How safe is it to speak up in your organization?
A self-assessment for executives and senior HR leaders · About 10–15 minutes
Psychological safety is the degree to which people in your organization can raise concerns, contribute ideas, admit mistakes, and disagree constructively without fear of negative consequences.
It is not a personality trait, and it is not something employees can build for themselves. It is created, or eroded, by leadership behaviour, communication practices, and organizational norms.
That is why it belongs on the executive agenda. When people feel unable to speak up, problems stay hidden until they are harder and more costly to solve. They surface later as disengagement, absenteeism, turnover, conflict, and sometimes formal complaints or investigations. When people can speak up, leaders learn about issues early, while there is still room to act.
This scorecard asks you to assess your organization as it actually operates today, not as policy says it should. There are no right answers to impress anyone. The most useful result is an honest one.
Who this is for: commissioners, assistant commissioners, executives, and senior HR leaders in Canadian organizations, including federal departments, Crown corporations, and unionized workplaces.
How to score
Step 1. For each statement, choose the number that best describes your organization as a whole, or the part of it you lead.
| Score | Meaning |
| 1 | Rarely: this is not how things generally work |
| 2 | Sometimes: it happens, but inconsistently or depends on the leader |
| 3 | Often: it is usually true, with some exceptions |
| 4 | Consistently: it is reliably true across the organization |
Step 2. Add up the four scores in each dimension (4–16 per dimension).
Step 3. Add the five dimension totals for your overall score (20–80).
Step 4. Find your band and read the guidance on pages 5–6.
Tips for an honest result
- Answer based on what you have observed, not what you intend or hope.
- If you are unsure, score lower. Uncertainty is often a sign that the practice is not visible or consistent.
- Consider asking two or three colleagues to complete it independently, then compare. Gaps between leaders’ views are themselves informative.
- If you don’t know, treat that as a prompt for follow-up, and score the statement 1 until you have evidence.
The five dimensions
A. Leadership and communication behaviours
Do leaders model the behaviours they expect from others?
| # | Statement | Score (1-4) |
| A1 | Senior leaders openly acknowledge their own mistakes. | |
| A2 | Leaders actively ask for dissenting views before making important decisions. | |
| A3 | Leaders respond to bad news with curiosity rather than blame. | |
| A4 | What leaders say about speaking up matches how they react when someone does. | |
| Dimension A total (4–16) |
B. Concern-raising pathways
Are there real, trusted ways to raise an issue, not only formal complaint processes?
| # | Statement | Score (1-4) |
| B1 | Employees have more than one trusted route to raise a concern, beyond a formal complaint process. | |
| B2 | Employees can raise a concern without going through their direct manager. | |
| B3 | People who raise concerns hear back about what was done. | |
| B4 | Employees can raise concerns in either official language and expect the same quality of response. | |
| Dimension B total (4–16) |
C. Response to mistakes and disagreements
What happens when something goes wrong, or when people see things differently?
| # | Statement | Score (1-4) |
| C1 | Mistakes are treated as information to learn from, not grounds for blame. | |
| D2 | Disagreement in meetings is handled productively and does not damage working relationships. | |
| C3 | Newer or more junior employees feel able to challenge senior colleagues’ ideas. | |
| C4 | Difficult conversations happen early rather than being postponed or avoided. | |
| Dimension C total (4–16) |
D. Retention and engagement signals
What do the workforce signals tell you about the conditions people are working in?
| # | Statement | Score (1-4) |
| D1 | Turnover, absenteeism, and disengagement are tracked by team, not only at the organizational level. | |
| D2 | Leaders investigate patterns in these signals rather than explaining them away. | |
| D3 | Exit and engagement feedback is acted on, and employees can see it. | |
| D4 | Employees can perform well without relying on prolonged stress or excessive workload. | |
| Dimension D total (4–16) |
E. Escalation history
How often do problems reach the formal stage, and what happens afterwards?
Score so that a higher number is better: a 4 means issues are usually resolved early.
| # | Statement | Score (1-4) |
| E1 | Conflicts are usually addressed informally or through facilitated conversation before they become formal complaints. | |
| E2 | Formal investigation or mediation is the exception, not a recurring pattern. | |
| E3 | When formal processes are used, the organization takes deliberate steps afterwards to rebuild trust and working relationships. | |
| E4 | Leaders can recognize early warning signs in their teams and know what to do about them. | |
| Dimension E total (4–16) |
Your results
| Dimension | Your total (4–16) |
| A. Leadership and communication behaviours | |
| B. Concern-raising pathways | |
| C. Response to mistakes and disagreement | |
| D. Retention and engagement signals | |
| E. Escalation history | |
| Overall score (20–80) |
| 68-80 Established |
Speaking up is a normal part of how your organization works. Leaders model the behaviour, concerns have real routes, and problems tend to be addressed early. The priority now is sustaining this through leadership change, growth, and pressure, because psychological safety built on a few strong leaders can disappear when those leaders move on. Build it into practice, not just personalities. |
| 52-67 Developing |
The foundations are there, but they are applied unevenly. Some teams and leaders do this well; others do not, and employees’ experience depends on where they sit. This is the most common and most useful place to be, because the gaps are specific and addressable. Look at which dimensions scored lowest and where your workforce signals are concentrated. |
| 36-51 Foundational |
Psychological safety currently depends on individual leaders rather than organizational practice. Concerns are likely being raised late, informally, or not at all, and some problems may be building out of sight. The good news is that leadership behaviour and communication practices can change, and early action costs far less than later action. |
| 20-35 Vulnerable | Current conditions are likely contributing to disengagement, turnover, conflict, or formal complaints. This is the point to act, before issues become formal. It does not mean the organization is failing; it means the workplace itself is the first place to look, rather than individual employees. |
Check your lowest dimension. Any single dimension scoring 8 or below needs attention, whatever your overall band. A strong total can hide a weak spot, especially in Dimension B (concern-raising) or Dimension D (workforce signals).
