We All Have a Voice

Using the tools of Improvement Through Spirit© I have facilitated The Renewal Process© for 26 Transformations. This is more than 100 days of engagement and involvement and as you may imagine there are lots of stories that have emerged. This is one of my favorites.

Five years ago I sat in a room with the safety committee of a manufacturing plant in Massachusetts as we took our first step together on the transformation journey. They had sat themselves in two groups, hourly and salary. They were to say the least very quiet.   

When I asked a question all heads turned to VP of HR with a pleading look on their faces as if to say “please answer the question for me”. Which she did, as she explained they were not used to talking.

During the first break I rearranged the chairs.

When they came in they saw that I had had mixed them up, hourly and salary. I had taken them out of their comfort zone. So they all nervously sat down and noticed the second change, there was one chair missing. There was no chair for the HRVP. I told the group that for the rest of the day she would not be allowed to talk, and that we were here for the entire week so I could wait for an answer.

I explained that the transformation process was based on engagement and involvement and in fact the new safety process that we would be designed together would also be founded on that same engagement and involvement.

So I pressed them for answers to very fundamental questions, answers that needed their opinion, their thoughts, their ideas. During that period, as strained as it was, we had a profound statement, from one of the quietest of the hourly employees.

There are times when I am afraid to speak out, maybe because I feel intimidated or because I feel pressure, or because I feel my opinion is not valued or nothing will be done.

This was the first major break-through in the week long transformation process. We had profound discussions about “rank” including the suggestion that at times they may feel as though are being spoken down to or ignored. This emerged to me as one of the more significant barriers to be overcome. From there we able to design an activity in which they had to talk, and we created together quite possibly the finest principle I have ever heard.

There is no rank in safety, therefore we all have an equal voice, and I will express mine openly and without concern.

It may seem fundamental but before we can engage and involve employees in any improvement effort we must first assure them that we value their opinion and that they have a right to speak up.

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