Guest Blog: 5 reasons why organizations should conduct an employee survey

Having happier employees can be good for your business. A more satisfied workforce tends to be more loyal, and more willing to put their best efforts into their work. When employees are not satisfied with their job or their working environment, it can translate into lower productivity and more grumbling. One tool that can help you with this is an employee survey. Here are five reasons organizations should conduct an employee survey.

A better working environment

When you conduct an employee satisfaction survey, it can help build a more positive working environment. Employees have a chance to share their thoughts and issues, which make them, feel more valued by the company. If you can take action to address some of their issues, then not only does that problem go away, but it also shows them that management is listening to their concerns and respecting their ideas. Both of these lead to a more positive working environment.

A better work environment boosts productivity, and productivity helps companies gain a reputation. That's the ultimate goal; to achieve it; companies should focus more on their staff's needs through the use of employees surveys.

Higher employee satisfaction

The results of an employee survey can yield all sorts of insights. You may discover some useful information about what motivates them, along with whether they are unhappy about the photocopier or the coffee machine. The goal is to be able to identify problems, take action to make improvements, and use the insights gained to improve employee satisfaction. When you can achieve that, it is usually accompanied by a rise in productivity, since happier workers tend to be more committed to their jobs.

Better employee retention

Nobody wants to stay in a job they dislike, and that leads to high turnover. Turnover has significant costs for business, in recruiting, training, and lost productivity. When you can keep employees happy, they are more likely to stay in their jobs for an extended period of time. When they feel that the company is listening to their issues and is taking steps to make things better, employees are more loyal and willing to become 100% devoted to a company. That can mean keeping your best employees longer.

One of the simplest ways of retaining employees is to give them a reason to work for you. Organizations that are indifferent to the needs of their people will never achieve greatness. It's important to act like you care. Understand their problems, offer them small perks, and use employee surveys to find the weak link of your company. If something, somewhere doesn't work, it's up to you to find it and fix it.

Benchmarking

When you embark on an effort to improve employee satisfaction, how can you tell how well you are doing? Are your actions having the desired result? Using employee surveys will let you know. You can use these as a benchmark, or point of reference. Then when you conduct future surveys as you implement pieces of your employee satisfaction efforts, you can track the results and see what progress you are making. Surveys can also help you prioritize which areas to focus on next. If you can see that a particular area is not improving as you hoped, you know that you will need to try a different approach for that.

Better business results

Employee satisfaction surveys can lead to improvements in your bottom line. Happier employees are more loyal, and want to stay with the company, which reduces your turnover rate and associated costs. More satisfied employees tend to be more dedicated and willing to work hard and give their best, which improves productivity. Employee surveys can help you achieve better results for your business.

How far are you willing to go for your people? The HR department of an organization should be committed to creating a suitable employee survey. These questionnaires should be anonymous and they shouldn't have more than 20 questions. Focus your attention on actual company issues and steer clear of questions that won't bring benefits to your company's productivity. Your main focus should be company output, and not the personal feelings of employees about managers and CEOs. As long as you can make that happen, employee surveys will help HR find the problem, annihilate it, and increase efficiency.

Written by Davis Miller