How employee participation
ensures better cooperation

Is it worth involving employees in decisions? How and in which decisions can they be involved? What are the possible dangers and risks or opportunities and strengths? In addition to my article “What are the benefits of social sustainability?”, today I would like to present a few thoughts and starting points on how it is possible to actively involve employees in decisions – and why this contributes to the topic of social sustainability.

In times of increasing competition for well-qualified specialists, it is becoming increasingly important to retain good and talented employees in the company in the long term. Employee participation is an important approach to retaining well-qualified specialists in the company. However, I am not referring to employee shares or profit-sharing. Of course I am in favor of companies paying their employees a performance-related bonus in addition to their wages and salaries. However, when it comes to social sustainability, the topic of non-material employee participation, or in other words: a participative management style, plays a major role. However, in order to implement this effectively and efficiently, a number of aspects should be considered and well analyzed in advance.

Employee involvement in line with the company’s DNA

The impetus to involve employees in company and process decisions should primarily come from the top management. The form and extent to which employees then get involved depends on the company itself, the desired participation strategy, the time budget and the time pressure to implement a measure. In any case, it is important to analyze the risks in advance and identify possible weak points. But above all: to be aware of the opportunities and strengths – which in my opinion predominate in all companies.

I therefore advise you to precisely define the areas and topics of employee participation: Should work processes be optimized, workplace situations improved or a company suggestion scheme established? Make sure you consider whether the participation strategy fits the current operational situation – if this is not the case, it is more credible and, above all, more efficient if you introduce such participation processes at a different time. Once the decision has been made to involve employees, I believe it is necessary to define clear objectives and communicate these transparently to everyone. In addition, the goal of employee participation must be clear. Anyone involved in decision-making processes should be aware of the communication rules and framework conditions that must be met by all participants and the extent to which everyone is informed about the current status of the decision-making phase.

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My experience has shown that moderating joint meetings and taking minutes are essential in order to do justice to everyone, involve employees effectively and divide up tasks sensibly. I recommend that the minutes and moderation of meetings are always taken by different people, regardless of their position – this alone leads to a relaxed atmosphere and greater mutual appreciation.