collected, so that the results safeguard the integrity of the process and the image of the company itself. Those of us who are dedicated to reliability know how fragile integrity can be as a value. Simply failing to deliver on a promise can destroy a reputation (both of the leader and the department) that has been built day by day through solid and consistent work. And that is the key word: being consistent with what we said we would do, and this applies equally to the Comment Box and to the undertaking of major transformation projects. We are reliable to the extent that we honor our word, and our employees will believe in us to the extent that we deliver on our promises.
A two-way street
Giving employees a voice is not only about their ideas and opinions, but also encompasses aspects such as inclusion and diversity, equity, and a sense of belonging.
Why is this important? Because diverse teams produce flexible solutions since their members have different approaches to the same problem, and different approaches can produce broader and more comprehensive solutions, enriched by different levels of experience that are in turn the result of different backgrounds, training, and personal and professional histories.
On the other hand, it must be understood that not all opinions and suggestions will be valid or applicable to business objectives. While leaders must have an attitude of active listening, they must also be faithful to the primary objectives of the organization and choose the most appropriate course of action for everyone. Strategies will always be geared toward process optimization, economic strength, and market competitiveness, and employees, especially front-line workers, will generally be a reliable source of information regarding equipment performance, spare parts details, or early failures that can be corrected immediately to avoid major problems.
Fairness, equality, inclusion, and respect in the treatment of workers will strengthen their feelings of belonging and responsibility, while their opinions and flow of information regarding equipment and processes represent a solid resource for continuous improvement and support for the strategic and business decisions made in the organization. C-level executives must be aware of everything that blue-collar workers face and resolve, hence the importance of keeping information channels open at all times, something that true leaders will ensure happens.
