Freedom To Speak Up Guardian
October is national Speak Up Month. It’s a chance for us all to reflect on the importance of speaking up and the value it brings to our organisation.
As a Speak Up Guardian, my role is to provide a safe, confidential space to share concerns without fear of judgement. In the short time I’ve been in this role, I’ve already seen firsthand how speaking up creates a safer, more inclusive environment where every voice matters.
The importance of speaking up
Speaking up about concerns at work is crucial to create a safe space and live up to our values of fairness and transparency. It also helps make our workplace more inclusive, respectful and open.
We all have a part to play. Changes can only be made if concerns are voiced and listened to. We are using this month to raise awareness of the importance of speaking up and the value it brings to our organisation.
The power of listening
The theme for this year’s Speak Up Month is ‘listen up’. Listening is an active process that requires respect and compassion. Organisations with a strong culture of speaking up listen to their employees and learn from mistakes, so that services can improve. The issue is not whether mistakes happen, but how organisations respond to them when they do.
To support this, the Complaint Standards for NHS and UK central government organisations have been developed to give staff and leaders the skills they need to listen and act when people speak up. These standards emphasise the importance of learning from complaints, which can be a valuable source of insight and growth. Speaking up is a vital step in making meaningful change.
Organisations must also be ready to:
- adapt existing approaches
- actively ask for feedback
- acknowledge mistakes and learn from them.
Throughout Speak Up Month, we will reflect on the power of listening and its role in helping people feel confident to raise their voices. We will be encouraging NHS and other public sector organisations to do the same. We want all our colleagues to feel assured that when they speak up, they will be heard, and appropriate actions will follow. Listening with respect and compassion is a responsibility we all share.
Speaking up and listening at PHSO
To celebrate Speak Up Month we will be encouraging colleagues to:
- listen and engage with colleagues who raise concerns
- invite their Freedom to Speak Up Guardian to a team meeting
- show their support for Freedom to Speak Up by taking part in ‘Wear Green Wednesdays’.
You can find out more about the work of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians and Speak Up Month on the National Guardian’s website.
