In an organization’s effort to increase and promote employee engagement, company “pulse checks” are an important component in gaining a sense of employee needs, concerns, and the potential opportunities for change. Company-wide anonymous surveys not only give employees an opportunity to voice opinions, but leadership an opportunity to listen, analyze and make changes. In utilizing employee surveys, leadership can begin to engage employees by garnering honest feedback and honoring that feedback. In Rob Markey’s article, The Four Secrets to Employee Engagement, he states, “Short, frequent, and anonymous online surveys (as opposed to a long annual survey) give supervisors a better understanding of team dynamics and a sense of how the team believes customers’ experiences can be improved. What matters most, however, is not the metrics but the resulting dialogue.” The dialogue that follows will benefit employees, leadership, clients, and the company as a whole.

Below are a few tips for making the most our of employee surveys: — Keep it short and direct — Only ask questions that leadership wants honest answers to — Only ask questions that leadership can do something about — Know what type of information you want from employees (satisfaction, organizational, opinion) — Promote the survey from within (help employees to see the value of participating) — Make it easily accessible — Ask clear questions — Allow for additional comments — Have the questions reflect company core values — Know why this is important to the health of your business

Creating a culture in which open and honest dialogue is a priority helps develop consistent, dedicated, and engaged employee networks. Surveys are a small step in increasing a voice for each and every employee, and holding leadership accountable for what they choose to do with the results.

Source: Rob Markey; The Four Secrets to Employee Engagement http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/01/the-four-secrets-to-employee-engagement/

The Culture Counts blog is a discussion of law firm culture and legal innovation, including topics such as effective leadership, employee engagement, workplace culture, ideal work environment, company core values, and workplace productivity.  

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