Posts Tagged ‘personnel’
A Stitch In Time Really Does Save Nine
If a building’s broken window is not repaired promptly it doesn’t take long for many of the building’s other windows to be broken. Problems that are fixed when they are small will stop them from developing into larger problems.
The same is true when considering the level of employee satisfaction. Dissatisfaction can spread like wildfire and in the blink of an eye you can have the type of morale problems that are notoriously hard to resolve.
To ensure that your employees are happy you need to understand what their problems and concerns are and it is important to deal with them early on. Keeping the initiative is really important and the secret is that it is better to give a little and often.
This turns out be just a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. Taking the initiative without being prompted allows the manager team to operate from a position of strength, which most employees would also prefer. Staff like strong, confident management and this approach generates respect not least because someone has taken the time to understand some of the employees’ issues.
Compare that with managers who are out of touch. If they are late in addressing problems they are always on the defensive, having to concede to demands they run the risk of losing credibility which in turn can lead to having to agree to less reasonable demands. It is not big and it is not clever.
The question is how one goes about monitoring the morale of a company without throwing money at the problem and without the luxury of having spare time?
The most obvious solution is to conduct an online employee survey. They are quick, easy to use and a low cost solution. Instead of weeks and months surveys can now be designed and published in hours and minutes, by harnessing the power of the internet invitations can be sent out instantly and free of charge using email, links on websites and postings on social networks; the results are collated in real-time and can be automatically displayed as charts.
A corporate internet is the ideal delivery platform.
By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.
With the ability of an online survey to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged, concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.
By using the findings of a survey an organization can quickly identify problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific concerns. With good intelligence managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.
A major advantage of regular surveys is that they allow companies to address relatively small problems in a timely manner and avoid ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where what might be seen as a insignificant incident explodes into a torrent of pent up anger.
The majority of employees appreciate being consulted, asking their opinion is not a sign of weak management but an indicator of good decision making.
Once in a blue moon a manager’s problem can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank; that looks like a blue moon.
If the Windows Broken – Fix It
Left alone it doesn’t take long for a building with a single broken window to rapidly become a building with many broken windows. Fixing problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into larger problems.
When considering the level of employee satisfaction the same is true. Dissatisfaction spreads like wildfire and in a surprisingly short period of time you’ve got morale problems of the kind that are notoriously hard to fix.
To ensure that your employees are satisfied you need to appreciate any day to day problems that they may have and deal with them quickly. It is important to keep the initiative and a good tip is to give a little and often.
This turns out be a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. Employees prefer it if the management takes the initiative without being prompted and by taking the initiative the manager is acting in a position of strength. Employees like strong, confident management and the management will gain the respect of the workforce if they take time to understand the issues.
Compare that with managers who are out of touch. Arriving late to a problem they are on the defensive, their credibility at risk as they may have to concede to demands which can lead to further and less reasonable demands. It is neither big nor clever.
How then can an organisation monitor the morale of the employees without a big budget and an abundance of spare time?
Deploying online employee surveys would appear to tick all the right boxes. They represent a quick, easy and low cost solution. Surveys can be created in minutes and deployed in seconds, with the results compiled in real time; and by using email and websites they cost nothing to disseminate.
A corporate internet is the perfect delivery platform.
By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.
With the ability of an online survey to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged, concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.
Using the survey results companies can quickly identify problem areas and follow-up surveys can be used to target specific concerns. With good information managers are able to get to the root of specific problems and prepare a considered response.
Conducting regular surveys will allow organizations to address small problems in a timely manner and avoid ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where a relatively insignificant incident unleashes a torrent of pent up frustration.
And don’t forget that the majority of employees appreciate being consulted so asking their opinion is not a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.
Once in a blue moon a manager’s problem can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank; that looks like a blue moon.
Why Staff Satisfaction Surveys and Exit Surveys Make Good Sense
In a competitive world with the need for businesses to be more productive and streamlined an organization can often find itself with a workforce working under pressure suffering from low moral and experiencing a high staff turnover. The benefits of a company having a highly motivated workforce can be considerable and the two goals of having a workforce that is both motivated and productive should not be regarded as being mutually exclusive to one another.
