Evolution of the Employee Survey

Transcription

1 Evolution of Employee Surveys Employee Engagement Survey Employee Survey Employee Engagem Evolution of the Employee Survey By Andrew Noel, CHRP Cofounder of EngageYourEmployees.com Date: March 31, 2009 The world of employee surveys can be confusing. Through this article I plan on clarifying the different types of employee surveys and how organizations can benefit from using the correct employee surveys. Employee surveys when used properly provide valuable information about the workforce. Organizations can leverage the information from employee surveys to improve many aspects of their business. One of the major costs in most businesses is the cost of their workforce and utilizing employee surveys can maximize the productivity of employees, allowing them to make the most of their people investment. One of the more confusing elements of employee surveys is the multitude of names for employee surveys. Examples of Employee Survey Names Employee Opinion Survey 1 / 9

2 Employee Satisfaction Survey Employee Commitment Survey Employee Engagement Survey Employee Opinion Questionnaire Employee Satisfaction Questionnaire Employee Commitment Questionnaire Employee Engagement Questionnaire Job Satisfaction Survey Job Satisfaction Questionnaire Employee Feedback Survey Employee Feedback Questionnaire Workplace Survey 2 / 9

3 Workplace Satisfaction Survey Workplace Engagement Survey Staff Satisfaction Survey Staff Engagement Survey Employer Engagement Survey Employer Satisfaction Survey As well as many company branded names such as the EYESurvey tm by EngageYourEmployees.com or the G12 by Gallop. What ever th e employee survey is called there is really only four types of employee surveys. The four types of surveys are employee opinion survey, employee satisfaction survey, employee commitment survey and the employee engagement survey. 3 / 9

4 Let s take a look at the four types of surveys. What is the origin of the employee survey? What is the employee survey used for? When should this type of employee survey be used? Employee Opinion Survey The employee opinion survey was the starting point of surveying employees. The thought was to understand how employees were feeling and look for opportunities to improve workplace practices. Th e e mployee opinion survey is really a perception gathering tool and is the predecessor to the more modern employee surveys being conducted today. Today this type of survey is used to gather perception on company programs such as benefit programs. Employee Satisfaction Survey Benjamin Schneider a professor of organizational psychology at the University of Maryland may be the father of the employee satisfaction survey and precursor of the employee commitment and employee engagement surveys. Schneider was able to prove a statistical link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction during his work in From this point other studies have been conducted including the highly respected The Service Profit Chain (1997)2 that linked satisfied employees with an increase in 4 / 9

5 customer satisfaction resulting in increased profits. You will start to see that there is an evolution of surveys. The Employee Opinion Survey led to research that linked Employee Satisfaction to increased customer satisfaction and increased profitability. And as more research was done the E mployee Satisfactio n Survey evolved into the Employee commitment survey. Currently the employee satisfaction survey is used by organizations that have not moved to the employee engagement survey. Employee Commitment Survey In 2003 the Institute for Employment Studies found that employee commitment had a higher correlation than employee satisfaction to customer satisfaction.3 With this and other research many organizations started to measure employee commitment rather than employee satisfaction. Again the employee commitment survey was a step in the evolution of the employee engagement survey. The more recent research has looked at employee engagement and how it impacts business outcomes. 5 / 9

6 Employee Engagement Survey The previous employee survey work has led us to the golden egg of employee surveys. Many studies have been done to link employee engagement to the following positive business outcomes; Increased customer satisfaction Increased employee retention Decreased employee absenteeism Increased employee well being (physical and mental) Increased gross margins Increased profits Increased shareholder value As well it has been linked to providing insight to the direction of shareholder value and future profitability, the business crystal ball. The employee engagement survey builds on the work done with employe e satisfaction and 6 / 9

7 employee commitment surveys. Both employee satisfaction and employee commitment are drivers of employee engagement. So what is employee engagement? Before we define what engagement is let s take a look at what an engaged employee looks like: belief in the mission of the organization desire to improve the work, products and/or services understanding of the big picture understanding how the business meets the customers needs team player that respects and helps colleagues 7 / 9

8 takes initiative and ownership keeps current with developments in business EngageYourEmployees.com defines employee engagement as: It is when employees use discretionary effort to impact the organization in positive ways, through their interaction with coworkers, leaders and customers. It is when employees have a passion for the work they do, driving as hard as the owner. It is when the employees have a positive attitude towards the organization and its values. It is when the employee understands the business and the customer value proposition taking initiative and ownership to deliver on it. Employee engagement research is making a big impact in the business world by driving positive business outcomes. By measuring, monitoring and improving employee engagement businesses are able to fuel their growth and success. 1 Robert M. Tobias, Survey Provides Map to Better Service, GovernmentExecutive.com (February 1, 2000). 2 James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser, JR. Leonard A. Schlesinger, The Service Profit Chain, Th e Free Press (1997) 3 D. Robinson, Defining and Creating Employee Commitment: a Review of Current Research 8 / 9

9 HR Network Paper MP21, Institute for Employment Studies; (April 2003) The author, Andrew Noel gained his Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation in He is cofounder of EngageYourEmployees.com a company that has a passion for helping organizations maximize the human potential through measurement and consulting. He has over fifteen years of progressive experience in employee engagement and the field of human resources having worked for organizations ranging from startups to fortune 500 companies in a number of industries. Joomla SEO by AceSEF 9 / 9