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[ white paper ]
The Strategic Employee Survey
By Jack Wiley, Ph.D., Kenexa® Research Institute Excerpt taken from “The Human Resources Revolution: Why Putting People First Matters,” by Ronald Burke, Editor
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n employee survey can be one of the most powerful tools for management in assessing the effectiveness of its strategy and maximizing the potential in its human capital. Strategic employee surveys can be used in four key ways: 1) identifying “warning signs” of trouble within the business in areas such as safety and ethics; 2) evaluating the effectiveness of specific programs such as benefits or initiatives including diversity; 3) measuring the satisfaction and engagement of employees to support recruitment and retention; and 4) driving high performance by analyzing employee perceptions of an organization’s climate for service. When properly designed, implemented and analyzed, employee surveys help management take action to align operations with its strategy, values and goals. Employee surveys have been used in organizations for decades to help leaders understand how individual employees perceive their working conditions, job satisfaction, advancement opportunities and other qualitative aspects of the workplace. While employee surveys can be used for multiple purposes, leaders are increasingly using surveys as a strategic tool to maximize productivity and meet financial and other business objectives. The traditional employee survey measuring solely employee satisfaction or happiness is declining in popularity. A recent market research study by Gilliand (2002) finds that employee surveys are more commonly being used to ask employees to assess the work environment and the support provided to help achieve business goals. Businesses are progressively beginning to use the results from surveys of employee teams and business units as predictive tools for customer satisfaction and business
SEARCH IN RE
TE ITU ST
DI SC ER
E ET DOCE
RE
[ white paper ]
The Strategic Employee Survey
By Jack Wiley, Ph.D., Kenexa® Research Institute Excerpt taken from “The Human Resources Revolution: Why Putting People First Matters,” by Ronald Burke, Editor
A
n employee survey can be one of the most powerful tools for management in assessing the effectiveness of its strategy and maximizing the potential in its human capital. Strategic employee surveys can be used in four key ways: 1) identifying “warning signs” of trouble within the business in areas such as safety and ethics; 2) evaluating the effectiveness of specific programs such as benefits or initiatives including diversity; 3) measuring the satisfaction and engagement of employees to support recruitment and retention; and 4) driving high performance by analyzing employee perceptions of an organization’s climate for service. When properly designed, implemented and analyzed, employee surveys help management take action to align operations with its strategy, values and goals. Employee surveys have been used in organizations for decades to help leaders understand how individual employees perceive their working conditions, job satisfaction, advancement opportunities and other qualitative aspects of the workplace. While employee surveys can be used for multiple purposes, leaders are increasingly using surveys as a strategic tool to maximize productivity and meet financial and other business objectives. The traditional employee survey measuring solely employee satisfaction or happiness is declining in popularity. A recent market research study by Gilliand (2002) finds that employee surveys are more commonly being used to ask employees to assess the work environment and the support provided to help achieve business goals. Businesses are progressively beginning to use the results from surveys of employee teams and business units as predictive tools for customer satisfaction and business
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