Left unresolved employers run the risk of alienating their employees and events can then cause employee frustrations to explode resulting in employers finding themselves on the back foot, faced with problems that cannot be ignored.
In an ideal world employers would take time to understand the needs of their employees and learn from their experiences of working on the front line, but employers are often themselves tied up day to day fighting their own fires.
Online surveys provide employers with an effective and affordable method by automating the process of collating the information and storing it in a format that allows for real-time analysis supplying the management with the intelligence required to achieve staff satisfaction and high productivity.
Unproductive & dissatisfied
There are a plethora of reasons why employees may become dissatisfied with their job that can result in them channelling their frustrations into demands for higher salaries and reduced hours. Employers who tackle these issues head on, making it all about salary and hours, will often find themselves dealing with the symptoms and not the root cause.
Not just about the money
The following are the most common problems to achieving productivity, none of which are likely to be resolved by increasing salaries or reducing hours:-
- Insufficient training
- Out of touch management
- Dated working methods
- Lack of proper tools and equipment
Paying higher salaries is not always a solution to an employee’s problems nor as many studies have revealed is it the most important motivator for employees.
Take the case of a single mother who is juggling a full time job with the need to look after two children. Out of frustration she may demand more money so that she feels that she is able to cope where a better solution, for both her and the company, may be more flexible working hours.
Two way communication is what it is all about
It is in any organization’s interest to encourage communication. Without good communication between personnel and management, or where management wait until problems are raised, management may assume that they have a content workforce when in actual fact the opposite is true. It can take only one aggrieved employee with one small problem for an entire workforce to develop a destructive ‘them and us’ attitude.
Improving communication
It would be ideal if the employer could meet with each employee one on one but in practice this would only be viable for very small organizations.
Meetings between management and worker representatives are good in theory but can often spiral into becoming talking shops and losing their purpose as both sides become more familiar with one another and the meetings run the risk of being hijacked by the more extreme personalities.
Suggestion boxes are useful but can be viewed as token efforts by management as they wait for personnel to highlight a problem.
Newsletters can be a positive step, but their purpose is generally to inform and not discuss issues.
Keeping the initiative
Conducting employee satisfaction surveys on a regular basis can be used to ask each employee specific questions and demonstrates a pro-active management initiative where the whole workforce can be consulted on various issues. Surveys are able to provide a level playing field between the quieter and more vocal employees.
Consultation should not be seen as a sign of weakness, a confident manager will often take counsel from others before making a decision. By issuing a survey and keeping the initiative the employer is able to tackle problems from a position of strength as opposed to waiting for problems to fester and then develop out of proportion.
Small problems left unresolved can lead to a minor problem breaking the camel’s back and the workforce mood change from positive to negative over night.
It’s easy and quick
For the majority of organizations online surveys represent a proactive, effective and low cost solution. They are quick to design and for many companies, where the majority of personnel have desktop computers, they are quick to deploy direct to the individual.
In situations where individuals do not have personal access to a computer there are still many options available to implement the online survey solution such as giving access to a shared computer, operator input or, as a last resort, a hardcopy survey.
Job satisfaction
There are elements that together will help towards providing an employee with job satisfaction, including company ethics, working environment, methodology and ethos to having effective and decisive management. Job satisfaction brings benefits through improved motivation and productivity from a workforce that feels that they are treated as individuals and not a commodity item.
Inform and educate
An online survey can also be used to educate and pass on to the workforce important information, the ‘message’ is consistently delivered and does not suffer from the Chinese whisper phenomenon where a message can be distorted as it is handed down.
An online survey can explain to the employees a difficult situation and get valuable feedback as to the best solution. In this situation it is rare that the workforce would appear negative and more likely that they will feel informed and empowered that might in itself turn a potentially negative problem into a positive challenge that unites the workforce.
