buynokian96

Comprehensive Employee Surveys Boost Employee and Company Performance

Identifying and Diagnosing Problems that May be Killing Your Organization: 

Conducting comprehensive employee surveys is like doing a full-body scan of your organization. They can identify cancers that are eating away at and threatening your business. Comprehensive employee surveys typically include 40-70 questions. This is contrasted with limited-question employee surveys that have 10-25 or so questions. 

Five reasons for conducting comprehensive employee survey: 

Five key reasons to conduct comprehensive employee engagement surveys, employee satisfaction surveys and employee opinion surveys include: 

1 – Well designed comprehensive employee surveys tell you what you need to know to achieve significant increases in company performance and competitiveness. Comprehensive employee surveys assess the magnitude of known problems and opportunities, and identify hidden problems and opportunities that are impeding competitiveness and profit, negatively impacting customers and creating risks that can be very costly and sometimes embarrassing. 

2 – While ratings for each employee survey are important in telling you about how engaged and satisfied employees are, employees’ comments often are even more important than the ratings. Comments tell you why employees provided high or low ratings for each survey question and comments collectively tell you what needs to be done to address problems and take advantage of opportunities identified in the survey. 

3 – Whether your organization has fewer than 50 or more than 50,000 employees, it is likely complex with many problems, challenges and opportunities. A limited question employee survey such as the Q12 employee engagement survey that is offered by Gallup. The Q12 survey, which includes only 12 specific questions, can’t possibly identify all of an organization’s employee-related and other important problems and opportunities, and point to the necessary solutions. Comprehensive employee surveys assess a broad range of topics, providing detailed quantitative and qualitative information and a roadmap for achieving breakthrough increases in employee and organizational performance. 

4 – Most employees are willing to tell you the “good, the bad and the ugly” when they are confident that their responses, including ratings and comments/suggestions are anonymous and they have no fear of retribution due to their honest survey responses. 

5 – The information, perceptions and insight gathered by employee engagement surveys, employee satisfaction surveys and employee opinion surveys eliminates the need for guessing about what is right and what is wrong. Comprehensive employee survey data enables organizations to avoid costly decisions, initiatives and actions taken by managers (sometimes based on recommendations from consultants) that are based on insufficient or wrong information and guesses about causes of problems. 

Illustrative Comments: 

Following are illustrative comments received from sales people in an employee surveyconducted for a company with several thousand people selling office equipment to business across the U.S. The comments demonstrate the need to conduct comprehensive surveys and to take action based on the survey findings. Does your company have any of the following issues and problems? What other problems are hurting your organization’s performance?: 

Departments Communicate Effectively with Each Other:

“Sales and Service have NO communication with each other as sales has an “air” of UNFOUNDED superiority toward Service.” 

Feel Comfortable Going to Manager with Problems:

“My manager has absolutely no people skills and I can never go to him in order to obtain help with my work. I feel he has a problem with me personally and continues to push me into a state of hating the job I once loved. He does not assist or lead us in any manner, he only piles on more work each day to the point that my job cannot be completed.” 

Feel Good About Working for Manager:

“My manager does nothing to address really important issues. We do not have enough time to properly complete our work. Processes are too complicated and cumbersome. Answering the phone is a big factor in not being able to complete our paperwork, emails, voicemails, etc. We are constantly taking on new customers problems and not having the time to take care of the old problems. This leads to frustration.” 

Company Communicates Effectively:

“Management is very rude and disrespectful when communicating with employees on a day to day basis.” 

Feel Good About Job Overall:

“I would feel real good about my job if I had more knowledge about my job, and more training. Also having a manager that I can go to for assistance would make the job a whole lot easier. I cannot ask my manager anything related to my job. She knows nothing and refers me to others for assistance.” 

Have Information Needed to Do Job:

“Sales people do not have access to any of our customer information. The Customer Service Center took our file cabinets and now they have lost thousands of our customer files. Furthermore, we don’t access to Oracle info (even read-only rights) that would allow us to pull meter readings, etc.” 

Have Sufficient Authority for Job Responsibilities:

“I feel like every little thing I do is being watched very closely and any wrong decision is treated like I just killed a man. I do not feel like I can properly assist customers with that mind set, for the fact that I have to tell them to hold on TRY and get a hold of someone and once I finally do go back to the customer tell them what upper management said, if they have any questions or disagree I have to put them back on hold and do this game of back and forth back and forth.” 

Am Inspired to Do Best Work Every Day:

“I will do my best regardless of what I am doing. It often feels as if there is no difference in result no matter how much effort I put in. I am too reliant on multiple depts and sales rep and things don’t get resolved. Over time, that gets to you.” 

Manager Encourages Environment of Openness/Trust:

” My manager frequently threatens us with write ups and employment termination.” 

