Employee Surveys Articles
Using Employee Engagement Data To Gain Valuable Insights
It is amusing to think that many organisations say they are a “people focused company” first and foremost. Yet are HR managers and initiatives given the same amount of credence at the discussion table as operational strategies and cost-cutting drives? The need to create a new type of dialogue about how people and performance is linked is becoming ever more important, especially as organisations do realise that whatever business they are in, they are a people company.
A recent McKinsey Quarterly article titled, “Question for your HR chief: Are we using our ‘people data’ to create value?” (March, 2011) addresses some of these concerns. One of the key takeaways from the article is that business results may be more a function of an organisation’s talent strategy than originally thought. For example, Microsoft has been conducting studies on top performing employees to investigate if there is any correlation between their performance and the schools and companies these employees hailed from.
What Underlies Employee Engagement?
Employee engagement is currently very topical. It has been widely documented that there are links between an employee’s level of engagement and their willingness to remain with their employer. Attraction and retention of quality staff is also very topical, especially with the media reporting further skills shortages in the labour market as demand outpaces supply. So for any manager to proclaim, “My employees are engaged in their work” is commendable, but it begs the question of how engagement is measured and what underlying factors are used in this measurement.
Employee Surveys – Insourcing vs Outsourcing
It is widely recognised that employee engagement is essential to the success of any organisation; as such, research into employee’s intentions to stay, employee satisfaction and what influences these allows an organisation to be proactive in attraction and retention of the best employees. An organisation can either conduct employee research internally or commission an external research provider to complete the work. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach that need to be carefully considered before choosing which option best suits your business/organisation’s needs.
Talent Retention as a Fundamental Business Strategy
It has long been stated there is an imperative need to successfully attract and thereafter retain top talent. However, the debate continues for developing effective strategies to aid employee retention. By meeting fundamental psychological employee needs, employee engagement and retention can be greatly enhanced.
Addressing the psychological needs of your employees is equally as important as their physiological needs. Employees are motivated by at least three psychological needs (Nohria et al 2008);
- The need to Acquire – social status, position/job title, responsibility.
- The need to Bond – be connected with your peers and superiors.
- The need to Comprehend – understand your work environment and any recent changes.
Employee Engagement Surveys: Is it time to look at just how engaged your employees are?
A ‘happy worker is a productive worker’ is a common tenet everyone has heard before. The fact is that it holds much more truth than expected. Empirical studies have shown just how happy employees contribute to the bottom line, and conversely how unhappy employees can stifle profit expectations. One recent study conducted on a specialty mortgage banking company found those employees identified as being actively disengaged produced 28% less revenue than their engaged colleagues. Those engaged employees actually outperformed all of the disengaged employees on all measures. This study highlights more than a mere relationship between engagement levels and bottom line results; it shows that employee engagement drives results!
Committed Employees Make Happy Customers
How satisfied are your employees with their jobs and their company? When did you last ask yourself or them this question? Workers who are not satisfied will not only be looking for a new job, they will be disinterested, underperforming and more destructively in some cases, transferring negativity to their fellow workers.
On the other hand, engaged employees who are satisfied and committed will continuously strive to foster a motivated environment and have their hard work rewarded. They’ll take personal ownership of the company brand and their customers’ experience. Happy employees are a great source of valuable word of mouth advocacy and goodwill. It is crucial that before an organisation looks to concentrate on elevating customer satisfaction levels, the employee level of satisfaction needs to be addressed first. Do this through great communication, listening, focusing on the good and training & development of your people. These are all important facets of a robust and effective employer brand.
Employee Engagement – Just how motivated and satisfied are your employees?
Growing organisations face a great many challenges as they increase in size and turnover, one of these is communication. Inconsistent communication creates silos and break-downs not just between business units, but also departments, supervisors and the team of employees. Typically, it is this growth which results in many companies falling prey to overly bureaucratic, top down types of communication. The importance of motivating and engaging employees is well documented. Satisfied employees contribute more in terms of organisational productivity, dedication to ‘go the extra mile’ and commitment to offering superior customer satisfaction.
Employer Branding – taking advantage of a market recovery
Over the last five years, the concept of Employer Branding has gained traction as a necessary requirement for the attraction, engagement and retention of talented employees. With the current environment now demonstrating the reality of a market recovery, organisations must look to implement strategies that will work to improve the sustainability of their workforce in the future.
Your organisation has an Employer brand. The big question is… ‘is it the one your organisation wants and does it accurately reflect the reality of working for your organisation?’
If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It!
In the words of Peter Drucker “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. A simple concept, yet when it comes to Employee Surveys, many companies are choosing to turn a blind eye.
As a knee jerk reaction to current economic times, many organisations have automatically tightened the budget belt and are shedding employees. Both of these activities have an impact on employee morale and engagement which in turn can have a significant impact on business performance. So when the business agenda is focused on business optimisation, ‘managing’ your workforce should be a business priority.