White Paper. The Risky Business of Employee Surveys: Do s and Don ts for Getting it Right

Transcription

1 The Risky Business of Employee Surveys: Do s and Don ts for Getting it Right White Paper TalentKeepers is celebrating 15 years of providing award-winning employee engagement and retention solutions to help companies around the globe increase their performance. We provide employee engagement solutions, leader development programs, on-boarding processes and standardized or customized surveys, and other key talent management services to address critical business issues and enhance stakeholder value. TalentKeepers helps clients respond to industry and market factors that create uncertainty and organization exposure. Let us help you build a culture that keeps your best talent, boosts productivity and delivers outstanding performance. Please direct questions, comments, and press inquiries to solutions@talentkeepers.com, please access our website at or call No reproduction of this report in whole or in part is allowed without prior written approval of TalentKeepers. TalentKeepers and the TalentKeepers logo are trademarks of TalentKeepers, Inc. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 1

2 The use of employee surveys within organizations has become a common practice. The good news is that the majority of organizations no longer wonder if they should obtain employee feedback, however many organizations mistakenly overlook the vital steps of how to effectively set-up, implement and act on survey results. The undertaking of a survey initiative can be risky business for organizations when a strategic plan based on a clearly defined process and specific goals are not in place. Utilizing tried and true do s and don ts for getting a survey right will alleviate this risk and raise the likelihood for a successful survey which will ultimately increase performance. Do: Understand Why Employee Surveys Matter We all get that we need to listen to the Voice of the Customer to achieve organizational success. Yet, recognizing that the Voice of the Employee is equally as important provides benefits to both the employee and organization. Employees want to feel cared about, empowered and valued. Asking for their opinion satisfies these needs, as well as, helps employees feel part of the organization s operational processes for decision making and improvement. Further, there is a cascading effect for accountability when employees see commitment for change from senior leadership. 82% of organizations agreed that employee engagement is a strategic priority in 2015 based on TalentKeepers annual Workplace America research study or employee engagement and retention trends From an organizational perspective, increases in levels of engagement and retention occur by asking, listening to, and taking appropriate action from employee feedback. The talent management industry defines engaged employees as those who willingly give discretionary effort going beyond what is typically required in a position to help an organization succeed. At TalentKeepers, we describe an engaged workforce as having a heightened level of ownership when each employee wants to do whatever they can for their team, their customers, and the organization. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 2

3 There is an engaged employee behind every happy, fulfilled customer. This is reflected in the improvement of two key performance metrics for organizations with an engaged workforce: increased financial results (e.g. increased profitability, increased sales volume) and higher customer satisfaction (e.g. overall satisfaction, willingness to recommend the company/product). Of the more than 800 respondents to the TalentKeepers 2015 Workplace America Survey of Employee Engagement and Retention Trends 56% of employers tied employee engagement metrics to Organizational Performance and Profitability. And note that 100% of Best-in-Class employers do so. Employee surveys are a key step in creating an engaged workforce! TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 3

4 Do: Understand the Process for Success The TalentKeepers process for success encompasses five components of a survey initiative: setup, survey administration, data analysis, results delivery, and action planning. Understanding each step will help create the path of least resistance during survey implementation. There are to-do tasks within each of these components that, if not addressed, can put the success of your survey initiative in danger. It is important to have a checklist for each phase to ensure all critical elements are addressed: Set-Up: Needs Analysis, Customization, Data Grouping Design, Pre-Survey Communications Survey Administration: Multi-Media Response Options, Step-by-Step Instructions, Invitations, Reminders, Participation Reports, Customer Support Data Analysis: Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses, Timely Results (Less than 30 days from survey close), Easy-to-Access Results, Detailed Report Generation, Benchmarking, Observations/Recommendations Results Delivery: Prescriptive Executive Presentations, Action-Oriented Front-Line Leader Presentations, Organizational Group Results, Individual Leader Reports Action Planning: Executive Coaching, Individual Leader Coaching, Online Action Planning, Focus Group Facilitation, Skill Building, Goal Setting TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 4

