10 Ways Business Leaders can Encourage Employees to Get Out and Vote

It is Canada’s Election Day and I am sure that you do not want to read another message about the election.

But here’s the thing, we live in a country where we don’t have enforced mandatory voting and because of that voter turnout can be low. I thought what if you could have a “get out of jail card” like
you get when you play monopoly so you could get out of work and go vote.

Here are 10 suggestions for you to encourage people to vote.

1. If you are a leader or own a business take the opportunity to encourage your employees to vote today. Be an impartial leader so your staff don’t feel they are not being pressured to vote the way you want.
2. Quickly create “get out of work cards” and give them out to your staff so they have the freedom to leave work at their will to go and vote. Sometimes it is about people feeling they have permission.
3. Create a fact sheet so people know the issues. There is a great comparison done by the Globe and Mail that you can share with others http://bit.ly/1jZcd6v
4. Create an in-house statutory holiday. Yap your own national holiday to celebrate the freedom to vote that Canadians enjoy. Let people go home.
5. Quickly link people to the ways to vote from Elections Canada. http://bit.ly/1Ku3d4Z. Some people may not know how or where to vote. Maybe they are even a little embarrassed by their lack of knowledge. So give them this information they need.
6. Two thirds of eligible voters between the ages of 18 to 24 don’t vote. That’s a lot. If you have a young staff maybe you could host a meeting today that asks for simple reasons why we should all get out and vote. Clearly state that you want impartial non negative responses.
7. Break down the barriers for people by providing opportunities for them to vote. Offer to provide a ride to a polling station, give them bus fare for the day, hire a van and do it all together if you can.
8. When talking about sports, and you will given what is happening with the Blue Jays, suggest a voting, dinner and baseball game trio. Vote at your local voting station, go to the local pub to eat, and watch the game. Batters up!
9. Cancel those less important meetings. You or your staff don’t want to go to them anyway. Be honest about that. Most people over-schedule their day. The reality is that your meeting schedule should be less than 60 percent of your day. So that means you have at least 40 percent of your day booked into non-productive on unimportant things. Cancel that less productive items and go vote.
10. Lead by example. Simple but true. All great business leaders know that you have to be willing to do in order to encourage others to do. So announce to your world when you plan to go and vote. Book it in your schedule and go do it.

We live in one of the greatest countries in the world and take a lot of our freedoms for granted. I have crossed this country more times than I can remember from Newfoundland to British Columbia. Every region, province, city and town has its own character and needs. As a business owner, leader, manager and employee we all have a voice.

An organization succeeds because people participate; albeit as a leader, employee or a citizen. It is what creates success.

So I would like to encourage you and your team, in a purely impartial way, to get out and vote.