Results

Online surveys have long been used by marketing teams to gather feedback on consumer products or customer satisfaction, but now the trend is starting to enter the workplace. Many employers struggle to accurately gauge employee moral. It’s a taboo subject in the workplace, and employees are not comfortable sharing their impressions and suggestions with managers or HR representatives. Web-based surveys are a great way to assure confidentiality and gather constructive feedback while enhancing employee engagement.

Surveys can be beneficial in a number of ways. You might discover a shortcoming that was not obvious to management, such as a technology gap or a customer service failing. You also might find that employees are not being utilized to the height of their abilities. Employee satisfaction surveys can alert you to problems and opportunities you didn’t even know existed. Acting on the results of employee surveys can reduce turnover, improvement management techniques, identify cost-saving opportunities, fill gaps in training, and reduce communication problems. Without gathering this information, you have no way to solve the unidentified problems in your workplace.

Surveys conducted online give employees the chance to express their concerns in a controlled, self-directed, and anonymous way. Many companies offer web-based applications for building and administering surveys, and they all aim to help you measure the impact of your employees on your business goals. One of the benefits of using an outside survey firm is that it assures employees that their direct managers will not be responsible for gathering or analyzing their responses. Many companies in this industry will host the survey on an outside website, issue passwords to employees, and assure that no one at your company has access to identifying information.

Perhaps the best-known service is offered through Gallup, which is a market leader in statistics and polling across industries. Gallup can help an organization not only collect data, but also organize and interpret the results. In addition to measuring employee engagement, Gallup offers consulting services that can help companies determine a course of action after the data is analyzed.

Another provider of employee satisfaction surveys is HR Solutions, which offers support to businesses during every step of the survey process. Their service is aimed to help you design, write, and code an online survey, and they can collect feedback, provide analysis, and develop an action plan based on the results. Their website’s press release section also offers helpful articles and advice for those who wish to conduct employee surveys on their own. Many other companies also offer online employee surveys, and some let you craft your own questions.

While many businesses understand the benefits of measuring employee satisfaction, it’s difficult to know what kinds of questions will yield the best results. Many surveys use a rating system (1 for strongly agree, 5 for strongly disagree, etc.) to gauge a number of opinions. Consider the following questions as a starting point:

• What is the best thing about working at Company ABC?
• What is the worst thing?
• Does your position challenge you Why or why not?
• Do you enjoy coming to work? Why or why not?
• How would you describe the collaboration within your team?
• What would you do differently if you were managing your team?
• How do you think Company ABC’s customers view them?
• What would be your advice to a new colleague?
• If you could change anything about Company ABC, what would it be?

Many survey firms report that open-ended questions (rather than yes/no questions) which encourage detailed answers yield the best results. Not only will you find surprising responses from your employees, but you will be prepared to act on their advice. Though it’s a cliché, the most important resource of any organization is its employees, and if you engage them in improving your workplace, their dedication to their jobs will be reflected in their interactions with customers.

Thursday, March 20th, 2008 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

By Haley January Eckels