Employee Satisfaction Survey: How Do I Start and Report the Findings Effectively?

We intend to conduct an employee satisfaction survey in our establishment. I would need direction on how to go about the survey and how it should be reported.

With warm regards

I might be able to offer some advice, though my specialization is actually in retention rather than surveys. What are your precise aims? Why are you conducting the survey? Do you intend to take action to address issues arising from the survey?

Topics to Include in the Survey

The following topics are often included. Use a 1-7 score for each element and ask whether it is important (again 1-7 score), then look at the totals:

1. Resources to do the job
2. Career development
3. Relationship with manager
4. Meaningful work
5. Work-life balance
6. Learning new skills
7. Appreciation
8. Recognition
9. Relationship with colleagues
10. Company's values
11. Leadership
12. Salary
13. Benefits
14. Job security
15. Stress
16. Team working
17. Communication
18. Giving back to the community
19. Delegation
20. Everyday experience

Hi Col, Thanks for your reply. We have noted that our staff output and attitudes have slackened for the past 8 months and would like to find out what is really happening, if there are any hidden problems. We would use the outcome of the survey to address any identified problems. Thanks once again for responding to my query. Regards, Cast

Hi Cast,

The first point is that if you don't take any notice of what people say in the survey, their motivation levels will tend to fall. Do you have any idea of what the main issues might be? If not, it might be wise to conduct a focus group first so you know what sort of questions to ask in your wider survey. Focus groups are good for depth (the real problems are a, b, c) while surveys are better for quantity (so 50% of respondents thought x was a problem, etc.). One of the problems with surveys is they tend to get modest responses (60%, etc.) and you can't be sure what the 40% who didn't bother to complete it are thinking.

Anyway, back to the survey, what sort of questions do you want to ask?
- Yes/No
- Multiple choice
- Open answer
- Rate importance of factor

Col

Dear Colleagues,

It is always interesting when management or we, on our own, decide to carry out a survey, especially motivation-related. There is no crime in doing this, but the biggest injustice would be when such feedback is obtained—what do we do with it?

I would strongly advise that your survey should be carried out with all sincerity. Make your respondents feel at ease and comfortable. Additionally, try to conduct such surveys quarterly, ideally around your appraisal time.

Furthermore, emphasize the new school of thought, which is motivation tied to career anchor. This is crucial as individuals have different needs and appreciate things from diverse perspectives. What motivates A might not necessarily motivate B, even though they are twins!

I will conclude my message here for now.

Regards, Afolabi Ajayi

Hi! Employee Satisfaction Surveys are good intervention tools in organizations. Their implementation, however, does not mean a solution to perceived problems of an organization. Here are some points to remember:

1. HR professionals and practitioners know that this tool can be used by management "to delay" the implementation of long-awaited benefits that everybody in the organization already knows. The timeframe required to run the survey and process the results can take several months. Consequently, the blame for the non-implementation of urgent benefits can shift from management to HRD.

2. Employee Satisfaction Surveys can create expectations that are beyond the intent of top management and the organization as a whole.

Therefore, implementors must be very careful in the design of questions. If pre-testing is needed, then it must be done. Otherwise, your good intentions can create negative results that will invite criticism instead of the desired goodwill from the employees.

Just sharing.

Regards, Ed Llarena, Jr.
Managing Partner
Emilla Consulting