Never Lose Control of Your Data
While you don't want to know that Mary made that observation, you do want to know that three versus thirty employees made the observation. If you work with a consultant to administer an employee satisfaction survey or run employee focus groups, make sure you will have access to the data.
This access to the data and analysis will allow you to assess the degree to which various opinions permeate your workforce. The data will allow you to make your own assessment of employee satisfaction. Particularly correlation analysis and other data charts and graphs are important for you to access.
I was once asked to analyze the data from an employee diversity survey that superficially appeared to indicate that the Human Resources department surveyed had serious diversity appreciation issues. With statistical analysis not my specialty, I hired a statistician to professionally analyze the data for me and we found the opposite. No statistical proof of a lack of diversity appreciation existed upon data analysis. So, maintain access to the data and the analysis.
Never Allow Employees to Self-select for Participation in Surveys and Focus Groups
Employees should never self-select to participate in an employee focus group or survey. When you allow self-selection, you’ll generally find that less satisfied or very satisfied employees sign up for the group. Or, your more communicative employees are more comfortable expressing their opinions in a group. Your less communicative staff is guaranteed to be unrepresented.
In a recent debrief of a client’s employee focus group process, several of the more negative findings were stated in the exact words a disgruntled employee had used to express the exact sentiments to me the week before. How many employees actually feel that way? We'll never know for sure. Access to the resultant data and the selection process for participation in the focus groups was controlled by the external consultants.
For valid and reliable results, either every employee should be included in the survey process or a random selection method should be employed to decide who will be included. To ensure widespread participation, perhaps offer an incentive, either company-wide or for individuals.
Conclusions About Employee Satisfaction Surveys
You can use a simple paper and pencil instrument, an online survey, or a much more sophisticated process to assess your employees' satisfaction. I've used everything from a data analysis by the internal IT department of an online, internally produced survey to an outside survey consulting firm with tried and true questions.
Some fundamentals for successful, trustworthy employee satisfaction surveys and focus groups exist in each instance. I have reviewed five important factors here. Ignore them and you may obtain a false understanding of your employees' satisfaction.
Your results may skew positively or negatively based on the skills of your facilitators or survey producers and the employees who decided to participate. Worst, you may have sent the wrong message to your employees about the safety and worth of communication in your company. Do this at your peril.