5 Do: Understand Your Resources A common question around survey implementation is whether to use an external partner or complete the undertaking internally. A witty response from the world of survey providers is, Having the tools doesn t guarantee the desired result, take TV commercials for example, you have a video camera, so why don t you just make a commercial? In truth, there are a lot of moving parts when implementing a survey initiative that can be difficult for someone to manage if that is not his/her full-time job. Yet, with all of the options available for online survey administration, it can be enticing to go it alone. There is no doubt that one can implement an effective survey without the help of an external partner, but confirming internal resources is a must. Some things to consider when lining up resources are the development of survey items, selecting the survey takers, administering the survey itself, analyzing the data, presenting the results and action planning. (Phew!) Let s not forget implementing this paper s dos while avoiding the don ts. Further, do keep confidentiality in mind when making the internal versus external partner decision as confidentiality is a key benefit to utilizing an external partner. First, internally administered anonymous surveys pose a problem for tracking participation. An external partner is able to track participation without breaking confidentiality. External survey providers are also able to tie an individual s survey results to their operational performance metrics and then report these relationships, through the use of group reports. This maintains the confidentiality of the individual s responses but still leverages the ability to see survey results for certain groups of respondents such as high performers. Internally administered surveys cannot provide this vital information without violating confidentiality. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 5

6 Do: Determine the Purpose of the Survey There are two common don ts made at the onset of survey development: failing to clarify purpose prior to survey design and trying to create a single survey that addresses all purposes at once but does not adequately address any in depth. (Wiley, 2012, p. 18) It is tempting to eagerly jump into a survey initiative before determining the purpose of the survey, but don t do it! Understanding the type of survey that the organization should implement sets the foundation for the entire process. There is a spectrum for survey type, spanning from defensive to offensive. The defensive category includes warning indicator and program evaluation surveys, while the offensive spectrum includes employer of choice and drive high performance surveys. (Wiley, 2012, p ) Strategic Survey Model Model taken from: Wiley, J.W. (2012). Six things you need to know about strategic employee surveys. People & Strategy The Professional Journal of HRPS, 35 (1), Make sure to understand the goals of the organization and what types of questions the survey results should answer: Are there safety concerns? (Warning Indicators) Is a certain job group at risk for leaving? (Employer of Choice) By working backward from what successful survey deliverables look like, the purpose of the survey and the most appropriate survey type will be discovered. It is important to keep in mind that each survey type requires different action steps and followup, which must be factored into the decision of which survey type to choose. For example, the drive high performance survey type is most successful when correlations of survey results to performance metrics are analyzed. These statistical analyses will help to determine the survey items that most strongly correlate with performance, and in turn, should help increase financial worth and customer satisfaction when improved upon. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 6

7 The second don t when determining your survey type is selecting a type and not sticking to it. To be successful in business, one must be an effective multi-tasker; to be successful in surveys, one must show restraint with a singular focus. It is an attractive proposition to try to get all of your questions answered from one survey administration. Unfortunately, what seems attractive at the start often leaves an end result of unclear action steps and no true answers on any one subject. The jack of all trades survey is a recipe for disaster. Don t: Believe Surveys are One Size Fits All After determining the purpose of your survey, content is the next major obstacle on your path to survey implementation. There are all kinds of considerations: How long? Should items be indexed? If so, what indices? It can be overwhelming, especially when a successful survey for one organization may not be as effective for another. The length of traditional surveys varies greatly across the industry. It is important to strike a fine balance of getting the information you need without creating a burdensome experience for the survey taker. When developing the content do include topics deemed effective by research and add custom items that are geared to the workings of the particular organization. Don t: Ignore Research Findings when Determining Content Many research studies have shown that certain items tend to bubble to the top for producing effective survey outcomes. Sometimes a common theme emerges from a group of survey items. Responses to these items can be grouped into an index. The benefit of combining similar items into an index is that it can be used as a key metric. TalentKeepers TalentWatch Survey includes four key indices to drive employee engagement and better understand why employees choose to join, stay with, and leave an organization. The four indices are: Leadership Engagement Index (LEI), Co-Worker Engagement Index (CEI), Organization Engagement Index (OEI), and Job/Career Engagement Index (JEI). One of the main reasons employees stay with organizations is the people that they work with. It is all too common to hear employees say I would leave if it weren t for so and so. The two indices that address people issues are the LEI and CEI. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 7