Exit surveys
Exit surveys are an excellent way of ensuring that when personnel leave an organisation they are leaving for the right reasons and not due to reasons that if appreciated earlier could have been addressed and resolved by management. Although identifying a problem may not prevent a person leaving it could solve an unappreciated issue that may, if left unchecked, result in other key personnel also leaving.
Analysing the results
Having consulted with the workforce using an online survey the results are available for instant analysis. Common and specific problems can be identified and the senior management informed who will then have the opportunity to address the issues that have been raised.
Summary
Used regularly online surveys represent a simple and productive method of taking the pulse of an organisation and an easy way to establish a two way communication channel between employer and employee with the results providing management with vital, accurate and significant information.
For a Sample Employee Satisfaction Survey:- Employee Satisfaction Survey Template
For a sample Employee Exit survey:- Employee Exit Survey Template
Employee Satisfaction and Exit Surveys Make Sense
It is not enough for a business to adopt new methods of working if the resulting changes cause the workforce to suffer from excessive pressure and low moral. The benefits of a company having a highly motivated workforce can be considerable and the two goals of having a workforce that is both motivated and productive should not be regarded as being mutually exclusive to one another.
Left unattended employers run the risk of alienating their employees, events can cause employee frustrations to boil over resulting in employers finding themselves on the back foot, faced with a problem that cannot be ignored.
In an ideal world employers would take time to understand the needs of their employees and learn from their experiences of working on the front line, but employers are often themselves tied up day to day fighting their own fires.
Online surveys provide employers with an effective and affordable method by automating the process of collating the information and storing it in a format that allows for real-time analysis supplying the management with the intelligence required to achieve staff satisfaction and high productivity.
Dissatisfied & unproductive
There are many reasons why employees may be dissatisfied with their job and more often than not staff frustration is channelled into a demand for higher salaries and less hours. Managers who tackle problems thinking it is all about salary and hours, will often find later that they have been dealing with the symptoms and not the root cause.
It’s not about money
The following are common barriers to achieving productivity, none of which are likely to be resolved by increasing salaries or reducing hours:-
- Inadequate training
- Out of touch management
- Working methods that are past their sell by date
- Lack of proper tools and equipment
The solution to an employee’s problems is not always through the awarding of higher salaries. There have been many studies made that have found that the level of financial reward is rarely the main motivator towards job satisfaction.
Take the case of a single mother who is juggling a full time job with the need to look after three children. Out of frustration she may demand more money so that she feels that she is able to cope where a better solution, for both her and the company, may be more flexible working hours.
Communication is what it is all about
It is in any company’s interest to establish good communications. A business that makes it difficult for personnel and management to communicate, or that takes the view that if individuals have a problem they will say so, can often delude themselves into thinking that their staff are content when they are not. It only takes one small problem and one disgruntled employee to feel aggrieved for an entire workforce to develop a destructive ‘them and us’ attitude.
Improving communication
It would be ideal if the employer and employee could meet one on one but in practice this is impractical for everyone except very small organizations.
Regular meetings between management and worker representatives are good in theory but they often become talking shops and can begin to lose their edge as the participants become familiar with one another and the forum runs the risk of being hijacked by the more extrovert personalities.
Suggestion boxes are useful but can be viewed as token efforts by management as they wait for personnel to highlight a problem.
Newsletters can be a positive step, but their primary function is to inform, not to discuss employee issues.
Keeping the initiative
Conducting employee satisfaction surveys on a regular basis you are able to ask each employee specific questions and present a pro-active management initiative where the whole workforce can be canvassed on various issues. Surveys are able to provide a level playing field between the quieter and more vocal employees.
Being prepared to consulate with employees should not be seen as a sign of weakness, a confident manager will take counsel from all quarters before making a decision. By issuing a survey and keeping the initiative the employer is able to tackle problems from a position of strength as opposed to waiting for problems to fester and then develop out of proportion.
If small problems are left unresolved the employees mood can change from positive to negative over night when a minor problem breaks the camel’s back.
Easy and quick
For most companies online surveys represent a proactive and low cost solution. They are quick to design and for the majority of companies, where most of the personnel have desktop computers, they can be deploy through email direct to the individual.
