Any employer or manager who cares about his or her workforce will do his or her utmost to find out what truly goes on in the company. Not only will he or she look for things that the company is doing right, but more importantly, he or she will want to determine where the company can improve. Information such as these can be discovered through methods such as an employee survey.
Surveys given to staff members are now being utilized more than ever so that HR can find out what drives and motivates employees to be creative and productive. The data collected are then utilized by management when deciding or acting on processes and policies that can benefit both the organization and its employees.
So is an employee survey effective?
The short answer is yes – if it is done properly. But going beyond this “yes”, surveys are only as effective as the questions that they contain. There are different types of surveys and metrics that can be utilized, depending on the situation and on the organization that opts for them.
Here are the reasons why employee surveys are effective and critical to organizations:
1. They encourage transparency
When transparency occurs, communication lines between managers and employees become open and honest. Transparency also enables employees to feel like they can trust the company and management they work for. When they feel like they work in an environment wherein people can be trusted, they feel more comfortable and are able to let their guards down as to be more willing to share feedback and ideas, and to collaborate with others.
Remember that assumptions can prove false; on the other hand, numbers don’t lie. Assumptions can be disproven or proven. Figuring out what works and what works in the organization is more easily done so that management can either remove or implement particular process or policies. Therefore, it is important to utilize an employee survey that creates data that can be analyzed so that hypotheses can be built and proper actions can be taken.
2. They enable management to increase employee happiness
When management knows what staff members need to feel happy in the company they work for and the position they are responsible for, it is much easier to create initiatives and programs that can respond to their needs.
For example, an organization may see that the energy and creativity of its staff members are low. Through an employee survey, the company may discover that this may be due to the lack of wellness programs in the company. After discovering this shortcoming, management may opt to give their employees free gym memberships so that they can get in shape. This strategy may then result in happier, more satisfied employees who don’t only become healthier, but also become more creative and productive at work.
3. They aid in staff satisfaction and engagement
Giving your workers a voice is a poignant and powerful gesture. This move is so important that it actually moves beyond satisfaction, and could potentially result in employee engagement. An employee survey is not only an avenue wherein staff members feel that they can say what they think and feel, they will actually believe that management cares about what they have to say.
When employers are not focused on creating a good working environment for their employees, they not only decrease motivation and productivity, the situation can actually breed toxic and unhappy employees. Surveys give employers an idea of what employees want and need, and from the data they gather, they can then be able to be better at making decisions.