8 Leadership Engagement Index (LEI) First, the LEI is composed of leaderspecific items that are asked of team members about their leader. Leadership items within the LEI include communication, trust, coaching and recognition. The LEI provides leaders with direct feedback about the behaviors that are, and are not, working for their particular team. The greatest benefit of a leader-based key metric is the ability of the leader to instantly improve upon behaviors that greatly affect the performance of a team. The LEI index does not include items that a leader does not directly influence. Therefore, when acted upon a leader has the opportunity to immediately impact employee engagement by enhancing leader-toemployee experiences and interactions. Co-Worker Engagement Index (CEI) The second index within TalentWatch which deals with people is the CEI. Supportive co-workers play a vital role in enhancing workplace experiences through work relationships and interactions. The CEI measures these elements by how the leader and/or organization support a positive co-worker environment. The last thing an organization wants is an employee who loves their job, but cannot stand their co-workers. People relationships are hard to replace while jobs for top performers are readily replaceable. Organization Engagement Index (OEI) It is also important to understand how employees perceive the organization, as well as, their current and future opportunities. The OEI is composed of survey items that address how employees perceive their tangible rewards and the fairness of processes and outcomes. Perceive is a key word when discussing items around being a high performing organization since many organizational issues are not easily changed. However, organizations must address these tough topics, such as compensation, in order to educate employees on the organization s position on the issue instead of keeping them guessing and perhaps perceiving the topic as unfair. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 8

9 Job/Career Engagement Index (JEI) The JEI measures facets of job and career satisfaction. Items included in this index are clarity of job roles, job responsibilities, accountability for goals, opportunities to utilize skills and career growth. It is important for organizations and employees to understand their current place within the organization and the possibilities of where they can go. Employees who understand their options for development and growth are more likely to be engaged and stay longer. Asking the right questions and forming appropriate indices greatly affects the ability of survey results to help the organization improve performance. When survey results are effectively acted upon, TalentKeepers and numerous other researchers have documented increases in various organizational performance metrics, such as sales, service, productivity, and earnings per share. Demonstrating the link between survey metrics and performance metrics is vital to getting senior staff and employees on-board and truly committed to acting on survey results. Do: Use Items that are Organization Specific The second key do when determining survey content is the addition of items that are organization specific. Custom survey items allow organizations to gauge what employees are thinking about organizational objectives and hot topics. Custom items also work for companywide initiatives and can measure unique elements within different job groups. One example of customized survey items are on the topic of safety. To remain in business and avoid major financial repercussions, organizations must know if precautions and proper processes are being utilized, especially in labor intensive industries. Further, employees need the opportunity to express if they do not feel safe in their work environment. Do: Determine Survey Takers and Communicate to Them The most effective survey initiatives include participation from every aspect of an organization. Therefore, cross functional inclusion, where all departments are included is a definite do. One exception to including all employees is those who have only been with the organization for 90 days or less. New employees need the opportunity to understand their role and the organization before providing input in an all employee survey. Implementing regular communications about the purpose of the survey, how to take the survey and reminders to complete the survey are vital to gaining a high participation rate If including the entire organization is not an option the best practice is to select a representative sample from each department and attribute group (i.e. tenure, generation, performance). A well selected cross section will provide a snapshot to the overall picture of the organization. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 9

10 When implementing a survey initiative, a communication plan is vital to success. Employees need to understand the process, who is involved, and the purpose. Even more important is demonstrating the support of senior leadership for the survey so that participation is seen as important. A communication plan is a major do when only a representative sample of employees can be surveyed. A clear communication as to why some employees were and were not selected must be given to avoid employees feeling devalued. Further, all employees must be involved in the results and action planning process. Don t: Be a One and Done Surveyor How often do managers and senior staff members look at their organization s performance metrics? The most common answer is at least once a week. How often do those same groups look at engagement and retention statistics? Long pause. Don t make a common mistake of doing one survey and then stopping. Building momentum is a key do for survey initiatives to create sustained positive change. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 10

11 According to the TalentKeepers 2015 Workplace America research survey only 5% of organizations currently implement surveys more than once per year while 13% of Best in Class do. Yet, conducting surveys every six months for all employees improves the odds of getting it right due to: Receiving Honest Feedback: Respondents need to be comfortable with being honest on the survey. When employees see that their responses are used for a positive, organizational change they become more and more willing to voice their true opinions each administration. Collecting Performance Metrics: The first administration establishes a baseline for the organization. Subsequent administrations allow senior staff, leaders, and employees to measure changes in the survey metrics. Often times a large focus is placed on benchmarking against other organizations. After the initial administration the most valuable benchmark is against one s own organization. Increasing Accountability: Two administrations per year holds the organization accountable for making steps toward change quickly. A one and done mentality only fosters an environment where employees use their voices, but do not feel heard. It is risky business to ask and not act! TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 11

