Five Recommendations for Employee Satisfaction Surveys

Recently, several of my clients have initiated employee satisfaction surveys. In one instance, the company employed a marketing firm to run focus groups. In the second, an online survey, developed by employees, was used. Both processes left a lot to be desired despite the fact that they also supplied some useful information.

I was struck, in both cases, by the poor methodology used. The methods make the results suspect, although in both cases, there were no surprises in the results. The employees pinpointed work processes the companies already know they need, and, in some cases are working on already. In both situations, employees complained about confusing, leading questions.

Part of my response is that the exercise was a waste of time, but even more strongly, legitimate results over time can only be gained from legitimate survey methods applied regularly and systematically in the workplace. As these clients grow and lose more direct contact with their individual employees, legitimate and valid survey methods become even more important. I'll write more about this in the future, but for those of you contemplating employee satisfaction surveys, these are my thoughts for now: Five Recommendations for Employee Satisfaction Surveys.

More Resources for Employee Satisfaction

• You Can Make Their Day: Ten Tips About Motivation.
• Top Ten Ideas About What Employees Want From Work.
• Play Well With Others: Develop Effective Work Relationships.

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