Volume 1 Issue 1

Employee Surveys
Before diving into change consider...

A national employee survey reported in Maclean's suggested that we Canadians don't like to think of ourselves or wish to be treated as though we are cogs in an endless wheel of production. The article suggests this is a new idea when in fact the sense of being used and abused in the workplace is the perennial problem of any form of work.

One CEO said the increasing pace of change and competitiveness in the market place demands that organizations take better care of their employees. This means not just one go at dramatic change but rather a constant and vigilant care over procedures and processes with frequent evaluation of human resource issues.

An organization that remains committed to its employees and conscious of how satisfaction can affect the quality of work, will continually readjust itself. This can be done most effectively through surveys designed to find the birthplaces of fissures or where employee attitudes are shifting even in their most subtle forms. Too many organizations have first hand experience in discovering that not staying abreast of these changes can quickly lead to disaster.

Surveys are like road markers. Unlike any other research tool, surveys can open opportunities for employees to express their concerns within the broad categories of communication, productivity, values, supervision, ethics, culture, etc.

Surveys pinpoint problems often seen as mere whining by employees when expressed over lunch or to union stewards. Our experience has shown that organizations are frequently oblivious to the warning signals these complaints send, or discount their connection to real structural problems. When this happens, frustration levels rise to the extent that business itself is affected.

Can organizations properly survey themselves? Our adamant response is NO. In our wide experience, we have seen how organizations create biased and leading surveys meant to tout their own successes instead of being objective fact-finding ventures. Such surveys undermine the aims of the organization. The message once again confirms employees' suspicions that the organization simply doesn't care.

An outside resource with a specialty in survey research avoids these kinds of pitfalls. A professional in the design process will seek out a cross-section of individuals from throughout the company, and listen carefully to the language and content of their thoughts. The final design of the survey will be non-leading but specific enough to trace problem areas. Throughout the survey, the individual should be given free weight to express in words what she or he sees as the most pressing issues. And, in order for the integrity of the survey itself to be preserved, the interpretation of the data should be done by experts who hold no particular position within the organization that could lead to a misrepresentation of the data.

Organizations that recognize the principle of self-evaluation and the importance of change are ones that often have the most satisfied and motivated employees. What does this mean for the organization? Knowing it has the backing of a committed team, the organization may confidently expand, become more competitive, or explore new areas.

For more information about employee surveys, contact Dennis Eaton at the Tamarack Group, 390 Tamarack Drive, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 4G6 (519) 884-3421 or email d_eaton@sympatico.ca