FEATURE
SILENCE ISN’T NEUTRAL
Samsic UK’s HR Director Andrew Safo-Poku Jnr explains to Tomorrow’s FM how the company is building a culture where every voice matters.
Giving employees a voice is not just a nice-to-have — it’s a strategic lever for loyalty, innovation, and retention. But how do you actually get people to speak up, especially in dispersed teams, such as cleaning and security.
Cleaning and security provider Samsic UK has learned that listening isn’t enough - you need to create psychological safety, build inclusive structures, and prove that feedback leads to action.
A company’s culture and values need to be shaped accordingly to give people the confidence to speak out, to feel that their ideas and feedback will not just be heard, but listened to, understood and considered, and above all that they will not open themselves up to bad feeling or derision.
If such a shift can be achieved, changing culture and giving employees a voice can have a major impact on staff loyalty, retention, morale, as well as employee and client engagement.
Giving employees a voice is a strategic decision, often part of a move towards becoming ‘people centric’ with a bottom-up culture.
Samsic UK has taken concrete steps to create that voice- to-action culture. For example, an Investors in Customers (IIC) internal survey campaign has been launched, while frontline teams can see how past feedback has led to real improvements, such as the introduction of Wagestream (early pay access), expanded apprenticeship opportunities, and employee recognition schemes. Such activity was backed up with printed materials, visual storytelling, and local champions to build trust and participation across Samsic sites.
The aim is to encourage people to speak up with ideas, highlight issues or things that need to change and encourage them to have a strong input into the company’s actions, business decisions and employee welfare.
A framework for open dialogue is required, which can, in turn, instil confidence and reassurance that people will be heard, listened to without judgement, and any necessary actions taken.
28 | TOMORROW’S FM
It may be that the decisions are taken at a high level, but it is the frontline staff who are the foundation. By giving them a voice you are appealing to their hearts and minds to become more involved in the business.
However, in promoting a ‘voice-to-action’ model, the challenge is creating the psychological safety that emboldens people to feel confident to talk, knowing that their comments will be treated seriously and that they won’t open themselves up to ridicule.
Open communication is key. Surveys can act as a barometer for employee sentiment, unlocking people’s thoughts, positive and negative, and provide action points for progression. By telling your people that you want to hear their voice from across the whole business, you are empowering them to speak out, sometimes with hugely positive outcoes.
Workshops and project groups are excellent ways to open dialogue and in 2025, Samsic launched a Cultural Transformation programme, with a focus on co-creating new values, behaviours, and beliefs alongside frontline voices.
This wasn't a top-down initiative - it was built through employee workshops, listening sessions, and feedback loops that directly influenced the company’s new direction. In line with this, Samsic UK established a Workplace Council with representatives from different roles and regions, trained in communication and peer support. These members act as safe points of contact for colleagues to raise concerns or ideas, and they meet regularly with HR leadership to escalate themes that matter to the wider workforce.
It is important that the council members are accessible during work hours and can be approached if colleagues need help or want to discuss issues or share ideas. These representatives should then have the opportunity to share views in a safe, structured meeting, essentially by reporting directly back to HR or the managing director.
Importantly, the Work Council is not just a platform to hear issues, but also listen to ideas as it gives the business essential insight.
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
