Use Employee Satisfaction Surveys to Your Career Advantage

Why Companies Use Employee Satisfaction Surveys

Have you ever wondered why some employers, your own or those of your friends or family members appear to be dedicated to employee satisfaction surveys? Typically, there are two common reasons (not corporate answers) that some companies seem fixated on surveys, employee and otherwise.

First, the organization is sincere about learning how their employees “feel” about their jobs and their employer. The company wants to know how their staff views their jobs and their employer.

Other companies are looking for a “magic bullet”. They seem to know that their employees may not be thrilled with the workplace and hope to learn why, so they can fix the problem. Of course, there is no silver bullet.

Creating a motivated, inspired, exciting workplace takes thought, time, and commitment. Yet, employers that utilize employee surveys are, at least, trying to improve workplace conditions.

Questions to Ask Your Employer About Satisfaction Surveys

Employee surveys can take a wide variety of form, content, and purpose. If possible, you should ask management some questions before, during, and/or after you receive employee surveys. Here are some suggestions to help you and your peers.

• What will the survey be used for? Management should tell you the specific purpose(s) of any employee survey. This information helps you better understand the corporate focus of your employer and clarify cloudy issues you may have concerning your career path.
• Are employees going to be asked to suggest topics and/or questions for the survey? For reasons that should be obvious, satisfaction surveys containing questions suggested by staff tend to be more valuable for measuring the “mood” of the employee group.
• Are all answers totally confidential? Confidentiality is critical to the validity of employee responses. If not assured, you might understandably modify your answers—and you might have to consider doing so for job your protection.
• Who will have control of the answers and data? Even if you receive assurance that answers are confidential, you should know who controls this information. If anyone, but senior management controls this data, you may need to temper your answers, once again for personal and professional career protection.
• What are management plans if results display low employee satisfaction? Depending on your relationship with and/or the respect level you feel with management, this may be an easy or challenging question. However, you should know how management plans to act after results are correlated. Are they committed to continuing those policies that generate high satisfaction? Are they planning to improve policies that are not working?
• Are employee focus groups going to be used to analyze, interpret, and recommend action, if appropriate, after survey results are tabulated? If no staff focus groups will discuss survey results, who will interpret this data? Should employee focus groups be used to analyze results, how will group members be selected? What is their authority to suggest changes?

Decide How You Feel About Some Important Features

The factors that are most important to employees often depend on individual preferences. However, there are some constant concerns that most employees have with all jobs and employers. You should think about these and others that are personally meaningful. Career choices typically involve the responses to these issues. To maximize your career progression and opportunities, you should consider these issues and decide how you truly feel about them. Put your responses (to yourself) in the context of you, the person, your career plans, and your present situation with your employer.

1. Job security. Since the late 20th century, even before the recent recession, job security has leaped to the forefront of employee concerns—with good reason. The plethora of mergers, consolidations, and downsizing makes this issue important.
2. Benefits. As costs for healthcare and matching retirement contributions become ever more expensive, the quality of an employer’s benefit package increases in importance.
3. Compensation. Are you being fairly paid for your skill, responsibility, and experience level in your company and industry?
4. Opportunities to both use and improve your skills. Does your employer encourage improving your education and ability? Is further education rewarded and recognized?
5. Comfort at the workplace. A clean, safe, positive workplace ranks highly with most employees, regardless of their position on the organization chart.

How you feel about these top issues will determine your current and future career choices. The questions you ask before, during, and after satisfaction surveys will deliver answers that provide critical information about your current employer. Compare your answers with the survey results and you’ll have a better idea of your future with your current employer. If the results are unsatisfactory, you might choose to explore new employment opportunities that better complement your career plans.