When we talk about consultation with employees, the conversation often starts with compliance: What does the legislation require? What does the relevant Award say? Who needs to be consulted? What information needs to be provided?
And those are all important questions. Employers have legal obligations to consult with employees in a range of circumstances, including certain changes to work arrangements, health and safety matters and other workplace issues.
But I think there is a bigger opportunity that can sometimes get lost in the compliance discussion.
Consultation can be much more than something an organisation does because the law says it has to. Done well, it can become part of how an organisation works with its people — and, in turn, an integral part of its workplace culture.
People are more likely to support what they have helped shape
Change is inevitable in most workplaces. Systems, policies, processes and technology all need to evolve if an organisation is to continue to grow and develop. And with that can come further change – changes to roles, responsibilities, structures and ways of working.
Change can be difficult. Employees – and people generally – don’t always welcome change, particularly when they don’t understand why it is happening or how it might affect them. They may have concerns, disagree with a proposed change or simply be resistant to doing things differently.
This is where consultation can make a real difference.
Genuine employee consultation doesn’t guarantee agreement. What it can do is give people an opportunity to understand what is happening, raise concerns, identify practical issues and contribute ideas before decisions are finalised.
Sometimes that feedback will change the proposal. Sometimes it won’t.
But there is a difference between being told what is happening and being given an opportunity to have some input into how it happens.
Even when the final decision remains the same, people are often more accepting of an outcome when they know their views were heard, considered and taken seriously.
Being heard matters
One of the more valuable things an organisation can give its employees is a genuine sense that their voice matters.
In my experience, employees don’t necessarily expect management to agree with everything they say but they do want to know that they can raise an idea or concern, that someone will listen, and that their feedback won’t simply disappear into a black hole.
This can be particularly relevant in smaller businesses, where informal communication is often the norm. A manager might quite reasonably think, “My door is always open. People can come and talk to me.”
And being approachable is important. But there is a difference between being available and deliberately creating opportunities for employees to contribute their views.
Consultation creates that opportunity.
It also sends a message that employee input is not something that is only sought when there is a problem or major change ahead.
Employees often see things managers don’t
There is another benefit of consultation that is easy to overlook.
The people doing the work every day often see things differently from the people designing or managing the work.
They know where the bottlenecks are. They know which process creates unnecessary frustration. They know what customers are asking for. They know which part of a new system is likely to cause problems. And they often have practical ideas about how something could work better.
That insight is valuable.
Consultation can bring some of that knowledge into the decision-making process before a small issue becomes a much bigger one. Sometimes it can save time and frustration. Sometimes it can prevent an expensive mistake.
It can also result in better decisions simply because more perspectives have been considered.
Trust is built through experiences
Trust isn’t built through a team-building activity or a statement on a values poster. It is built through everyday experiences.
One of those experiences is what happens when employees are asked for their opinion.
If employees regularly see their manager or organisation seeking their input, listening to concerns, explaining decisions and following through on commitments, it sends a fairly simple message: Your contribution matters here.
Over time, those experiences can build trust.
And that trust becomes particularly important when the organisation needs to have a difficult conversation or introduce a change that isn’t necessarily popular.
People may still disagree. But they are more likely to believe that there is a genuine reason behind the decision and that their perspective has not simply been dismissed.
From consultation to ownership
There is also something about being involved that can change the way people relate to an outcome.
An employee who has contributed an idea, helped identify a problem or influenced how a change is implemented can develop a different sense of connection to that outcome. It becomes less about “management has decided this” and more about “this is something we have had some input into.”
That doesn’t mean employees are making the decisions. It simply recognises that people are more likely to feel invested in something when they have had an opportunity to contribute to it.
Over time, that can extend beyond individual changes and contribute to a stronger sense of connection with the organisation itself.
The difference between consultation and going through the motions
Of course, not all consultation is equal.
Sending an email saying, “We are introducing this change. Please provide feedback by Friday” isn’t necessarily consultation in any meaningful sense. If the decision has already been made, there is no genuine opportunity to influence the outcome, or employees never hear what happened to their feedback, people will quickly work that out.
And once people believe consultation is simply a box to tick, it becomes much harder to build trust around it.
Genuine consultation doesn’t mean every decision is up for debate. Nor does it mean employees get the final say.
It means being honest about what is being considered, where there is scope for input and where there isn’t. Perhaps just as importantly, it means closing the loop.
Sometimes the message will be: “We’ve changed the proposal based on your feedback.”
Sometimes it will be: “We’ve considered your feedback, but we’ve decided to proceed with the original proposal because…”
Both can be good outcomes if the consultation was genuine.
People don’t always need to get the outcome they wanted. They do need to know that their contribution was taken seriously.
It doesn’t have to be complicated
Consultation doesn’t necessarily require a formal process or another layer of meetings.
It might be a team discussion, a toolbox meeting, a working group, a short survey, a policy review or a conversation with the people directly affected by a change.
The format matters less than what happens within it:
- Are people genuinely being invited to contribute?
- Do they have enough information to provide meaningful feedback?
- Can they raise concerns without feeling that they are being difficult?
- Are different views actually considered?
- And do people find out what happened as a result?
These are relatively simple questions, but they say a lot about the culture of an organisation.
Compliance might be the starting point, not the destination
Of course, employers need to meet their legislative and Award obligations around consultation. But I wonder what might happen if we stopped thinking about consultation only as an obligation and started seeing it as an opportunity?
An opportunity to make better decisions.
To understand what is really happening on the ground.
To build trust.
To give employees a stronger voice.
To create greater ownership of change.
To identify issues earlier.
And, perhaps most importantly, to create a workplace where people feel that speaking up is worthwhile.
Consultation isn’t about giving employees the final say. It is about giving them a say — and making sure that say is heard, considered and respected.
That is good practice whether the law requires it or not.
