Why the employee voice can hold the key to improvements in operational performance

The voice of the employee (VoE) has become a popular term often limited in scope to annual staff surveys. In reality, VoE can go far beyond corporate questionnaires administered once a year to a valuable strategy to uncover operating improvements and employee perceptions to unlock more valuable changes. With continued declines in unemployment, down to only 3.7% in December, and the fewest jobless claims since September 2022, employers will need to consider more comprehensive VoE programs to identify ways to attract employees and, once on-boarded, leverage their intelligence to improve operations performance.

Understanding the spectrum of employee feelings, perceptions, and day-to-day experiences can guide a company’s benefits, policies and operating procedures. Listening isn’t just about attracting new talent. It can also significantly impact retention of existing employees who are already onboarded. Achievers reports that 73% of employees say feeling recognized would inspire them to be more productive, and 64% say it would reduce their desire to change jobs.

It’s also important to consider a wide breadth of employees when listening to the VoE. In most cases, business leaders get most input from corporate workers and struggle to reach and include the 58% of U.S. workers who are on-site. Capturing the full spectrum of employees offers comprehensive insights into what would keep or make employees more engaged and less likely to leave.

Capturing the complete picture

While surveys may seem like an easy way to take the pulse of employee sentiment, real insight is best captured through consistent communication touchpoints. How employees feel about corporate policies and practices can be captured in real time as work is being performed, after a work disruption, or change in employee behaviors. Opinions on workflow and work-life balance can be captured in dynamic interactions.

For deskless staff like retail clerks, hospitality crews, manufacturing workers, and more, VoE centers heavily on operational experiences. These frontline teams have daily working knowledge of production lines, customer interactions, and machinery effectiveness and how their productivity could be made better. Their feedback identifies on-the-ground issues that companies can readily improve through better processes, technology integration, and working conditions.

Missing out on these regular insights from deskless staff means losing a massive opportunity to drive meaningful progress. Listening continuously, not just annually, ensures companies tap into the most up-to-date and authentic feedback. This allows them to continually realign operations, workplace culture, and employee experience — enabling responses that benefit both workers and the bottom line.

The role of technology and mobile

Advances in technology have made accessing VoE easier than ever. Smartphones now serve as constant communication hubs for both personal and business communications. Organizations that leverage digital tools have a distinct advantage in connecting with the entire workforce, especially deskless teams.

WorkForce global research shows that 46% of employees prefer to receive training and information on their mobile phones, but only 20% of their employers offer this option. For true 24/7 connectivity with deskless teams, mobile reigns supreme. Meeting frontline employees on their preferred technology platform dramatically improves engagement. That leads to more continuous feedback, allowing organizations to check the pulse of operations through the VoE programs regularly.

The key is deploying mobile technology integrated into secure, accessible workplace apps workers already use daily — leveraging data to drive dynamic interactions based on work employees are performing, have performed or are scheduled to perform based on their schedules. When done correctly, mobile technology unlocks consistent two-way communication with both desked and deskless employees and operating professionals can take action on information collected from these workers.

Related: The Great Gloom: Employee satisfaction drops to three-year low

Getting the complete picture of VoE requires more than just annual surveys and constrained questionnaires. It encompasses the full range of worker experiences, challenges, insights, and ambitions. Tapping into this requires consistent, two-way communication across the workforce, with deskless teams on the frontlines warranting particular focus.

The true VoE bridges perceived divides through open and productive dialogue made possible by technology. Organizations that embrace this philosophy — not just through surveys but daily action — will better understand how they should adjust their operations moving forward.

Sandra Moran is the chief marketing officer at Workforce Software.