As an HR leader, you know that low employee engagement is a chronic problem for any company. According to Gallup, 40% of employees are unengaged. Beyond being unengaged, some employees are actively disengaged with their positions or your company.
Conducting employee engagement surveys can help HR leaders accomplish several goals, including regaining the attention of unengaged employees. Simply sending a survey in the first place signals to employees that you care and are trying to improve.
Here are 3 of the ways employee engagement surveys empower HR leaders and collect valuable information that helps with achieving organizational goals.
-
Surveys help drive strategic priorities.
Most companies undergo regular strategic planning to set goals for the larger organization in terms of revenue or important metrics. Usually, people goals are part of this strategic plan. Rather than setting people-focused goals in a silo, HR leaders can include questions in their survey to gather information from employees about what would make an impact on their lives. Survey results give HR leaders specifics on how to prioritize and make progress toward the goals.
Further, engagement surveys can include questions not only about engagement tactics, but methods that would reach employees most effectively. Some like to see goals in print, some like a video, some like regular updates, and so on. Asking employees what they would prefer allows you to design your strategic plans and related communications for maximum effectiveness.
-
Data-driven decisions are better decisions.
Annual or quarterly surveys are a good way to collect data from your employees, such as demographic information, work preferences, and satisfaction with their work. Being able to quantify this data can help you, in turn, make better decisions about how to design your organization.
As an example, many companies today are taking a closer look at diversity and hiring individuals with broader perspectives. Having data from employee surveys on hand can make it easier to conduct future projects that require you to know where you stand, so you can move forward more informed.
Survey data can also be used to prevent unwanted employee attrition. One strategy is to compare engagement survey data to termination data or exit interviews to uncover areas of the employee experience that need improvement. Ultimately, you need to be able to identify at-risk employee groups and take action to retain your talent.
-
Surveys establish the benchmarks and KPIs you need.
You’ll gain a lot more insight into whether your employees are engaged after you send your first survey. As well, you will establish the benchmarks you need to be able to improve. How can you get better if you don’t know where you stand?
Do your engagement rates differ between locations, teams or genders? Is there a correlation between low engagement in certain departments and high turnover? How effective is your organization’s leadership?
HR leaders should work with the CEO, COO, and other company leadership to establish the key performance metrics that matter to the company, such as engagement, attendance, retention, turnover, and so on. Some of the metrics can be uncovered with engagement surveys, while others will require data analytics from across your organization.
Once you’ve completed your first survey, you not only have something to measure yourself against, but you can compare your results to any available industry benchmarks. From this, you’ll know whether any issues you’re experiencing are specific to you or affecting the entire industry or market.
Engage Your People in 2021
Especially after a tumultuous year, checking in with your employees is an action item you can’t afford to ignore. We can help you design and deploy a survey, or with other methods mentioned here, such as data analytics and organizational strategy.
Let us know how we can help you get started today.
