In this note, we will explore the basics of an employee satisfaction survey. Let’s first talk about what an employee satisfaction survey looks like. The survey allows an organization to gather information about employees’ opinions on their workgroups, job teams, and other issues like organizational culture and turnover. It helps us understand and anticipate employee needs about the overall organization. It serves the most crucial purpose of providing a foundation for an action plan to improve strengths and reduce deficiencies. Let’s talk about the benefits of a survey on employee satisfaction.
The following are the significant benefits of a successful employee satisfaction survey:
- Organization Development
- Increased productivity
- Reduced Attrition
- Career development
- Encourage honest feedback
- Identify pain points
- Improve team cohesion
An employee satisfaction survey’s first and most important benefit is that it helps in organization development. It helps in providing key direction and guidance on organization growth and its challenges.
As mentioned, another benefit of the survey is increased productivity. As a result, the organization’s productivity will increase; employees will feel more engaged in the company’s matters; and they will work with great motivation, increasing the organization’s and department’s productivity.
The next benefit of the employee satisfaction survey is to increase efficiency. It is well known that hiring a new employee is an expensive process. It takes four-six months to train a new employee, after which the employee will reach a break-even point. A satisfied employee will not switch jobs frequently; thus, it will save time and money. It means that by conducting a proper employee satisfaction survey, a company will come to know what their employees want from them. A company can create a working environment where employees will work happily and not leave the company frequently.
Additionally, a satisfaction survey may reduce turnover. There may be times when issues in the workplace may be brushed under the rug. Conducting employee surveys can help get honest feedback about how certain employees feel about their positions in upper management and the company. Further, specific delayed issues may be harmful enough to cause certain employees to seek alternative employment means, thus increasing the turnover rate. It implies that if you leverage employee feedback to design your company operations, those same people are significantly more likely to remain around and desire to perform for you daily. Employee satisfaction surveys and career development surveys may assist in discovering gaps in employee training and help you empower workers with the skills they need to grow within your firm.
Surveys enable employees to identify areas in which they feel uncomfortable and might reveal which areas need further staff training. In addition to providing workers with the skills they need to advance and grow professionally, adequate training may prepare them for higher-level positions.
Another benefit of an employee satisfaction survey is that it encourages honest employee feedback. Additionally, a satisfaction survey may highlight problem issues. Employees often believe they cannot express their problems. Whether it’s because they don’t know who to talk to or they’re afraid of penalties, your employee engagement surveys provide a terrific chance for your workers to voice their feelings. In addition, for workers to submit honest feedback, they must be guaranteed that their ideas will be appreciated and, most importantly, that the information they contribute will remain secret.
Last but not least, happy employees equate to satisfied customers. It is only logical that a disgruntled employee in a customer-facing position would lower the quality of your service. Another benefit of employee satisfaction surveys is their emphasis on organizational development. Companies that perform employee satisfaction surveys can acquire information that may guide organizational development. It will tell you whether your leadership model is working for your teams if your workers have the proper tools to succeed, if your business culture is healthy, and how you can enhance it to get the most out of your staff.
Surveys can also help build team cohesion and can help in creating a conducive environment for growth and inclusivity.
How to Conduct an Employee Satisfaction Survey?
The first step in conducting an employee satisfaction survey is to emphasize the importance of the survey. A letter from top management advocating the survey and its advantages to your organization’s performance might thus get the ball moving. The notification must include information such as the aim of the employee satisfaction survey, the anonymity of replies, the confidentiality of the survey, and a timeframe for completion.
It is also crucial to indicate the time required to finish the survey. Questions for employee satisfaction surveys should be straightforward, concise, and relevant. Additionally, care must be taken with the language to prevent misunderstanding.
Time is a crucial aspect. Consequently, an employee satisfaction survey should be long enough to cover the essential topics without causing survey fatigue among responders. It is also necessary to permit input. People like providing candid feedback to express their opinions when given a chance. It may be required to include free-text fields and one to three text boxes, but limit them to a minimum to facilitate data analysis.
Anonymity is crucial. One should strive to maintain the anonymity of feedback comments. The satisfaction survey findings should only be published on a sufficient number of respondents to guarantee that nobody is singled out. Engaging an impartial third-party survey provider is another method for reassuring workers about security and confidentiality.
Technology is a crucial enabler. One can use an online survey platform like survey point to create, share, track and analyze employee satisfaction surveys. Last but not least, it is essential to share the employee satisfaction survey result with the organization keeping anonymity intact. One shall also take feedback on improving the employee satisfaction survey process.
Kultar Singh – Chief Executive Officer, Sambodhi