In situations where not all of the personal have access to a computer there are options available to implement the online survey solution such as providing a shared computer, have an operator input their responses or as a last resort, a hardcopy survey.
Job satisfaction
There are many elements that go towards providing an employee with job satisfaction, from the working environment, working methodology, working ethos, company ethics to having good and effective management. Job satisfaction brings benefits through improved productivity and motivation from a workforce that feels that they are treated as individuals and not a commodity item.
Educate and inform
A less appreciated benefit of online surveys is that they can be used effectively to educate and deliver important information to the workforce, ensuring that the ‘message’ is delivered consistently and does not become corrupted as it is passed down the line.
An online survey can explain to the employees a difficult situation and get valuable feedback as to the best solution. In this situation it is rare that the workforce would appear negative and more likely that they will feel informed and empowered that might in itself turn a potentially negative problem into a positive challenge that unites the workforce.
Exit surveys
Exit surveys are a good way for management to ensure that when people leave the organisation they are leaving for the right reasons and not due to reasons that if appreciated earlier could have been addressed and resolved. Identifying a problem may not be enough to prevent a person from leaving but it could lead to an unappreciated issue being resolved that may be all that is required to stop other key personnel from also deciding to leave.
Analysing the results
After having consulted with the workforce using an online survey the survey results are available for instant analysis. Common and specific problems can be easily identified and brought to the attention of senior management who will then have the opportunity to address the issues that have been raised.
Summary
Used regularly online surveys represent a simple and productive method of taking the pulse of an organisation and an easy way to establish a two way communication channel between employer and employee with the results providing management with vital, accurate and significant information.
For a Sample Employee Satisfaction Survey:- Employee Satisfaction Survey Template
For a sample Employee Exit survey:- Employee Exit Survey Template
Why Employee Satisfaction and Exit Surveys are Important
In a competitive world with the need for businesses to be more streamlined and productive a company can often find itself with a workforce working under pressure resulting in low moral and high staff turnover. Organizations that have a highly motivated workforce can benefit enormously and having a workforce that is both motivated and productive should not be regarded as being mutually exclusive to one another.
When problems are left unresolved then there is a risk of companies alienating their employees leading to employee frustrations growing to a point where managers find that they are on the back foot with problems that just cannot be ignored.
Ideally employers would take time to understand the needs of their employees and learn from their experiences of working on the front line, but employers are often themselves tied up day to day fighting their own fires.
Online surveys provide employers with an effective and affordable method by automating the process of collating the information and storing it in a format that allows for real-time analysis supplying the management with the intelligence required to achieve staff satisfaction and high productivity.
Unproductive & dissatisfied
There are a plethora of reasons why employees may become dissatisfied with their job that can result in them channelling their frustrations into demands for higher salaries and reduced hours. Employers who tackle these issues head on, making it all about salary and hours, will often find themselves dealing with the symptoms and not the root cause.
Not just about the money
The following are common barriers to achieving productivity, none of which are likely to be resolved by increasing salaries or reducing hours:-
- Inadequate training
- Out of touch management
- Dated working methods
- Lack of proper tools and equipment
The solution to an employee’s problems is not always through the awarding of higher salaries. There have been many studies made that have found that the level of financial reward is rarely the main motivator towards job satisfaction.
Take the case of a single mother who is juggling a full time job with the need to look after three children. Out of frustration she may demand more money so that she feels that she is able to cope where a better solution, for both her and the business, may be more flexible working hours.
It is all about communication
It is in the interests of all companies to encourage good communication. An organization that makes communication between management and personnel difficult, or that takes the view that it is the responsibility for personnel who have a problem to say something, can often deceive themselves into thinking their workforce is content when it is not. It can take only one small problem and one employee to feel aggrieved for an entire workforce to develop a destructive ‘them and us’ attitude.
Improving communication
For very small organizations it may be manageable to have regular meetings between the employer and individual employees but for larger companies this would probably prove impractical.
