dangletech

Author: David Neilly
These are just a couple of comments we have heard from organizations that conduct employee surveys with good intentions, but without following through with workplace improvements.  In fact, we would argue that these organizations do more harm than good by conducting employee surveys without a proper communication and action plan, because the lack of follow-up erodes the credibility of the management team in the eyes of employees.

So how do you manage the employee survey process to gain maximum benefit?

We have assembled the following best practices based on years of employee survey implementation and workplace improvement.

Best practice #1 - Identify the employee survey as part of your continuous improvement culture

Your workplace and employment practices lead to important business outcomes such as attraction, retention and engagement (enthusiasm, commitment, passion, effort).  It stands to reason that you should measure your workplace and employment practices so that you can make improvements.  The employee survey is the measurement instrument that identifies gaps in the workplace for improvement.  “You can’t improve what you don’t measure”. 

Best practice #2 - Create ownership and set clear expectations up front with executives

The employee survey process needs to be a cohesive partnership between the executive team and Human Resources.  The executive team and CEO in particular need to see the value in receiving feedback about and continuously improving the workplace.  They also need to fully endorse and participate in the communication and action planning process.  It is important to be explicit about the guiding principles of the survey process and the specific role the executives are expected to play in the process.

If you don’t have the CEO and executive team educated and enthusiastic about the process, your process may run aground later on.

Best practice #3 - Involve employees in the survey design

One of the best ways to build excitement and commitment for the survey process is to get employees involved in reviewing and editing the survey.  Each organization has its own “vocabulary” and sensitivities to question phrasing, so an employee “challenge team” can be very helpful in identifying survey questions that are ambiguous or confusing, or suggesting additional questions for the survey.  Through this involvement comes a sense of ownership, and these employees will become positive “ambassadors” of the survey process with their colleagues.

Best practice #4 - Conduct employee focus groups to clarify survey issues

Once the survey has been conducted, it is possible to do a quick analysis of the results and identify the “big issues”.  These issues might relate to role clarity, leadership, accountability, and career development; or to specific programs such as pension, vacation or performance appraisals.  However, while the survey is effective in identifying high-level gaps in satisfaction or effectiveness, follow-up focus groups with employees can help you “drill down” into the issues with greater clarity.  For example, the survey might identify an issue related to career development, but a focus group with 15-20 employees allows you to ask questions such as:

Is the concern about training, promotion, lateral development, etc.?

·    Is the issue specific to certain groups or departments, or is it company wide?

·    What do employee mean by “career development” and what are their expectations of the company?

·    If you already have a career development process, is the process flawed or is the process not being effectively implemented?

Armed with the numerical analysis from the survey, the comments from the survey and the focus group dialogue, you now have a very clear picture about the health of your workplace and your opportunities for improvement.

Best practice #5 - Provide insightful survey analysis to reveal the best opportunities for workplace improvement

If the survey analysis is no more than a series of bar charts or tables with the survey data, you are probably not revealing the most important messages coming from the survey and you will not likely engage your executive team with the data.  Here are just a few ways of analyzing survey data to extract greater clarity:

·    Ranking the questions from most positive to least positive and looking for themes and connections

·    Carrying out single or multiple regression analysis to determine the drivers of employee engagement

·    Segmenting the data by department, level, years of service, site to determine variations in the strength and prevalence of workplace issues

·    Creating a matrix of importance versus effectiveness to determine priorities for change

Best practice #6 - Develop action plans that are both “smart” and S.M.A.R.T.

As you move into action planning you are getting to the more difficult part of the process, because this is the point at which you make commitments to improve the workplace.  Action planning should take place at a corporate level, to work on issues that are company-wide, and at a divisional/department level, to address more local issues.

When we refer to “smart” action planning, we mean:

·    Focusing on issues that will have maximum positive impact on the business

·    Looking for “low hanging fruit”, that is, changes that are relatively inexpensive/easy and visible to employees

·    Understanding the resources and effort required to make the change before making a commitment

·    Being aware that it is better to under-promise and over-deliver

·    Sometimes, deciding to study the matter in greater detail is the correct action to take, particularly on matters related to costly programs such as compensation, benefits and vacation

When we refer to “S.M.A.R.T.” actions plans, we mean Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based.  If your action plan does not address each of these criteria, then your action plan is at risk of either under-delivering, being late or delivering an unintended outcome.

Best practice #7 - Ensure follow-through on action plans by linking them to your planning and performance management process

If you have implemented your survey process properly, your action plans should be important enough to be folded into your corporate operational planning process and performance management process.  In other words, your survey actions should receive the same attention to follow-through that a major capital expenditure, customer initiative or process improvement initiative would receive. Your employee survey change commitments should be reviewed regularly by the executive team and built into executive/managerial performance goals.

Best practice #8 - Communicate honestly and frequently with employees

Your employee survey process should include a comprehensive communication plan that addresses the following areas:

·    Goals and expectations for the survey process

·    Timelines for the survey

·    Q&A about the survey

·    Updates at key points in the process

·    Disclosure and explanation of survey analysis/results

·    Action plans and commitments for change

·    Progress updates on action plans

·    Reminders when action plans are completed

If properly executed, your employee survey process can be a catalyst for significant improvements to business performance.  Remember, your employee survey will add value only if you couple it with a communications and change management process.

Measuring your workplace is the first and necessary step to making it more engaging and more productive!

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