When is the last time you surveyed your employees? Retaining talent, gauging the impact of company policies and finding areas of improvement are some of the value of employee surveys.
When is the last time you surveyed your employees? Retaining talent, gauging the impact of company policies and finding areas of improvement are some of the value of employee surveys. Ideally anonymous, surveys offer managers information they need to make decisions on the health of the organization and boost morale. Employees love being heard. Here are a few things to remember about employee surveys and using them as a tool for growth.
Follow up. Acting on data a company receives from surveys improves employee engagement, and therefore, retention, says research firm Best Companies Group. “Failure to follow up on the feedback from the survey could potentially have the opposite effect … Employees could become angry, disillusioned, and further disengaged, increasing their likelihood to seek employment elsewhere,” says a company blog post. Best Companies cites the cost of replacing an employee at about 60% of their salary, not including the lost productivity during transition time.
Use surveys to predict the future. Silence can speak volumes in surveys, Facebook executives Scott Judd and Eric O’Rourke told Harvard Business Review. “People who don’t fill out either of our two annual surveys are 2.6 times more likely to leave in the next six months,” they report. The social-media platform also asks its employees in surveys how long they intend to stay with the company.
Set benchmarks. Remember employee surveys are a tool. Ensure your company uses survey information to set benchmarks and compare them, showing progress over time. According to online software company SurveyMonkey, “The key to getting a good benchmark is using the same survey questions each time with each group.” SurveyMonkey suggests comparing departments’ results to see where the company’s focus would do the most good.