Manager Listens to Concerns/Interested in My Ideas:

“My manager is very ineffective with communication and frequently degrades employees in staff meetings in front of the entire department. If we disagree with her or question the validity of instructions she responds negatively or not all.” 

One Thing Company Could Do to Increase Engagement:

“Listen to these surveys, and engage the workers in more open honest feedback. Address our concerns.” 

Job Performance Is Evaluated Fairly on a Timely Basis:

“I only had 1 review in over 2 years & never spoke a word to anyone about it – I was evaluated on paperwork being done on time & with little mistakes – I thought I would be evaluated in other areas & not just that- It was very disappointing that no one called me to review it verbally ; it was all done on line- I even asked about 1 part & never heard back from anyone on it” 

Would Take a Lot to Get Me to Leave:

“Our department has a very high turn around. The stress, inconsistent communications and extreme workload have caused over 8 people to leave in the 10 months I have been here. Migraines, ulcers and regular headaches are common complaints from people in my department because of the pressure and inconsistent management approaches.” 

Training Classes Effective:

“I have not been given the opportunity to attend any classes, even though I asked. I was told I can take only online classes because of budget restrictions, but I feel in person classes are necessary for me and the entire department; specifically in Customer Service skills” 

Management Values Employees:

“This is something that is told to us constantly, with compliments and comments. However, none of the employees at my level feel they are valued with pay and respect which would be more honest indicators.” 

Things You Like Least About Your Job:

“My manager’s inability to communicate without offending. He is constantly telling everyone how thin my co-worker is and saying she is a size 2 and then offering me Hoodia to lose weight because I’m a 12. That is SO INAPPROPRIATE AND INCREDIBLY RUDE.” 

Employee Surveys That Boost Profit & Competitiveness and Reduce Costs

Employee satisfaction surveys and employee engagement surveys provide actionable insight and information managers need to compete and succeed:

Employee surveys identify opportunities for enhancing employee and customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention, and they identify many ways to reduce costs and increase revenue. Employee surveys also pinpoint problems that are constraining employee performance and that are driving customers away to your competition.

At a time when companies need to increase performance and competitiveness, employee surveys are a very easy and cost-effective way to learn directly from your employees about what your organization can do to increase organizational effectiveness and boost employee engagement in their jobs, driving productivity, quality and customer service, all of which are key drivers of profit.

Employee Surveys / Employee Opinion Surveys identify key psychological aspects of employee behavior:

Employee surveys identify what’s on the minds of your employees and the customers they sell to and support, including important psychological aspects that influence employee and customer decisions, behavior and actions. This powerful information does not appear directly in your company’s financial and other business measurements. Financial and other metrics measure results in terms or profit, sales, inventory, volumes and other hard data.

Very often business leaders think they know what is on the minds of their employees and what is going on in their company. Unfortunately most business leaders get their information and they form their opinions based on filtered information and advice that is often spun by people surrounding them based on political and other objectives. Conducting an employee survey / employee opinion survey is a great way to either validate leaders’ perceptions, or more likely, to provide accurate information and opinions that may challenge the perceptions of leaders. Because important business decisions are based on the perceptions of company leaders, employee survey results are an important source of information and insight for making better, more informed business decisions.

Employee Survey questions gather reliable actionable information:

Employee Satisfaction Surveys and Employee Engagement Surveys (employee opinion surveys) gather information, insight and suggestions from your organization’s employees about things that are important to both your business and your employees. They focus on both employee satisfaction and employee engagement, key drivers of employee performance and in turn, customer satisfaction and business performance. Some of the key issues that are typically included in employee surveys are:

Having information and tools required to do the job Clarity and effectiveness of communications within and across organizational units Leadership effectiveness and integrity Teamwork Confidence in management’s ability to lead the company Encouragement for innovation Consideration given to ideas and suggestions Empowerment to make decisions Commitment and effectiveness of diversity initiatives Manager understanding what motivates employees Fairness & consistency of treatment from managers and supervisors Employee recognition Commitment to customers and quality Performance evaluation and feedback effectiveness Training and mentoring effectiveness Career prospects at the company and opportunities for development and growth Satisfaction with compensation & benefits Work – life balance Commitment to working at the company Understanding of & commitment to the company’s mission, vision and values Willingness of employees to recommend the company as a good place to work

Benefits of employee satisfaction surveys, employee engagement surveys and employee opinion surveys include gathering information and insight for:

Increasing employee engagement and performance Increasing employee satisfaction, loyalty and productivity Strengthening leadership effectiveness Identifying hidden problems, opportunities and solutions Strengthening the focus on customers, quality and customer service  Focusing managers’ energies on areas with the highest priority and the largest payback Identifying causes of and ways to reduce employee dissatisfaction and poor performance Strengthening the culture of collaboration and change Reducing costly employee initiated turnover Facilitating smart risk-taking and innovation Enhancing your company’s “employer of choice” reputation Avoiding costly “employee abuse” law suits

Conducting an Employee Survey – Final Thoughts

Employee surveys / employee opinion surveys generate significant bottom-line benefits and a very strong payback when companies take action based on the survey findings. Survey companies have the experience, expertise and objectivity to conduct employee opinion surveys well and to quickly provide reports that are full of actionable information.

