Employee Engagement Surveys: Why They Work, and How To Roll Them Out

The short answer: yes! In fact, there are two ways to collect employee feedback in Compli. But before we look at the how, let’s take a closer look at the reasons why you should consider implementing employee engagement surveys:

What is an Employee Engagement Survey?

Workforce surveys are important tools for any employer. They allow you to hear the collective voice of your employees rather than the loudest voices of a few people, and the feedback collected will help you flag problem areas before they start harming your company culture and productivity. Employees tend to know what makes them happy at work, and employers who listen to their workers’ feedback see positive changes in terms of performance, retention, and innovation.

Why focus on engagement? Because it directly correlates to your bottom line.

A disengaged employee costs an organization approximately $3,400 per every $10,000 they take home, and more than two-thirds (70%) of US workers report disengagement with their work. I won’t do the math here, but with over 140 million people employed in the US, our country could be losing trillions every year.

Best Practices: Running an Employee Engagement Survey

First, consider your communications

When implementing an employee survey, the first thing to consider is how you frame and communicate it. There are countless questions you can pose about engagement and organizational culture. Make certain to ask only the tangible questions that matter most to you and your employees, and to center the survey on employees’ needs and experiences. You don’t want your efforts to actually harm engagement by causing employees to tune out.

Remember to give your employees some basic information to get started. The more clear you are in your introduction, the more honest the results will be.

Make sure to communicate…

• What the survey will allow us (the employer) to do:
  Employees need to understand why you’re implementing this survey, what you’re hoping to find, and how you will use the results.
• What we need from you (the employees):
  Namely, participation, honesty, and comments. The goal is to have employees give you honest and candid feedback so you can truly gauge where you could do better as a company, and what you are already doing well.
• What to expect from the survey and follow-up procedures:
  How long will this take employees? What will happen with the results? What is the timeline for potential changes to be made?
• How we’ll protect your confidentiality:
  We recommend that you keep results and participants anonymous. This will make employees feel more comfortable about providing their real opinions and increase your odds of collecting genuine feedback.

Need some inspiration for questions to ask? Here are a few to consider:

• Would you recommend the company as a place to work?
• Do you see yourself working here in 2 years?
• Is your manager a role model for employees?
• Do you have access to everything you need in order to be successful in your job?
• What do you like best about working here?
• What do you like least about working here?

Finally, determine what you will do with the results of the survey.

Our advice: thank your employees, select areas in need of improvement, communicate what you’ll improve to your workforce, and implement changes. Once you’ve made those changes, periodically check back in with your workforce and evaluate how things are going.