Going Beyond Surveys - Key Identifiers
Employee surveys are great, they are. They provide anonymous organizational employee input that is extremely helpful in cultivating a more productive and inviting work environment for the future. More specifically, they give employees a voice and help discover, without employees having to worry about repercussions when identifying what is not working within the organization and, just as importantly, what IS working well. They can provide benchmarking results to use against previous and future surveys, other industry-specific data, as well as identify if any issues are specific to the organization or are industry-wide. Most importantly, employee surveys can help direct organizational growth in many different areas, including employee engagement and if the performance environment within the organization is effective.
With all of the good and important data that can arise from employee surveys, it is absolutely crucial to set objectives, communicate the importance to the employees, and, most importantly, to know and understand the key environmental and engagement factors that are important to measure. We’ve seen many surveys where this just isn’t the case and the data received ends up being little more than a waste of the organization’s money and the employees’ time.
What are those key factors? Well, they can vary from organization to organization, however, after years of working with organizations to increase employee engagement through performance advising, we have come up what we believe are the most effective areas of employee surveying and a foundation for any successful employee survey.
Work Environment – This section of questions focuses on the organization as a whole, from culture satisfaction and diversity, to team cohesiveness and company communication.
Work Engagement – This section measures an individual’s engagement within the organization and the organization’s ability to inspire.
Senior Leadership – This section focuses on the senior leadership’s ability to respectfully and effectively lead the organization.
Manager or Supervisor – This section asks questions related to the employee’s direct manager and whether they are an effective and inclusive manager.
Career/Performance Development – Is the organization providing opportunities for its employee to grow both personal and professionally? This section measures an employee’s personal feelings toward their career development.
Compensation and Benefits – This section is obvious. Are the employees satisfied with their compensation and benefits package?
Written Comments – This section can vary based on what an organization wants to ask its employees, but here are a few questions we find are especially useful.
How can the Company more effectively retain our employees for the long-term?
How does Senior Leadership contribute to a positive work culture? If not, what can they do to improve?
If you were the person in charge for the day, what single thing would you change in the organization to make it a better place to work?
If you’re looking for help in administering your employee survey, or just need help in building an effective survey question list, don’t hesitate to contact us! We’re here to enable your success.
