Harkn for psychological safety

We consider anonymity non-negotiable for psychological safety, so it's an integral part of our platform.

Decades of research into why people are reluctant to speak up at work has produced consistent results; silence in hierarchies is instinctive and safe.

In other words, safe is still better than sorry for many of us.

Find out more about how Harkn implements and sustains psychological safety over a virtual coffee.

What is psychological safety?

"Psychological safety means an absence of interpersonal fear. When psychological safety is present, people are able to speak up with work-relevant content." Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School

Psychological safety doesn't just make for happier teams, but high-performing ones, too.

When Google's famous 'Project Aristotle' set out to answer the question: "What makes a team effective at Google?", they landed on psychological safety as the single most important characteristic.

In today's workplace, psychological safety means employees feel safe to learn, contribute, and challenge the status quo without fearing the consequences.

What are the benefits of psychological safety?

If your people are reluctant to engage with your organisation's feedback initiatives, a lack of psychological safety may well be the reason why.

Psychological safety lays the foundations for a culture of care, builds trust, and boosts engagement by removing barriers to speaking up at work.

Builds trust

Giving people the opportunity to speak up at work without fear of retribution, judgement, or unconscious bias shows them you care about what they have to say. This builds trust, strengthens relationships, and encourages engagement.

Empowers voices

No matter how much you encourage employee feedback, factors like power distance and fear of unconscious bias or retribution will always keep some voices on the side line of your organisation. Anonymity ensures you get the insights you really need.

Improves wellbeing

The pressures of the modern workplace create a breeding ground for stress and anxiety. When psychological safety is established, employees are more likely to come forward when they're struggling so you can intervene in a timely manner.

Anonymous feedback

Everything inputted into Harkn is completely anonymous unless you choose to attach your name to it. No names, no avatars. This includes daily check-in data, comments shared to the wall, and interactions in team rooms.

Wellbeing support

When our algorithms flag signs of distress in an individual, wellbeing professionals can reach out to them and signpost to further resources without revealing their identity.

Reporting: Rule of 5

Harkn's data analysis and reporting tools are carefully designed to preserve anonymity. Reports are required to include at least 5 data points – including comments on the wall – so that feedback can not be isolated and compromise anonymity.

Restricted demographics

Employer-chosen demographics can't be fine-tuned or combined to create smaller sub-groups. This keeps aggregate data broad to protect individual identities.

"We know that for people to bring their whole selves to work, we need to create a psychologically safe environment and culture where employees feel they can share their thoughts freely. The best way we can do that is by empowering our colleagues and giving them a tool to raise their voices in real time."

Natalie Thompson Lead Wellbeing Manager, Schroders Personal Wealth

Insights

Find out more about why psychological safety is vital for an engaged, happy, and productive workforce over on our blog.

Psychological safety

What is psychological safety?

What are the benefits of psychological safety?

Builds trust

Empowers voices

Improves wellbeing