6 Key Steps to Implement Employee Engagement Survey Results

Are You Confident In Your Ability to Implement Employee Engagement Survey Results?
Now that your employee engagement survey results are in, the real work begins. It is clear that there is room for improvement. Your goal is to identify the handful of key actions to implement employee engagement survey results to measurably increase your employees’:

• Advocacy for your company, its leaders, and your core offerings
• Daily discretionary effort
• Intent to stay for the long-term

An Employee Engagement Survey Is Only The First Step
An annual engagement survey is just the first step in understanding what matters most to your workforce and improving engagement levels. You’re on the right track.  You just need to keep going to reap the benefits.

Six Key Steps to Implement Employee Engagement Survey Results
Here are six research-backed steps to implement employee engagement survey results to reach the “finish” line and maximize the results of your employee engagement initiative.

1. Share Company-Wide Engagement Survey Results and Plans for Next Steps
   In order to best implement employee engagement survey results, your engagement communication plan should have three main phases.

   First, acknowledge and thank everyone for their participation.  Second, provide an executive summary of the overall response rates, key findings, and insights.  Third, communicate the detailed results and indicate detailed plans for next steps.

   Whatever communication mode you choose for each step, be sure to be honest, open, and objective.

   You will know you are headed in the right direction when leaders are aligned with next steps and employees feel appreciated for participating, understand the company-wide results, and are clear about what leadership plans for specific next steps.

2. Discuss Team-Level Engagement Results In Smaller Meetings
   Organizations with consistently high employee engagement scores expect and equip managers to work directly with their teams to meaningfully improve employee engagement.  After the company-wide engagement results and next steps have been communicated to the entire organization, it is time for your managers to gather their teams together for the purpose of talking openly about what the engagement results mean to them and their team.

   Make sure your managers have the skills and confidence to encourage tough questions, surface important issues, and involve all team members without worry of repercussion or censure.

   You will know that you are headed in the right directions when teams have held open and honest discussions about what the results truly  mean to them and their teams.

3. Have Teams Agree Upon and Identify 2-3 Key Action Areas
   After your teams have openly discussed the findings and what they mean for them, it is time for them to agree upon the 2-3 key engagement areas that deserve the most attention to best implement employee engagement survey results.

   The more actively involved the team is in identifying the areas that matter most to them, the more they will be committed to the changes required to improve employee engagement.

   You will know you are headed in the right direction when teams have identified the critical few 2-3 engagement areas to directly improve employee advocacy, discretionary effort, and retention in a way that aligns with the company’s strategy and culture.

4. Have Teams Define Success and Potential Solutions
   Once your team has identified the critical few high-level engagement areas they want to impact, it is time to select the specific survey items to improve and plan how to measure success.

   After you have selected the area and specific survey items that you want to improve, identify why your team’s performance isn’t where you’d like it to be, define how you will measure success, and why improvement in that area would be important.

   You will know you are headed in the right direction when you know what  improvement in an area means to you and your team, have identified potential barriers to success, can name your key stakeholders, and have agreed upon how will you monitor progress along the way.

5. Decide Upon and Implement Next Steps
   After you have agreed upon the engagement success metrics and potential solutions to improve, it is the time to prepare to take action. With your team, agree upon the specific steps needed for improvement and set up a reasonable process for implementation that is fully supported by company leadership.

   Share responsibility for the various tasks so all team members are aboard, have a stake in success, and are held accountable.  Most leading companies hold leaders and managers accountable to measuring and improving employee engagement scores as part of their performance dashboard.

   You will know you are headed in the right direction when teams have an agreed-upon action plan, have created clear roles and responsibilities, and are being held accountable for executing the plan.

6. Meet Regularly To Report On and Evaluate Progress
   You now have the plan. Make sure that it is being rolled out according to schedule and that it is working as hoped. If not, figure out what needs to be adjusted or changed.  Just keep at it and let people know where you stand.Most leading companies review progress monthly and share results quarterly.

The Bottom Line
Change, especially as it relates to employee engagement, is an iterative process. Cycle through steps 1 to 6 as each objective is met and then move on to the next improvement area. As the team functions more smoothly, team members will be more committed to working effectively together.

To learn about more actions to take, download The Top 10 Most Powerful Ways to Boost Employee Engagement