Companies operating in Illinois need to be aware of BIPA regulations. When it comes to voice recognition, pay close attention to features such as “informed consent prior to collection,” “prohibition on the use of biometric data,” and “limited right to disclose biometric information.” Timpson sits in this camp. His skepticism about the merits of workers` representatives on supervisory boards extends to all sorts of formal voting mechanisms. When an organization has a flat structure, it creates an environment where employees have a voice as an informal byproduct. This means there is no need for potentially “symbolic” formal language procedures, he says. The UK government`s corporate governance reform obliges listed companies to ensure that workers` interests are better represented at board level. One of the recommended options is the inclusion of an employee representative on the Executive Board. This is common across Europe, but there is no one-size-fits-all approach. In our response to government, we and the High Pay Centre welcomed employee awareness at the board level, but recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to giving employees a meaningful voice. Learn more about corporate governance. MacLeod calls it an “informed voice”: “If you want to hear what people really think, they should be informed about what the company is doing and why,” he says.
For Timpson, it would be “hierarchical” to have workers` councils, which the organization is decidedly not and which, according to him, is in direct contradiction with the premise of the real voice of the employees. A more appropriate and valuable role for HR to make employees` voices heard is to create the right formal mechanisms and, therefore, the internal conditions for employees to be heard. Lisa Blomgren Amsler is the lead author of the Model Law and Ordinance, and the sole author of “Local Government: The Legal Framework and Context for Voice” in Making Public Participation Legal, a compilation of the Working Group on Legal Frameworks for Public Participation (Matthew Leighninger of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, published by the National Civic League, National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation, International Association for Public Participation, and many other contributors). The report notes that the dominant model of public engagement in the United States is a public comment period that gives each speaker three minutes at the microphone with limited interaction with elected officials. As an alternative to this standard and ineffective model of involving people in governance, the report recommends dialogue and consultation in small groups. The legal framework for public engagement presents obstacles and obstacles to the participation of local officials. The report presents a model law that provides authority to expand the way agencies conduct public engagement, a model municipal ordinance that helps local governments institutionalize public engagement, and examples of public engagement policies that enable dialogue, consultation and deliberative democracy. The report provides an overview of the history of how the legal framework for public engagement in local governments has reached its current state. RUCK, K. (Ed.) (2019) Exploring Internal Communication: Towards an Informed Employee Voice. 4th ed. London: Routledge.
It`s a concern shared by Peter Reeve, human resources manager at the Motor Neurone Disease Association. He says there is a “danger” in thinking that an employee at the board level would give a voice to all staff. For more information on new ways of thinking about voice in the workplace, visit our Future of Employee Voice theme page. Our “Talking about Voice” report provides an in-depth look at the development and functioning of speech mechanisms for employees. Allen explains that these representatives are elected by their teams to provide feedback on team meetings and give employees perspective on new initiatives or plans for the company. Whistleblowing is increasingly recognized as an effective way for workers to convey important messages to employers. This occurs when a person raises concerns, usually with their employer or a regulatory body, about a workplace hazard or illegality affecting others. The disclosure may relate to alleged misconduct by the employer, a co-worker, a client or a third party.
As a rule, the whistleblower is not directly or personally affected by the danger or illegality. Personal complaints such as harassment or discrimination are generally not treated as whistleblowing and must be dealt with in accordance with the organization`s grievance policy. The definition of “biometric information” in the Act is as follows: “Biometric information includes, but is not limited to, images of the iris, retina, fingerprints, face, hand, palm, venous pattern and voice recordings from which an identification pattern such as a facial print, minute pattern or voiceprint can be extracted.” Psychological safety, or the person`s sense of taking risks and sharing thoughts with others in the workplace, provides a foundation for voice. Employees are unlikely to speak up if they feel that the cost outweighs the benefits – for example, if they feel that their position within the organization is threatened. Power dynamics affect people`s willingness to speak out, especially on information that challenges the status quo or might be perceived negatively by an older colleague. Along with the spread of the Internet of Things, speech recognition and control technologies have advanced rapidly. For generations, the idea of talking to your watch was fantasy (unless you were Dick Tracy). Now it`s discreet. Millions of people control their cars, phones, computers, and countless other devices every day with their own voice. “It`s about individuals and their superiors, because the voice is underpinned by this relationship. Meanwhile, the collective voice is where a group of individual voices can be expressed anonymously and used for collective bargaining on broader issues affecting a group of workers. He points out that workers` voices at this level improve the quality of decision-making.
Ultimately, voice data is just another form of consumer data that businesses can collect and use. Nevertheless, the possibility that voice data may contain real audio recordings of sensitive information should only increase the attention paid to securing this type of data. Voice data collected through voice control functions may include personal data about consumers that is protected by applicable data protection laws and regulations, even if a user is aware that their personal data may be collected. To the extent that such information is protected by state laws or regulations for residents of that state, regardless of where such data was collected or stored, it is important that companies strictly comply with data protection laws in all jurisdictions where current or prospective customers reside. It seems that voice is all the more important for this segment of the workforce. “I think voice is certainly important because it`s a group that doesn`t feel represented and isn`t a member of unions,” says Wood of the Oxford Internet Institute.
