The Various Types of Employee Satisfaction Surveys - Research Paper Example

? Employee Satisfaction Surveys Employee Satisfaction Surveys Organizations realize how important their employees are to the success of their business. As such, they want their employees to be happy and satisfied in the workplace. This is why employee satisfaction surveys play a significant role in the management of people. This paper will discuss the various types of employee satisfaction surveys that are conducted by organizations and will explore the various aspects of the survey. Their relevance to the organization will also be proffered. The first type of employee satisfaction survey is the employee engagement surveys. In an employee engagement survey, the passion and commitment of the employee with regards to their work, company and co-workers are analyzed (NBRI, 2012). This type of survey aims to determine whether the employees feel empowered and whether they have a good relationship with their supervisors and managers (Sheahan, n.d.). Through this survey, management will know what the employees think about the company’s goals and values and if they are willing to support them (NBRI, 2012). The second type of employee satisfaction survey is the employee attitude survey. This survey “assesses the feelings or emotions of employees within the workplace” (NBRI, 2012). This survey will give management an idea on how it can boost the morale of their employees by understanding their views and perceptions and identifying the root causes of their attitudes in the workplace (NBRI, 2012). The employee opinion survey is another type of employee satisfaction survey. This type of survey reveals the employees’ behaviors, beliefs, feelings, thoughts and conclusions on matters such as commitment, management style and productivity (NBRI, 2012). The data gathered from this survey entails a precise analysis. The factors that motivate and discourage employees will be exposed in this survey. The fourth type of employee satisfaction survey is the employee development survey. This survey will prevent high turnover rates within an organization because it will determine whether employees perceive the company as a place where they can develop professionally (Sheahan, n.d.). If employees believe that the company offers opportunities for growth, this survey will be able to show it. Another kind of survey is the straightforward satisfaction survey which goes directly to the point of questioning employees how happy they are with their jobs (Sheahan, n.d.). Sheahan goes on further to say that this type of survey usually has a scoring system which rates the satisfaction levels on a scale of 1 to 15 (n.d.). Moreover, the questions on the survey will give management an idea if there are any problems on morale and compensation. The sixth type of employee satisfaction survey is the improvement survey. This survey is conducted when an organization is contemplating on changing some policies or job conditions (Sheahan, n.d.). It will assist management in determining whether such changes will be acceptable to the employees. They will be able to gauge how the employees will react or feel if such changes were imposed. The 360 degree survey is another kind of employee satisfaction survey which is conducted by companies to evaluate the employees from the points of view of the supervisors, peers, subordinates, customers, vendors, and other external stakeholders (NBRI, 2012). One of the more important type of survey is the exit survey. This is administered to an employee who will leave the company. This survey is an excellent indication of employees’ attitudes and is known to elicit very honest responses (Ipathia, Inc., 2005). All the surveys mentioned above may either be conducted online or paper-based. A primary consideration though for online surveys is that not all the employees may have computer and internet access and there may be employees who lack computer skills to complete the survey (Lock Media Services, Inc., n.d.). An online survey however is less costly than a paper-based survey. Furthermore, it makes available real time response rates (Lock Media Services, Inc., n.d.). Employee satisfaction surveys should be conducted regularly. If the surveys are done regularly, the company can track down if they have achieved any improvement and it will make them aware of the areas which need their constant attention (Cargill, n.d.). It may be done on an annual, semi-annual or quarterly basis, depending on the needs of the corporation. Employee satisfaction surveys may either be conducted in-house or outsourced depending on the resources of the company, i.e., the financial and human resources available to conduct the survey. When choosing the type of employee satisfaction survey, it is necessary to choose the right methodology. The company has to decide whether all the employees will be surveyed, a census or only a subset of the employees, a sample (Lock Media Services, Inc., n.d.). The organization has a choice of administering a qualitative, quantitative or a combination of both methods. A qualitative research is most effective when only a small group is involved (Insightlink Communications, n.d.). Face-to-face individual interviews or focus groups may be employed. Interviews with both the subordinates and employees may be conducted. Quantitative research, on the other hand is appropriate when a large number of employees will participate. It is also suitable if the company intends to analyze further the results of the survey using advanced statistical methods (Insightlink Communications, n.d.). The USAID suggests ten steps to a successful employee satisfaction survey (United States Agency International Development, n.d.): 1. Set goals 2. Determine divisions or employees covered by the survey 3. Design the questionnaire 4. Determine data collection methods 5. Develop a time frame to conduct the survey 6. Prepare documents that will be attached to the questionnaire 7. Data collection 8. Data analysis 9. Disseminate