The Employee Engagement Survey Is Over
You did it. As a leader who believes that employee engagement matters not just as a reflection of employee satisfaction but also for its impact on the bottom line, you conducted an employee engagement survey. The employee survey results are in. What now?
Here’s What NOT to Do with Employee Survey Results
We know from organizational culture assessment data that there is no better way to decrease employee engagement than to ignore the feedback from your employees. Employees may not have told leaders what they wanted to hear, but they often tell leaders what they really need to know about how their employees feel about their work and the organization.
For example, New York Jets chairman Woody Johnson, the only NFL owner to receive an F grade in the NFL Players Association annual team report card, called the survey “totally bogus.” Not surprisingly, the Jets have the fewest division titles among NFL teams in the post-merger era.
When leaders discount or ignore employee suggestions, employees can rightly feel that their opinions don’t count and that company leaders don’t value their contribution — the exact opposite of how you want employees to feel.
How do you find out? Ask teams what the word “resources” means to them and how additional resources would help them to succeed.
Sure, you probably need to create some boundaries about “what is” and “what is not” open for change, but you should explicitly empower employees to own the improvements that they seek within an agreed-upon framework.
Be honored that you received candid employee feedback. Negative feedback should lead you to areas that can not only increase engagement and performance but also decrease unwanted turnover. Suck it up and be grateful for the opportunity to make things better. Do not take it personally.
The Bottom Line
Employee engagement surveys are invaluable tools to take charge of how employees feel about their work and harness their help in improving their work environment. Handle the findings right and all will be winners.
To learn more about how to better engage and retain employees, download Top 10 Most Powerful Ways to Boost Employee Engagement
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