 

Interview with Curt Coffman, co-author of First, Break All the Rules and Follow This Path.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Conduct an Employee Survey to Boost Profit and Increase Competitiveness

Why Your Company Should Conduct an Employee Survey Now

 

The recession has driven profit at most large, mid-sized and small companies well below peak levels. Companies that have had success in boosting profit have done so by making significant reductions in staff levels. Few companies have been able to generate significantly more sales. Productivity is up on a national level and many employees are working harder, producing more output in the hours they are working. 

Many companies have reduced average work hours of the employees they have not laid off, and some companies have reduced compensation and benefits. 

This has resulted in a larger than normal number of employees that are dissatisfied and less engaged in their job. Many of our employee surveys are finding that employees are happy to have a job while at the same time they are worried they may lose their job. Larger than usual numbers of employees are commenting that they are planning to leave their company as soon as the economy improves and the job market opens up. 

Companies need to be aware that employee satisfaction, employee engagement and employee loyalty are down. This is impacting the performance of some employees. Without action, voluntary employee turnover will rise as the economy improves. 

Conducting an employee satisfaction survey or an employee engagement survey is the best way to assess employee satisfaction and employee engagement levels and to gather first-hand information, perceptions, suggestions and insight from employees about what needs to be done to earn back employee loyalty, job satisfaction and engagement. 

Tips for Conducting Effective Employee Satisfaction Surveys and Employee Engagement Surveys 

Whether you call your survey an employee satisfaction survey or an employee engagement survey, your employee survey should include questions that determine employees’ satisfaction with key drivers of satisfaction. The survey should also include questions that assess your employees’ level of engagement in their job. 

In addition to rating their level of satisfaction and engagement, every employee survey question should include a comments field that enables employees to include their perceptions, insight, suggestions and information that explains their rating answers. Comments will tell you why employees are satisfied or dissatisfied, and why they are engaged or disengaged in their job. 

Your employee survey should include demographic questions such as department, location and years of service with your organization. You may also want to ask employees to identify their gender, ethnic background and age range in order to review survey results by these demographic criteria as well as for your company overall. 

Ensure that all of your employee survey responses are kept anonymous. Employees are more likely to respond to employee surveys and to provide honest answers when they are confident that their answers will be anonymous. 

Consider using a survey company rather than self-service online survey software. While self-service survey is less expensive, a survey company will provide considerable value. While some of the largest employee survey companies and HR consulting firms that conduct employee surveys can be quite costly, some of the smaller employee survey companies have extensive experience and expertise and considerably lower pricing. 

Reasons to use a survey company include their expertise and experience designing survey questions that provide actionable information and insight, and their ability to provide extensive graphical, tabular and comments reports sorted by demographics and for your organization overall on a very timely basis, saving your organization many, many hours preparing survey reports using Excel. A good survey company will provide all of the survey reports within two to three days after the survey response period is closed. Additionally, many employees will be more confident that their survey answers will be anonymous if a survey company is used rather than self-service survey software. 

Some survey companies have the ability to readily provide trend data and graphs comparing current survey results with results from your previous surveys, as long as the same questions are used. This is a highly effective way to track progress addressing opportunities and problems identified in employee surveys. Other reasons to use a survey company rather than self-service survey software is that some survey companies can provide benchmarking data, enabling a comparison of your company’s survey results with results from other companies. Some survey companies also offer preparation of an optional executive summary report, including a summary of the survey findings and recommendations for taking action based on the survey findings. 

The Importance of Employee Engagement 

Employees at all levels of your organization are engaged when they are fully committed, involved and enthusiastic about their jobs and your company. Engaged employees are willing, able and significantly do contribute to your company’s success. Engaged employees regularly go the extra mile, putting effort into their work above and beyond what is expected of them. They eagerly and willingly work longer hours and focus their energy, inspiration, skills, intelligence and experience to achieve success for themselves and your organization. Engaged employees thrive when they are working in a supportive organizational culture. Their visible enthusiasm, energy and inspiration in turn enhance the organizational culture and encourage other employees to become more engaged in their jobs. 

A final thought 

If your company needs to increase its performance, competitiveness and profit, and guard against employee turnover as the economy improves, conducting employee satisfaction surveys / employee engagement surveys will provide important actionable information and insight for making better decisions, increasing employee engagement and loyalty, and becoming more competitive and profitable.

Find More Employee Survey Articles