12 Don t: Let the Results be Senior Staff s Little Secret Results need to be socialized to everyone in the organization. It is common, especially when results are unfavorable, that senior leaders shield the data from lower levels. This is similar to taking a test in school, but never receiving your grade frustrating! When employees have taken the time to give their feedback, organizations must give the same respect in return. The most valuable outcome of survey results is the opportunity to learn something new. Don t provide leaders with their individual results prior to providing guidance around the report itself and next steps. For example, TalentKeepers advocates asking leaders to look for gifts, affirmations and surprises in their data. Gifts are results that are better than expected and should be leveraged by leaders to engage and retain employees. Affirmations are results that are right about what the leader expected, while surprises are results that are worse than the expected. The most valuable of these results are often the surprises because, without the surprising survey data, leaders would not spend any time working to improve in an area in which they think they are already strong. It is important that leaders avoid guessing on how to change their surprise results, especially since it is hard for them to see what may not be working when they believe it is an area of strength. Encourage leaders to ASK their team members for feedback through a powerful start, stop, and continue technique. This allows their team to explain behaviors that the leader should start, stop, or continue doing in order to be more effective. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 12

13 Do: Hold Leaders Accountable for Communicating and Acting on Results One of the greatest measures of how well the organization and its leaders communicated and acted on survey results is the participation rate of the subsequent survey. If employees never hear the results or see action taken, they are much less likely to spend their time on another survey. Yet, when leaders and organizations are accountable for results, discuss the results, and take action on the results, a culture of engagement is created where employees are excited to voice their opinions. The first step to accountability is communicating both the results of the survey and the action plan for change. Many organizations and leaders think it is enough to explain the results and stop; employees need to understand the plan for action. Next, employees must actually see those plans implemented. One key way to measure this process is the addition of a custom item to a second administration. Ask survey takers whether they feel their leader and the organization acted on previous survey results. No leader wants to explain why they did not follow through on their survey results and action plan. Do: Integrate Survey Metrics into Standard Performance Reporting After reviewing and socializing key engagement and retention metrics from the survey, the organization must integrate the metrics into their standard performance management metrics. Once employees are held accountable for these metrics their focus on improvement will grow. Key methods for integration are adding the new metrics to regular reporting, as well as, making them a consistent talking point during meetings. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 13

14 Don t: Think Anonymous Surveys Reign Supreme When discussing employee surveys it is true that anonymity is crucial to a successful implementation if the survey is asking employees to evaluate people, policies and procedures. Remaining anonymous allows employees to feel comfortable providing honest feedback, especially if they are rating things negatively. Yet, there is a world of surveys out there that are more effective because we know who is responding. Determining whether to use a non-anonymous or anonymous survey is based on the audience and the result the organization is trying to achieve. The table below provides a summary of the features provided by both anonymous and nonanonymous surveys. Popular Survey Features Provided by Anonymous and Non-anonymous Surveys Survey Feature Anonymous Survey Non-Anonymous Survey Ask sensitive questions Yes No Track participation Rarely Yes Tie results to performance Rarely Yes Tie results to department, tenure, gender, age Yes Yes Allow leaders to see individual team member s responses and ask follow-up questions No Yes Evaluate leader performance Yes No Results can feel threatening to leaders & team members Yes No Useful when on-boarding new employees No Yes To understand if a non-anonymous survey is the right fit, it is important to understand what benefits this type of survey brings to the table. First, knowing who is completing the survey allows for accurate tracking of participation. Next, leaders are able to see individual team member responses and ask specific followup questions. Finally, non-anonymous surveys give organizations the ability to tie results to performance metrics. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 14

