Employees
Surveys
A
necessity, not a luxury
Organisations need feedback from customers, suppliers and employees
so that their managers can take informed decisions about products,
policies and procedures. This allows appropriate changes
to be made and ensures that the business develops and improves as
part of a continuous, managed process.
Employee Attitude and Opinion Surveys
are an excellent method of obtaining data from employees about various
aspects of the organisation, its culture and its processes, as seen
and experienced by the workforce at various levels within the company.
Employees
are increasingly looking to their employers to fulfil social and
ethical needs as well as the traditional economic ones. Employees
are becoming more proactive in their views on how they are being
treated and managed in the organisation. Their expectations
now are much higher than they were even a few years ago, and if
these expectations are not met, the reduced levels of motivation
can often result in higher attrition rates.
Companies
simply need to do all they can to get it right!
By
using employee surveys, organisations can obtain a level of feedback
for logical analysis which cannot be obtained in any other way.
They provide a valuable outlet through which employees can voice
or vent frustrations, and give management a chance to act while
the problem is still in its early stages. Employee surveys can offer
organisations a fundamental competitive advantage by ensuring that
staff motivation is at optimum levels.
The
basic philosophy of the PS2 approach
-
It
is becoming increasingly important for managers to base their
people decisions and actions on an accurate understanding of
what their employees really think, feel, and desire
-
This
understanding is most effectively gained through a systematic,
formal and confidential process
-
The
process is likely to be difficult and demanding, and to require
a high level of commitment from management
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Types
of Survey
Various
types of survey questionnaires can be used to suit the requirements
of the organisation.
-
Baseline surveys provide a relatively precise measure
of the state of organisational attitudes or perceptions at the
beginning of some organisational change initiative. This
gives management a benchmark from which to measure improvement.
-
Evaluation surveys
can help evaluate the effectiveness of such change programmes,
either at the end of the change process or at appropriate interim
points as the project proceeds.
-
Culture surveys
are used to focus on employee attitudes and values, and how
employees perceive the organisation’s general values e.g. team
working, quality and communications.
-
Quality surveys home in on the perceptions and experiences
of employees in areas such as internal and external customer
service, perceptions of barriers to quality in everyday work,
and the impact of management style on quality.
-
Communication surveys
are commonly used to assess the level and effectiveness of communications
in the organisation.
-
Investors in People surveys
can provide independent data on the employees' awareness and
understanding of business goals and direction, as well as their
preferences for personal development in the light of the organisation’s
goals.
-
Employee satisfaction surveys
are the most commonly used to provide a periodic assessment
of the level of employee satisfaction. Employee satisfaction
is often a significant contributor to organisational performance.
By surveying on a regular basis, organisations can pick up early
warning signs and quickly identify adverse trends to assess
the effect of recent changes on the levels of employee satisfaction.
Surveys
are essentially about identifying and better defining problems in
order that management can make and take better decisions.
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