Getting the Most From Employee Engagement Surveys

This is a guest post by Paul Simms, sales and marketing director at Reflect Digital. Reflect Digital is a full-service digital marketing agency based in the UK. Hoping to get the most out of your team? Perhaps you've recently taken on new employees? Then consider an employee engagement survey. An employee survey can give you a valuable insight into how your staff feel about your working practice and give you the information you need to make changes for the better. Employee feedback can be instrumental in identifying changes that need to be made to improve staff morale and, ultimately, productivity. The happier your staff are, the more engaged they are likely to feel with their work. And when they feel like their opinions count, the better morale can become. Conduct surveys regularly. A staff survey should be conducted regularly in order for patterns to be identified. There is little value in simply conducting one survey and never repeating it as you won't get a chance to see the bigger picture or find out if morale levels have since improved. An engagement survey is of little significance if nothing is taken from it and changes aren't made. Some of the biggest companies in the world rely on employee feedback in order to remain successful. You can choose to conduct your own survey and build it in house, but it may be more beneficial to ask an outside firm to draw one up for you in order to heighten its efficiency. Surveys can help you to find out how new recruits feel as well as gauging the job satisfaction of long-term staff. Ask the right questions. There are many things you can ask in an employee feedback survey. You can ask staff if they feel their skills are being used as much as they could be, and if they feel that they have been given the chance to further their careers. Another question to ask is if there is anything they would change about your operations in order to heighten productivity and optimize staff happiness levels. Resentment can build if staff feel that their careers are stagnating or if they have special skills that aren't being used. Also ask what their plans and goals are and whether the company is helping or hindering them when it comes to development. You may even find that your staff have skills developed in previous jobs that could be used toward their current position. Encourage honesty and make adjustments as needed. You should encourage staff to be as frank as possible even if you don't like what you hear. If staff feel unable to speak their mind, the survey may be inefficient. You may find that certain staff lack the confidence or skills needed to perform certain duties. If there is something that a staff member is not comfortable with, you may decide to give them extra training or move them to a different department. Once potential changes have been outlined, you will need to decide who will be responsible for implementing these changes and when they will be made. Staff meetings can be held after the survey has been conducted in order for the results to be discussed. Employee surveys can use up a lot of time and resources so it is important to get the most out of your survey. If you feel confident in your ability to conduct your own employee survey and you have a limited budget then it can be a good idea to create one yourself. However, there are many companies, such as Employee Feedback, that are experts in conducting employer engagement surveys and know how to be strategic about the data they receive. Using outside -- impartial -- experts can ensure that questions and answers are honest and are not affected or influenced by any factors that could bias the results.

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Getting the Most From Employee Engagement Surveys

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