While most companies invest huge sums to make sure their
customers are satisfied, many overlook the most important satisfaction rating
of all: that of their employees.
Employee satisfaction is necessary to ensure that your organization is
functioning as you would like—and can help you improve profits at the same
time. By now, it seems most companies would realize just how critical happy
employees are to the success of any business. It makes perfect sense that
employees create better products and deliver better customer—service
experiences, right?
Still, especially during uncertain financial times such as these, some companies
continue to thrive, while others slowly spiral toward the "Out of Business"
drain. Throughout the latter, you'll hear blame focused a variety of
factors—most economy—related—but in reality, the trouble can be as simple as
how respected and appreciated your employees feel.
How
important is the happiness of even
a few employees?
While there's plenty of research available on the subject, all the statistics
in the world pale in comparison to a recent, real-world example of the effects
of employee dissatisfaction on customer perceptions.
Kathleen Gage is a business advisor, keynote speaker, trainer and contributor to
Webpronews.com. Recently, she visited a local pet store to purchase supplies.
"I was given a pleasant greeting, assisted with my purchase and made to feel
like a valued customer," Gage recalls. "It was a good experience— until I paid
for my purchase. The clerk began badmouthing the fact that her boss,
the owner, took the afternoon off. The clerk seemed to feel obligated to tell
me how much better she could run the business if she had the authority."
She dismissed the experience as an isolated case; perhaps the clerk was just
having a bad day.
Gage returned on another occasion and had a similar experience with another
clerk. This time, the clerk didn't seem to care if she bought anything or not;
she just wanted to put down the owner. Since then, she hasn't returned to the
store, and she certainly doesn't recommend the store to others based on their
experiences.
"I have to assume that these employees do not feel valued by their boss," Gage
relates. "If they did, I hardly think they would talk so poorly behind the
owner's back. I assume these employees work just enough to justify their
paycheck. I can also assume they won't do anything to generate new business.
What a pity—and what a missed opportunity for everyone."
Gage suggests that instead of clinging to the old belief that "an employee
should just be happy to have a job"—especially as the economy improves—smart
managers take a more progressive, holistic approach to gauging employee
satisfaction.
Survey
your employees—you might be surprised
at what you learn.
A proper Employee Survey can be one of your most effective tools for increasing employee satisfaction. Not only will it allow you
to capture general information about areas for improvement; it may also
indicate whether certain employee groups—for example, older employees or those
in a certain department.
Improving employee satisfaction does more than just boost motivation and
productivity; they actually increase your chances of retaining employees, as
they'll be less tempted to pursue other opportunities. In fact, just by taking
part in an employee survey, employees will feel more involved in the
business—with a valued, respected say in the company's future direction.
"Where
do I start?"
Like most company-wide initiatives, an Employee Survey typically requires buy-in from management. There are two primary
constraints on internal efforts that "take away" from more customer-centric
activities— time and cost. Unfortunately, it's much easier
for management to quantify time and cost than the very real, potentially
significant benefits of the survey's results to the company's overall success.
It's not too difficult to keep things simple for an easier sell to management.
The process may seem overwhelming at first, but keep in mind that a typical
Employee Survey takes only a few weeks from start to finish. Just beware of
large "committees," who tend to slow things down (and make poor decisions at
the same time); keep your survey team as streamlined as possible.
Take
advantage of today's online survey
technology.
One of the easiest ways to significantly reduce time and costs is to conduct
your Employee Survey online (with options for paper-based surveys as
needed). According to MedicalSurveys.net, who works with leading hospitals to
improve patient care and reward employees, this methodology has many
significant advantages over paper-based programs:
Superior response rates—from 75% to
100%, vs. of 65% for paper surveys. (High-technology companies and small firms
tend to have the best response rates.)
More detailed comments—employees feel
more "anonymous," providing comments typically twice as long, giving management
deeper insight into employee perceptions and attitudes.
More efficient reminders—responses
typically dip quickly within a few days; an electronic follow-up reminder is an
efficient way to boost response rates. Second and third reminders are also
important, and they're easy and cost-efficient, too.
More legible response—it's an
unfortunate fact of business that handwriting is often still hard to decipher.
Electronic surveys save transcribing costs, but spell checking is still needed
in most cases.
Improved security—duplicate online
responses are much easier to detect and weed out than in stacks of paper
surveys.
It's also important to incorporate the right tools to create, deploy and analyze
data to create internal satisfaction
scorecards
and metrics to monitor improvements.
BMW—a
modern-day employee survey success
story.
BMW Manufacturing Co. is constantly on the lookout for new ways to improve
employee job satisfaction and morale. In the past, the company's HR staff
deployed paper-based surveys, but the team was disappointed with response rates
and the lengthy times needed to complete surveys.
They decided to try an online solution. Now, they can quickly collect feedback
on everything from why employees visit the HR department (direct-deposit
issues, 401K questions) to their assessment of how HR associates handle a case
(Knowledgeable? Professional? Friendly?).
BMW lists the following tips for conducting a survey and acting on what you
find:
-
Assure
employee anonymity. Online surveys are received and processed by impartial third parties.
-
Communicate
earlier findings—if available.
-
Describe
how results were used in the past—and how they will use new findings.
-
Analyze
results. Start as soon as they begin coming in. Use third—party analysis tools to slice and dice the information as best suits your
business needs.
-
Communicate
findings. Consider compiling a series of reports—a confidential one (with full details) to top management and an open report to all
employees. Be careful with details in small groups; anonymity may be
threatened.
-
Act
on the information. Acknowledge problems up-front, and ask employees for help in eliminating them. The employee satisfaction cycle
continues
SUMMARY
Employee surveys are among the most valuable tools available to help companies
succeed, especially in touch economic times—when customer service means
everything. Forward-thinking companies are using online survey technology and
analytical tools to improve employee satisfaction scores, improving customer
satisfaction and employee retention at the same time.
For more information about deploying an effective Employee Survey process at
your company, contact us at http://www.surveymethods.com/contactus.aspx today!
Quotes:
"I
was given a pleasant greeting, assisted
with my purchase and made to feel
like a valued customer. It was a
good experience— until I paid for my purchase. The clerk
seemed to feel obligated to tell
me how much better she could run
the business if she had the authority."
—Kathleen Gage is a business advisor, keynote speaker, trainer and contributor to Webpronews.com
"I
have to assume that these employees
do not feel valued by their boss
I can also assume they won't do
anything to generate new business.
What a pity—and what a missed opportunity
for everyone."
—Kathleen Gage is a business advisor, keynote speaker, trainer and contributor
to Webpronews.com
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