How do advice firms give younger employees a voice in the business?

Many financial advice firms have policies to give employees their say in how the business is run, which benefits businesses and their employees.

According to the website of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the professional body for those who work in human resources and people development, “well-being, commitment and innovation are negatively impacted when employees feel they are without ‘voice’ in an organisation.”

Young employees may need particular encouragement to share their opinions and offer suggestions, as doing so may not come easy to those who lack experience and the confidence to share their ideas with senior staff.

So how are advice firms ensuring that they are listening to what their young employees have to say?

Louise Blair, head of HR at Foster Denovo gives her thoughts on how important it is to create a collaborative work place and how a company must stick to its promises when telling employees that it is going to act on their feedback to encourage employees to be able to share their voice. “It’s how you get employees to know they are listened to and that it translates into action,” says Blair.

Feedback from young employees is possible to obtain through various methods, but firms will want to keep an eye on how they are doing this to ensure that it is effective.

“We used to do what many companies do – an annual staff survey. Companies give people an opportunity to say a few things about what they think and their opinions – but what happens after that?” says Blair. “Actions speak louder than words.”

Having decided that its annual survey had got a bit tired, a few years ago, Foster Denovo replaced it with its 90-day survey. This is a pulse survey – a regular, short survey with the same audience – after which the firm feeds back to staff about the results and what action they are taking as a result.

The important thing for Blair is that the company must stick to its promises when telling employees that it is going to act on their feedback. “It’s how you get employees to know they are listened to and that it translates into action,” says Blair.

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