Adapted from Safety Compliance Alert.

If you read any list of ideas for motivating employees, one of the best tips will be to consistently encourage people to voice their concerns. (And if that technique is not on your list, pencil it in right now!)

Getting people to speak up about work issues is essential to making them feel they are a valued part of the team, a part of the effort — and ultimately a part of the success.

There are scores of reasons why employees don’t offer up their concerns – from a fear of retaliation to a hesitation to appear ungrateful.

Thankfully, there is a proven, two-step process managers can use to assuage employee fears and get them engaged. The first step is to actively ask for input. The second is to give people feedback about how their concerns were handled.

Both steps are critical – like a two-step tango — otherwise someone’s going to fall flat on their face.

Here’s an example of how it works, as  told Capt. Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger during his keynote address to National Safety Council’s 2012 congress.

After finishing a flight to Minneapolis, a ground crew member came to him to report oil dripping from under the plane, which might indicate a problem.

Sullenberger alerted maintenance, and it turned out to be an over-filled oil reservoir. Not a big problem.

Still, Sullenberger made a point to search out the ground crew worker and follow up with him on the results of the maintenance check.

But the hero-pilot didn’t stop there: He also thanked the worker and encouraged him to do the same thing again if he ever saw a potential problem — even though there wasn’t one in this instance.

It is a lesson managers should make part and parcel of their daily routines, and especially when it involves worker safety: Let people know you want to hear about their concerns. Let them know what came of their input.

And no matter the result, thank them and encourage them never to hesitate to do it again.