From ‘You said’ to ‘We did’ – why now is the time for employee engagement to take centre stage…

I attended an absorbing conference last week organised by the Involvement and Participation Association and chaired by its director, Nita Clarke OBE; the topic - ‘Amplifying Employee Voice for the Future of Work’. Enhanced by hearing from researchers from the University of Strathclyde, the University of Manchester and Queen’s University, Belfast, much of the discussion focussed on employee engagement. 

With the Employment Rights Act 2025 presenting new legislative routes for collective worker voice, employers, whether unionised or not, should consider taking a fresh look at how they engage with their workforce at a collective level.

The conference offered a great deal to reflect on but my key takeaways for employers are these: 

1. Do you routinely review how you engage with workers to sense‑check what’s actually working?

   Most employers now have employee engagement channels ranging from informal mechanisms such as line manager conversations and one‑to‑ones, through to the use of more structured tools including engagement surveys, listening sessions and online feedback platforms.

   The informal mechanisms you employ may well work effectively. The research presented by the University of Strathclyde team showed conversations with line managers were valued - and workers, for the most part, felt comfortable raising issues and concerns through that channel. Equipping line managers with the skills to deal with these conversations effectively will be a worthwhile investment. This should include allowing managers sufficient autonomy to make certain decisions on the ground as well as offering routes for managers to refer upwards (in confidence where necessary) where bigger or recurring issues arise.

   Against that backdrop of effective informal engagement, the question then turns to whether your formal mechanisms are still fit for purpose. Take the engagement survey – a long-standing and popular way of testing an organisation’s temperature. But whilst the opportunity to share our views might, at one time, have been novel and maybe even enticing, times have changed.

   Outside work, we’re constantly asked for our feedback: restaurants, retailers, even GP surgeries all want our views. So, when we come into work, do we really want to be faced with yet another survey? In some organisations, the answer may still be yes. But if you’ve been rolling out a survey year after year, look at your response rates. If they’re falling, across the board or across certain workforce demographics, maybe it’s time to rethink your approach?

2. Connected to this is my second takeaway - how do you demonstrate that engagement is meaningful rather than performative? If you want your workers to engage, they need to believe their views matter and that they have the opportunity to influence certain issues. Too often people feel their input disappears into a void. That may not reflect reality, but unless you feed back the themes raised and actions taken, disengagement will surely follow? Sharing outcomes on a ‘You said, we did’ basis can be really powerful. But what if you didn’t ‘do’. That’s ok too provided you explain why. That transparency and willingness to be open has value.
3. Are you prepared to hear bad news? Not everything can be rosy all of the time. For engagement to be effective, leadership teams need to be willing to hear when things aren’t working. That can be uncomfortable, but it is better to understand the sources of discontent than to remain in (not so) blissful ignorance.  How you choose to address those issues is a separate question - but if you can involve your workers in finding solutions, so much the better.
4. Does your employee forum have a broad enough remit to be meaningful? If your employee representative body is only authorised to discuss a narrow range of issues it risks becomes a repository for minor ‘moans’ which is dispiriting for employer and employee alike. Whilst a facility to resolve day-to-day niggles has its place, consider whether the forum’s remit could extend to more substantive matters. That doesn’t mean handing over the strategic reins to your business but if employees can see their forum influencing issues beyond the quality of the teabags on offer, its impact on employee engagement is likely to be much greater.
5. Do you engage with all parts of your workforce? Many employers rely heavily on agency and temporary staff. Are your engagement processes designed to hear their voices too? Whilst the same mechanisms used for your permanent staff may not be appropriate, where temporary workers play a significant and ongoing role in the business, listening to their views will also be important so it’s worth considering ways to do this. 

The landscape for collective voice will evolve as the ERA provisions begin to bite. An engaged workforce is always desirable but the introduction of a suite of new or strengthened rights really highlights the importance of designing an approach that stands up in practice. 

For example, in many scenarios, employee agreement will be needed if an employer wants to change core terms of employment. Trade unions are also likely to play a more active role in the workplace - employers will need to inform their employees of their right to join a trade union and trade unions will have rights to request access to workplaces, both physically and digitally, to recruit and organise members.  Formal recognition will also be easier for trade unions to achieve as balloting thresholds are reduced. 

The challenge for employers is clear – intentional, credible and genuinely responsive engagement with your workers needs to be a strategic priority. This is not about ticking boxes or adding ever more channels, but about creating opportunities where your people feel that they can input into and influence certain outcomes. Done well, employee voice can become a powerful asset — strengthening relationships, building reciprocal trust and leading to better informed decision‑making across the organisation. Those employers who invest the time to get this right will enjoy a significant competitive advantage. 

We have been advising employers across all sectors on the impact of the new ERA provisions designed to amplify the role for collective voice. If we can help your organisation with this or with any other aspect of the ERA please do get in touch. 

Want to know more about the Employment Rights Act 2025, our hub is a treasure trove of practical employer resources.