Are your employees "engaged" with their work? Many organizations
have a sense of employee attitudes, job gratification and morale, but no formal
documentation. There is a difference. An effectively administered employee
opinion survey enables an employer to obtain in-depth information on what employees
are thinking and to detect early warning signs of problems or conflict. A survey
has the important secondary benefit of improving employee relations, retention,
and productivity by signaling to employees that their views are valuable.
At The Human Resource Department, we can help you with any and all phases
of a survey. Here are some of the key components:
Gain the support of top management. Make sure you have willingness
to communicate results and to make changes based upon those results.
Plan
the survey. What is to be measured? How will the survey be administered – on-line
or hard copy or both? What is the timing? Who will participate? What demographic
data will be collected? How will the results/graphs be presented and communicated?
Develop
a survey tool that is simple to access and complete.
Provide on-line tool
for employees to access or administer the hard copy survey, maintaining strict
anonymity of participants in order to encourage honest and complete responses.
Tabulate
and analyze the data outside of the organization.
Review the results with
top management. Present an executive summary that includes analysis of the
feedback, and effective methods of communicating results and developing relevant,
feasible action plans.
Communicate the results to managers and supervisors.
Prepare managers and supervisors for questions.
Facilitate feedback meetings
with employees. Share responses and obtain additional information in a non-threatening
and non-confrontational manner.
Develop actions plans and implement.
We can also assist you with other approaches to gathering information about
employee opinions:
Focus Groups - Obtaining information from small groups of employees
is usually less costly and cumbersome than an opinion survey. It is also
faster to complete.
Interviews of Newly Hired Employees - Hiring new employees is a significant
investment for your organization. Increase the likelihood of their stability
with the organization by obtaining early feedback.
Exit Interviews of Separated Employees - Obtaining information from
departing employees is also less costly and cumbersome than an opinion survey
and capitalizes on the candor of employees leaving the organization.
To discuss your unique situation and the best way to learn what your valued
employees are thinking, contact us.