15 One example of a non-anonymous survey and its use is TalentKeepers FirstFit Survey. This survey asks employees to rate and rank the leadership attributes they value most in any leader, share their engagement and recognition preferences, and the career drivers that are most important to them now. Since the survey is non-anonymous, it helps leaders learn and understand each team member s individual needs and preferences at work. A second example of using a non-anonymous survey is TalentKeepers Co-Worker Connection tool. This survey is taken by co-workers to measure their preferences on seven drivers of coworker engagement. Upon completion, their preferences are compared to the preferences of another co-worker within a report so that co-workers can have conversations about how to effectively work together. The purpose of the tool is to create support and mutual respect among co-workers, which is why non-anonymity is vital for success. Do: Go the Extra Mile with Hybrid Surveys Hybrid surveys allow the survey taker to specify his/her identity or remain anonymous. By giving the participant the option to identify, the full benefits of the survey being completely anonymous or non-anonymous are lost. Yet, in certain circumstances this tactic is the best option and provides information that helps organizations reach the extra mile on their road to improvement. One example of the appropriate use for a hybrid survey is an exit survey. TalentKeepers PartingWords exit survey uncovers the true reasons why team members leave an organization through four turnover categories: organization, job, co-worker and leader. There are two main reasons to use the hybrid approach with exit surveys. First, some employees do not feel as comfortable being honest when they are identified. The option to remain anonymous can get the most accurate feedback for the organization as to why the employee left. The second reason for a hybrid approach is for those who do identify themselves. If a top performer leaves for reasons that the organization is willing to change (based on the survey responses) then there is an instant ability to win him or her back. Don t: Be Afraid to Check the Pulse of your Organization If time is an issue for your organization a pulse survey is a viable option. While it does not offer the in-depth detail of a traditional survey, pulse surveys provide a quick check-in. Typically consisting of around 5 to 10 items, Pulse surveys often serve as indicators for areas an organization needs to take a deeper dive into understanding. Pulse surveys are also very effective to use between full survey administrations as a progress check. TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 15

16 Conclusion At the end of the day, engaged employees improve performance for organizations by keeping customers coming back for more. The only way to know how engaged employees are is to ask them. In the same breath, asking employees for their feedback is not a simple process. There are many hours and obstacles involved in the implementation of an effective survey initiative. Understanding the process of survey implementation is the first step of many. Equally as important is defining the survey purpose, type, and content so that the end result matches the beginning expectations. Viewing a survey as an initiative instead of a one-time administration will help create a culture for action. Bi-yearly administrations where all employees participate, receive results, and are held accountable for change is vital. One key element in establishing the value and importance of a survey is linking survey key metrics to operational performance outcomes such as sales or service. Once the survey metric to performance connection is established, it is important to drive performance improvements by holding stakeholders accountable for improving the survey metrics. Further, understanding that not all surveys fit into one mold is crucial. In certain instances knowing who said what is more powerful than remaining anonymous and is a key to delivering a survey that makes an impact. Overall, surveys are complicated. Yet, following the do s and don ts will put any organization on a fast track for getting it right by avoiding the risky business involved with survey pitfalls. References TalentKeepers. (2012). Talent engagement and retention trends 2012: Pushing employee engagement to the next level. Winter Park, FL. Wiley, J.W. (2012). Six things you need to know about strategic employee surveys. People & Strategy The Professional Journal of HRPS, 35 (1), TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 16

17 Talent Management Solutions TalentKeepers is celebrating 15 years of providing award-winning employee engagement and retention solutions to help companies around the globe increase their performance. We re a recognized leader in innovative onboarding tools, employee engagement surveys that drive growth and accountability, HRCI and SHRM certified training for HR professionals, unique elearning leadership programs, teambuilding tools and much more. Twice we have won HR Executive Magazine s Product of the Year award. Re-energize your efforts and expect more from your engagement and retention partner. Contact us today at solutions@talentkeepers.com. Leadership Training Programs All of TalentKeepers training and development programs are built around critical competencies and designed to give leaders the skills they need to be increasingly effective in their careers. Leaders learn talents including Trust Builder, Flexibility Expert, Talent Developer & Coach and High Performance Builder in a total, blended learning approach including e-learning modules, reinforcement workshops and off-line practice activities. Employee Engagement Solutions Retaining and actively engaging high-performing employees builds strength in an organization s culture and improves overall performance. TalentKeepers offers several tools proven to increase commitment and positively impact engagement and productivity. Surveys/Assessments TalentKeepers surveys and assessments can help you measure and report the impact of critical factors that contribute to engagement and the degree of influence those factors have on employees decisions to join, stay or leave your organization. For details on our Talent Management Solutions or to get more information on TalentKeepers full range of products and services: Call us! solutions@talentkeepers.com TalentKeepers All Rights Reserved. Page 17