Today, more than half of all employees are actively looking for a new job according to Gallup - yikes. They’re disengaged, and IF they decide to leave, it costs companies 30% to 250% of their annual salary in lost time and costs. The time is NOW to engage your team!
One thing you can do is listen. It’s that simple! Listen to your employees. Give them a voice.
By asking for, and listening to, employees’ honest feedback, you can address any issues and find out what it will take to engage them. An employee survey will help you figure out what your employees value the most when it comes to their employment.
Whenever you want to measure employee engagement, you want to allow your employees to give you specifics. Yes or No questions won’t do. Or, if you are asking Yes or No questions, provide your employees with space to elaborate on their answers. You want to know the details! Consider including questions like, “What can we do to help increase your success?” or “What are the greatest strengths you see in our company?” When you ask these open-ended questions, your employees will have the opportunity to voice their opinion without restriction or influence.
Knowing their answers will be anonymous will allow your employees to be honest and open. With any employee survey, your goal is 100% participation. When the survey is completely anonymous, it’s easier to reach that goal. Plus, if you keep the surveys anonymous, you can tailor the content of your surveys to individual departments. This will allow your questions to be more specific and on point, giving you better results.
Oftentimes, companies execute these employee engagement surveys and then simply tally the results. They don’t look at the individual answers. Don’t make that mistake. Look at each survey, read the comments, and look for actionable insights. If you’ve tailored your surveys to individual departments it is essential not to lump the results together.
If you’re executing an employee engagement survey, make sure you have a strategy for the results. What do you plan to do with your employees’ feedback? The reason you’ve put out this survey is to discover areas where your company can improve employee engagement. If your employees are willing to provide feedback, you need to be willing to address any issues that come up.
Consider pushing out employee engagement surveys regularly. When you ask for regular feedback from your employees, you’ll have the opportunity to quickly address any problems in your company culture. This can help you recruit and hire the best people, help you retain the employees you have, and ensure your business’s long-term financial health.
Your employees' voices are the future of business!