Over the past few months, and especially post the first COVID lockdown, we have been working with a lot of our clients doing engagement surveys for them. The information and data that we have got have been very insightful and useful to address some of the underlying issues around performance, productivity, leadership, benefits, and company culture. In my days in corporate HR engagement, surveys were always a big thing, and we would be highly anticipating the results.
I have found the same anticipation with the surveys we have been doing with our existing clients, mainly under 70 employees.
The exciting thing about doing these surveys is that it was never on our radar. Now that we have been doing them, it gives us so much insight into how people in these businesses feel about their company and allow them to voice the changes they would like to see.
Engagement surveys are filled with positives, but they also come with its challenges.
You can’t fix everything, so you have to prioritise the feedback and act on the quick wins. People will see how serious you are with listening to them and the issues they have raised.
I’ve always held the opinion that if you run a survey, you must do the following;
- Be clear on its intent and communicate why you want to run a survey
- What outcomes you want to achieve from the survey results
- How the results will be shared and used
- Be open to constructive feedback and assure people that it will be anonymous
- Act quickly on the feedback, even if you don’t have a solution straight away
- Have someone in your business or a working group own and manage all feedback and act on the pressing priorities. This why having a company like us manage this for you as it removes the emotion from the process.
When engagement surveys are done with the right intent, the data and the information you collect are valuable to help you make the right decisions.
They give you a sense of how your people are feeling and where their pain points are, and the improvements that can be made to your business.
As people, we don’t like feedback, especially when it is negative, but it’s an excellent opportunity to show true leadership and own the feedback and act on it.
People follow you because of why and what you are doing, not just what you do. We want strong leadership in times of adversity, and leaders need fair and honest information to make their organisations better so that their people can thrive.