Speak up culture supports people strategies and drives organisational objectives – it’s like a superpower.
Speak up culture in the APS is based on the academic definition of psychological safety: “the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes, and the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.” – Amy Edmondson, 1999.
Speak up culture underpins a range of workforce objectives and influences nearly every behaviour that impacts performance. It’s the foundation for integrity, diversity and inclusion, learning and development, change management and wellbeing. It’s essential for collaboration and innovation and contributes to psychosocial risk management.
HR professionals play a vital role in fostering an environment where team members feel safe to speak up, collaborate and contribute their best ideas. Often, HR are the first port of call when speak up culture doesn’t exist, and staff feel unsafe or hesitant to raise issues.
The good news is that speak up culture guidance is now available to all through the APS Academy. Guidance specific to APSC employees is also available.
The materials offer practical tips to help build speak up culture through the 4C practices:
- listen with compassion
- show curiosity
- act with courage
- speak with candour.
Developed through APS wide consultation, these practices will support employees to uphold the APS Values and comply with the Code of Conduct.
On 11 June, approximately 250 HR professionals attended the Building speak up culture: HR's role as enablers of culture change webinar, hosted by the HR Professional stream. The session had strong engagement, with participants learning how the materials could be implemented in their agencies and sharing tips for success. Watch the recording.