Meetings between management and worker representatives are good in theory but can often spiral into becoming talking shops and losing their purpose as both sides become more familiar with one another and the meetings run the risk of being hijacked by the more extreme personalities.
Having suggestion boxes are useful but can be viewed as token efforts by management as they wait for personnel to highlight a problem.
Newsletters represent a positive step but they only offer one way communication and their primary function is to inform and not discuss employee issues.
Keeping the initiative
Conducting employee satisfaction surveys on a regular basis you are able to ask each employee specific questions and present a pro-active management initiative where the whole workforce can be canvassed on various issues. Surveys are able to provide a level playing field between the quieter and more vocal employees.
Consultation should not be seen as a sign of weakness, a confident manager will take counsel from all quarters before making a decision. By retaining the initiative and conducting a survey the employer is able to tackle problems from a position of strength as opposed to waiting for problems to arise and develop out of proportion.
If small problems are left unresolved they can lead to a relatively minor problem breaking the camel’s back and management faced with a workforce whose mood has changed from positive to negative over night.
It is quick and easy
For the majority of organizations online surveys represent a proactive and low cost solution. They can be created very quickly and for the majority of organizations, where most of the personnel have desktop computers, they can be deployed directly to the individual.
In situations where individuals do not have personal access to a computer there are still many options available to implement the online survey solution such as giving access to a shared computer, operator input or, as a last resort, a hardcopy survey.
Job satisfaction
There are elements that together will help towards providing an employee with job satisfaction, including company ethics, working environment, methodology and ethos to having effective and decisive management. Job satisfaction brings benefits through improved motivation and productivity from a workforce that feels that they are treated as individuals and not a commodity item.
Educate and inform
A less appreciated benefit of online surveys is that they can be used effectively to educate and deliver important information to the workforce, ensuring that the ‘message’ is delivered consistently and does not become corrupted as it is passed down the line.
An online survey can explain a difficult situation and get valuable feedback from the employees as to the best solution. It is rare in this situation that the workforce would appear negative; it is more likely they will feel informed and empowered and that might be enough to unite the workforce and turn a negative problem into a positive challenge.
Exit surveys
Exit surveys are a method for management to confirm that when people leave the organisation they are leaving for valid reasons and not for reasons that if appreciated earlier could have been addressed and possibly resolved. Although identifying a problem may not prevent a person leaving, having identified a problem it can then be addressed and that may be enough to prevent other key personnel from leaving.
Analysing the results
After having consulted with the workforce using an online survey the survey results are available for instant analysis. Common and specific problems can be easily identified and brought to the attention of senior management who will then have the opportunity to address the issues that have been raised.
Summary
Used regularly online surveys represent a simple and productive method of taking the pulse of an organisation and an easy way to establish a two way communication channel between employer and employee with the results providing management with vital, accurate and significant information.
For a Sample Employee Satisfaction Survey:- Employee Satisfaction Survey Template
For a sample Employee Exit survey:- Employee Exit Survey Template
Why Staff Satisfaction and Exit Surveys Make Good Sense
In a competitive world with the need for businesses to be more streamlined and productive a company can often find itself with a workforce working under pressure resulting in low moral and high staff turnover. The benefits of an organization having a highly motivated workforce can be considerable and the two goals of having employees that are both motivated and productive should not be regarded as being mutually exclusive to one another.
Left unattended employers run the risk of alienating their employees, events can cause employee frustrations to boil over resulting in employers finding themselves on the back foot, faced with a problem that cannot be ignored.
Ideally employers would take time to understand the needs of their employees and learn from their experiences of working on the front line, but employers are often themselves tied up day to day fighting their own fires.
By automating much of the intelligence gathering process and providing the findings in a format that can be readily analysed online surveys provide employers with an efficient, effective and low cost method to help achieve a pleasant working environment, where staff satisfaction and productivity is high.
Dissatisfied & unproductive
There are many reasons why employees may be dissatisfied with their job and more often than not staff frustration is channelled into a demand for higher salaries and less hours. Employers who tackle these issues head on, making it all about salary and hours, will often find themselves dealing with the symptoms and not the root cause.