results 10. Recommendation and corrective actions The main themes of employee satisfaction surveys include among others, work environment, administrative efficiency, productivity, nature of job, organizational culture, compensation, career development opportunities, incentive systems, training programs, channels of communication between different departments, job relations between subordinates, superiors and colleagues and employee commitment and morale. In designing a survey, it is important that the questions are clear, short and concise (USAID, n.d.). Moreover, it should be objective, without any leading or biased questions and should be logically arranged. The survey should not be too long so that the respondents will not lose interest in answering it, which might result in their non-completion of the whole survey. To ensure that the survey will be effective, it is essential that anonymity and confidentiality is assured so that the employees will give truthful and honest answers (Insightlink Communications, n.d.). This is the reason why organizations sometimes prefer to hire an outside research company to conduct the survey. After the actual data collection, an analysis of the survey results must be done. The data can be entered using a computerized system such as MINITAB, SPSS or EXCEL (USAID, n.d.). The data can be analyzed using simple statistical methods. The mean and standard deviation for each question and topic is calculated. The overall job satisfaction is also calculated by computing the mean and standard deviation for all the questions (USAID, n.d.). The company may choose to use more advanced statistical measures such as regression and correlation analysis (Insightlink Communications, n.d.). The dissemination of the results of the survey is the next step after the analysis. Sharing the results of the survey to the employees make them feel that management values their views about particular matters. The sharing of the results of the survey with the employees impacts on future surveys that will be administered. It tends to increase the response rates and openness of the employees in the future (Ipathia, Inc., 2005). The information to be disseminated need not be specific; it can just be a summary of the most relevant findings, especially those that will lead to some organizational changes (Ipathia, Inc., 2005). The most important part of the employee satisfaction survey is the recommendation and corrective actions. A survey is useless if it will simply ignore the results. It will be a total waste of money if the company will not use the valuable information from the survey. Although the company is not expected to correct immediately the concerns of the employees, they are suppose to make a plan of action to address the results, whether it be good or bad. Those who will be responsible for implementing the corrective and preventive action plan should be pinpointed (USAID, n.d.). The facilities and resources necessary to implement the action plan should also be identified. Since employees are the most important resource of an organization, employee satisfaction surveys are necessary tools to ensure that they are happy and satisfied with their jobs. Having satisfied and happy employee leads to a profitable and productive workplace. There may be many challenges and obstacles in conducting employee satisfaction surveys such as time constraints, costs, poor response rates and internal politics, but these should not stop the company from administering such surveys (Cargill, n.d.). Employee satisfaction surveys can pave the way to identification of the firm’s strengths and weaknesses; increase in satisfaction of employees; improved efficiency and productivity of employees; increased employee loyalty and commitment; and an increase in the satisfaction of the company’s customers. The company largely benefits from these surveys because it “determines whether the adopted management approach achieves employee satisfaction; it identifies why the organization has not achieved its goals and it determines the best methods that can be utilized to motivate staff and increase their efficiency” (USAID, n.d.). “An organization’s best source of competitive advantage is its people… Achieving a competitive advantage through people requires that organizations succeed in attracting and retaining talent. This means engaging the hearts and minds of employees at all levels” (NBRI, 2012). Whatever type of survey the company decides on, what is important is that it is well-designed, conducted regularly and acted upon promptly, in order to effectively look through the hearts and minds of the employees (Ipathia, Inc., 2005). References Cargill, L. (n.d.). TOP 10 – Tips for conducting employee satisfaction surveys. Retrieved August 17, 2012, from marketresearchexpert.co.uk: http://marketresearchexpert.co.uk/2011/03/30/top-10-tips-for-conducting-employee-satisfaction-surveys/ Insightlink Communications. (n.d.). An introduction to employee research techniques. Retrieved August 17, 2012, from insightlink.com: http://www.insightlink.com/Employee_survey_guide_4.html Ipathia, Inc. (2005, May 20). Employee surveys. Retrieved August 17, 2012, from knowledge-base.supersurvey.com: http://knowledge-base.supersurvey.com/employee-surveys.htm Lock Media Services, Inc. (n.d.). An introduction to employee satisfaction surveys. Retrieved August 17, 2012, from lockmedia.com: http://www.lockmedia.com/solutions/employee-satisfaction-surveys.asp NBRI. (2012). Employee surveys. Retrieved August 16, 2012, from nbrii.com: http://www.nbrii.com/products/employee-surveys/ Sheahan, K. (n.d.). Types of employee satisfaction surveys. Retrieved August 16, 2012, from ehow.com: http://www.ehow.com/list_7430394_types-employee-satisfaction-surveys.html United States Agency International Development. (n.d.). Employee satisfaction survey best practices. Retrieved August 17, 2012, from Fiscal reform II project web site: http://www.frp2.org/english/Portals/0/PDFs/ESS%20summary%20E%20,%20Oct%2030,%202011.pdf Read More