5 Key Tips to Leverage Employee Engagement Survey Results
Engagement surveys are a constructive way to gather information on your employees’ true attitudes towards their workplace environment. These surveys offer your employees the opportunity to be unfiltered, anonymous, and honest about how they feel at work. For an employer, understanding how you meet the expectations of your people and to snapshot the mood of the lunchroom is a unique opportunity.
However, as an employer how do we ensure we are getting the most out of our results? Read on to discover our 5 key tips for Employers when reviewing their Engagement Survey results:
Have faith in the process
I have worked with Managers who dread the results. They worry about how that one tough conversation they had three weeks ago will impact the results. Trust us – the process is far too robust to be affected by a single chip on a shoulder.
The questions in an engagement survey are specific and based on factors like one’s connectedness to the organization, how valued they feel, understanding of the vision and if they see themselves having a future in the business. Employee interviews confirm that employees are unlikely to be swayed from green to red in their engagement from one awkward encounter.
Go in with an open mind – and listen
You never know what you will find out from an Engagement Survey! Be open to being surprised. Often you come out pleasantly surprised. We recommend you demonstrate from the get-go a commitment to listening and taking on board the feedback. When you are reporting back to your employees on the feedback, as soon as the murmurs of justification begin, employees switch off.
Do not justify your results – understand them
It should not come as a surprise to anyone that a large group of employees that started in the past year may tell you that they do not feel connected with the wider team. After most of that period was in and out of lockdowns, working from home, and travel restrictions, it is to be expected.
The mistake here is to say “well COVID caused that, so let’s keep reading”. Although you are right to understand and acknowledge this key reality driving the response, it is not an excuse to do nothing about it. Instead, we suggest you recognize it and come up with a plan to turn the tide around to build connectedness, relationships, and networking within your team.
Do not assume you have the answer
The engagement survey tells you what you need to improve on. However, do not assume you have the answer! How frustrated would you be to have spent who knows how much per head on different employee benefits, to then find out that all your team wanted was the flexibility to do school drop off on the way to work? There is nothing wrong with asking your team, “you told me this was an issue, what would like us to do about it”.
Report back
Your employees have taken the time to respond to the survey and share their feedback. If you want them to go away feeling heard and to buy into the process in the future, it is so important to report back.
Engagement surveys are a prime opportunity to establish an open conversation as it gives your employees a voice during the development process. While it may not be appropriate to release verbatim comments, share with them key findings and trends. Actively involving your employees in in the planning process gives them a sense of value and shows that they hold a stake in the company.
James Wall-Manning
HR Business Partner