Not just about the money
The following are the most common problems to achieving productivity, none of which are likely to be resolved by increasing salaries or reducing hours:-
- Inadequate training
- Out of touch management
- Working methods that are past their sell by date
- Lack of proper tools and equipment
Many studies have shown that salaries are rarely the number one priority of employees and providing an employer is paying market rate they would be fundamentally wrong to think that paying higher salaries is the answer to all employee problems.
Take the case of a single mother who is juggling a full time job with the need to look after three children. Out of frustration she may demand more money so that she feels that she is able to cope where a better solution, for both her and the business, may be more flexible working hours.
Good communications is what it is about
It is in the interests of all organizations to establish good communications. A business that makes it difficult for personnel and management to communicate, or that takes the view that if individuals have a problem they will say so, can often delude themselves into thinking that their staff are content when they are not. It can very easily start with a small problem and one aggrieved employee for the problem to escalate to involve an entire workforce and generate a ‘them and us’ attitude.
Improving communication
Meeting one on one between the employer and employee would be ideal but really it is only a practical solution for smaller companies.
Regular meetings between management and worker representatives are good in theory but can degenerate into talking shops and slowly lose their purpose as the participants from both sides become familiar with one another and the meetings run the risk of being hijacked by the more extreme personalities.
Suggestion boxes can be useful but can be viewed as token efforts by management as they wait for personnel to highlight a problem.
Newsletters can be useful, but their main purpose is generally to inform and not discuss issues.
Maintaining the initiative
Conducting employee satisfaction surveys regularly you are able to ask each employee specific questions and presents a pro-active management initiative where the whole workforce can be consulted on various issues. Surveys are able to provide a level playing field between the quieter and more vocal employees.
Being prepared to consulate with employees should not be seen as a sign of weakness, a confident manager will take counsel from all quarters before making a decision. By retaining the initiative and conducting a survey the employer is able to tackle problems from a position of strength as opposed to waiting for problems to arise and develop out of proportion.
Leave a small problem unresolved and it can lead to a situation where a minor problem might just break the camel’s back and the mood of the employees change from positive to negative over night.
Quick and easy
For most companies online surveys represent a proactive and low cost solution. They are quick to design and for the majority of companies, where most of the personnel have desktop computers, they are also quick to deploy direct to the individual.
If there are situations where individuals do not have personal access to a computer there are still options available to using the online survey solution such as through the use of a shared computer, operator input or, as a last resort, a hardcopy survey.
Job satisfaction
There are a number of elements that combined will provide an employee with job satisfaction, from company ethics, working environment, methodology and ethos to having good and effective management. Job satisfaction brings benefits through improved productivity and motivation from a workforce that feels that they are treated as individuals and not a commodity item.
Educate and inform
A less appreciated benefit of online surveys is that they can be used effectively to educate and deliver important information to the workforce, ensuring that the ‘message’ is delivered consistently and does not become corrupted as it is passed down the line.
An online survey can explain to the employees a difficult situation and get useful feedback as to the best solution. It is rare in this situation that the workforce would appear negative; it is more likely they will feel informed and empowered and that might be enough to turn a potentially negative problem into a positive challenge that unites the workforce.
Exit surveys
Exit surveys are an ideal method for management to make sure that when people leave the organisation they are not leaving because of problems that could have been addressed and possibly resolved if they had been appreciated earlier. Identifying a problem may not be enough to prevent a person from leaving but it could lead to an unappreciated issue being resolved that may be all that is required to stop other key personnel from also deciding to leave.
Analysing the results
Having consulted with the workforce using an online survey the results are available for instant analysis. Common and specific problems can be easily identified and brought to the attention of senior management who will then have the opportunity to address the issues that have been raised.
Summary
Used regularly online surveys represent a simple and productive method of taking the pulse of an organisation and an easy way to establish a two way communication channel between employer and employee with the results providing management with vital, accurate and significant information.
For a Sample Employee Satisfaction Survey:- Employee Satisfaction Survey Template
For a sample Employee Exit survey:- Employee Exit Survey Template