In most businesses, you’ll usually find some degree of silent discussion and complaining going on away from the ears of prying managers. Such discussions revolve around the impending failure of a task they’ve been given, or expressing the sentiment that they know how to do something better than those in charge.
This is what is known as a “culture of silence” and you may be shocked to find that this culture is more prevalent than you’d think. The second shock you will need to accept is that if you are a key decision maker in your business, this silent negativity or inability for employees to voice their concerns is in some way your fault. Here are some crucial ways in which a culture of silence will hold your company back.
Failing to stop problems
It is surprising just how many people will realise the impending failure of a task but still get to work as they have been told to do so. Such staff will be in the mindset that the failure won't affect them in any way as they still get their paycheck.
Inefficient use of time
Putting your employees to work on projects which they know is going to amount to little is a waste of company time. Those staff would be far better off working towards a mission they believed in and thought they could achieve.
Lost opportunities
If everyone were to share their collective wisdom, then what your company would be left with is a group of people who, collectively, can seek out and exploit new opportunities. However, by not voicing these thoughts and ideas, opportunities go amiss, and it can be financially very costly for your business in the long run.
Loss of employees
Your employees failing to speak up will have immediate negative impacts on your business as mentioned above, however, it will lead to them becoming more and more demotivated over time. Constant complaining and negative thoughts will lead to more staff feeling they are better off working elsewhere and leave.
There is only one real way to conquer this issue, which is to tackle it head-on. You need to be completely transparent with your team and encourage greater levels of communication regarding any thoughts and complaints they may have. Better yet, you should implement systems which encourage greater levels of cooperation and knowledge sharing. If you want help creating a more open and conducive environment for cooperation, check out what we offer here at Noddlepod.