5 Common Reasons to Conduct Employee Surveys

Yesterday we discussed the importance of surveying your employees. Conducting employee surveys allows you to obtain crucial feedback to the benefit of your company, working environment, employees and bottom line.

So you’ve decided to administer a questionnaire, but you are unsure as to what aspect of employee life you are looking to measure? This post outlines some common reasons to conduct employee surveys to help you determine which to implement in your organization.

1. Measure employee satisfaction:

   The most common reason to survey employees is to determine their satisfaction. Satisfaction surveys gather information on a variety of work-related issues, such as job satisfaction, compensation/benefits, company policies, retention, work hours, etc. These surveys benefit companies as they obtain specific employee perceptions and opinions, which can then be addressed by management for planning purposes.

2. Measure employee engagement:

   Businesses use this type of survey to assess how engaged and dedicated employees are to their job and the company as a whole. Engagement surveys are beneficial because once you uncover the engagement level you can take steps to increase it. These surveys focus on a variety of elements including role clarity, accountability, communication, recognition and working relationships. Engagement surveys allow a company to identify strengths and areas for improvement in regards to the job role, department or company.

3. Examine workplace climate:

   his type of questionnaire is used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a company from an organization-wide perspective. Climate surveys solicit employee feelings, opinions and perceptions regarding the organization’s climate or environment. Businesses that are facing restructuring or mergers often use climate surveys to gain insight on how employees are receiving the changes. Climate surveys are also useful as they can measure employee understanding and commitment to the company’s mission and vision.

4. Understand the reasons for an employee’s departure:

   A common type of employee questionnaire used by Human Resource Departments is an exit survey. Exit surveys are a useful way to understand why an employee has resigned and to gain insight into the working environment. The data gathered will allow you to identify ways to prevent turnover and make any necessary changes to policies and procedures. These surveys also give you insight into employee satisfaction and can reveal areas for training and development opportunities.

5. Holistic perspective of employees:

   Companies can use 360 surveys to gain feedback on an employee from a variety of sources including colleagues, supervisors, managers and subordinates. This provides a general yet comprehensive view and allows an employee to understand how he or she is perceived by others in the organization. 360 feedback surveys are vital for company growth as they can identify areas for improvement and development opportunities.