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Implementing and Activating Employee Engagement Survey Results

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Published: Friday, 13 February 2015 17:41

Written by Scott

Introduction

The most important element of running an employee engagement study is to act on the results. Insights from the analysis must be embedded across the organisation to deliver real change. There are four key stages involved in the successful implementation and activation of employee engagement survey results:

#1 Communicating the results back to employees

• As well as producing an overall strategic report focus on bespoke reports for each department within the organisation
• We recommend reports are distributed to relevant departmental directors for their review and consideration
• Departmental directors should then communicate high level engagement themes to employees by email
• Following this communication it is recommended they hold face to face briefings with teams in their department
• These briefings will communicate the more detailed findings, highlighting high performing areas and opportunities for improvement
• They will also give employees the chance to provide further feedback, ideas and suggestions

#2 Getting to the heart of engagement

• Some groups of employees are consistently less engaged than others, i.e. certain departmental or demographic groups - we know which engagement attributes they scored less positively than other groups, but we do not always know why
• To ensure effective action targeted at the real issues we suggest focus groups are conducted with a sample of employees in the least engaged groups
• The feedback from these groups will reveal why they rated engagement items in the way they did, and what behaviours or actions would have the biggest positive impact in shifting this perception

#3 Pinpointing best practice

• There are also pockets of highly engaged employees in any organisation - this can be because of their innate positive personality or their surroundings (or both)
• These represent best practice which can be shared and migrated to other entities
• We recommend a brief study on what leaders/managers in these areas are doing that delivers superior engagement
• This will pinpoint specific and real examples of behaviour or action and can be achieved through interviews with managers and focus groups with employees
• These outputs will provide a guide that can be shared with other managers and can be communicated via manager briefings
• Depending on the nature of the practices identified, these can be built into:
  • Selection criteria for manager appointments and promotions
  • Management development programmes
  • 360 degree feedback and performance management processes

#4 Action planning

• We recommend that action planning involves both department leaders and managers
• Identify two strengths to be maintained and two weaknesses to improve
• Team discussion on the engagement questions pinpoints root causes to inform effective action planning
• Team-based action planning has a significant impact on engagement levels - team takes accountability for implementing actions
• Provide guides to help managers lead action planning with their teams
• Manager conducts Engagement Review with selected employees on a one-to-one basis
• Managers identify the different needs and engagers of different employees in the team and adapt their style to maximise individual engagement

Summary

To accurately track changes in employee engagement a survey should be run at least once a year. Pulse checks and climate surveys can also give more regular progress updates.

For more information on employee engagement surveys please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Maximise Insight From Your Market Research Surveys

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Published: Wednesday, 04 February 2015 15:40

Written by Scott

With the increase in online surveys many companies now choose to conduct their own survey research instead of commissioning a third party agency. Data collection tools like Survey Monkey and Ask Your Target Market make this a very cost effective activity by offering easy to use survey design options, help finding respondents and basic analysis of the results.

However, I find it is very difficult for these DIY survey companies to provide detailed analysis of the findings using an automated system. Once your survey is closed you can typically take a look at the high level results and download some very dubious looking charts. Although this may deliver a few top line stats it does not generate the insight required to make sense of the results and implement changes across the organisation.   

Here is my three step guide to help you maximise insight from your market research surveys. 

#1 Think about the analysis when designing your survey

I see lots of questionnaires designed which cover some really interesting topics – but the way the questions are asked often means there is little information to get out of it. Ask yourself ‘What is this going to tell me?’, ‘What decisions can we make off the back of this survey?’, ‘Will we be confident in the results?’.

Consider a range of questioning techniques, not just multiple choice answer options. Likert & rating scale questions work well for comparing survey attributes and drag & drop questions can help get a sense of importance. Open-ended questions can also add depth and meaning to quantitative results.

Also use a sample size calculators to work out the margin of error your results might have.

#2 Familiarise yourself with key market research analysis techniques

Tables and crosstabulations – these compare how different groups of respondents answered the same question. Make sure you include a handful of demographic questions to allow you to conduct this sub group analysis. Look out for significant differences in the results and make sure these are included in the final report.

Key driver analysis – allows you to identify the most important drivers of a particular attribute (i.e. customer satisfaction). Make sure you include a bank of likert scale statements to use as the independent variables. These are typically key touchpoints in the customer experience and covering areas to do with price, service and brand. Once you identify the 2 or 3 most important touchpoints in your business you can prioritise these for action.

Segmentation (cluster analysis) – identifies distinct groups of respondents based on their shared attitudes, behaviours and demographics. When it comes to marketing there is no one size fits all approach so this technique allows for a more targeted approach to engaging your customers.

Text analytics – traditionally open-text comments from survey questions have been coded manually. If your survey has more than 1,000 respondents I would recommend using automated text analytics. This allows comments to be classified into themes using word counts and word association.  It also calculates the sentiment associated with each comment – i.e. how positively or negatively each theme was talked about. The comments can be further analysed at a sub group level i.e. comparing the comments of males vs. females.

#3 Consult a survey analysis professional

Although it is possible to save money at the front end (survey design & distribution) I strongly recommend assigning some budget to commission a survey analysis professional to manage the insight-generation process. Based on the questions asked in the survey and the number of respondents they will be able to recommend the most appropriate analysis techniques to get the most out of your survey. This can typically cost as little as £500 so is a worthwhile investment.

Conclusion

The only reason to conduct a survey is to take action. The information alone is nice to have but the results need to be implemented to keep you ahead of the game.

Contact

For more information about survey analysis please contact:-

​

Scott Owens CMRS Dip (MRS) BA (Hons)

Owner/Managing Director

Robust Insight Limited

Regent's Court, Princess Street, Hull, HU2 8BA

Website: www.robust-insight.co.uk

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tel: 01469 640558

Mob: 07825 269235

Skype ID: scott1895

Why should find out what your employees think?

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Published: Wednesday, 04 February 2015 14:29

Written by Scott

Sometimes the most interesting thing about running a business is the way that your role changes. What typically begins with just one person, getting their hands dirty in the supply chain and testing the market quickly turns into the job of management. Hiring employees is about eliminating the weaknesses in your business. Bad at the bookkeeping? Simply hire an accountant. Client management taking up too much time? Hire, hire and hire again. It’s an inevitable part of the expansion of a business that certain roles will be offered to your employees, and with that comes a general acceptance that you are the leader of the company, responsible for all strategic decisions made therein.

The trouble with that mentality comes when an employer becomes deaf to the thoughts and suggestions of their employees. Research has indicated that the business leaders of the future (like the ones in your employ) fundamentally believe in less vertical power structure, wherein each and every employee can pitch in with ideas and criticisms of the company as is. This doesn’t negate the need for strong leadership, but it does mean that those employees who are most familiar with your business value the opportunity to point out inefficiencies and missed opportunities.

Your employees are often the membrane between the market and your business, and as such will have a finely tuned understanding of the waters that your business sails on. Getting to know your employees opinions can prove as effective as a customer satisfaction survey, revealing insights into your customers that no top down examination could.

It isn’t just your business which benefits from hearing the thoughts of your employees though. Employee engagement surveys indicate that employees who believe their opinions are heard and understood are less likely to leave their position, happier in their work and feel part of a greater whole within the business. This kind of feedback structure is in place at some of the most successful organisations in the world, and looks likely to continue expanding out into the wider world of business.

Your employees are a goldmine of information, so if you’re looking for a way to better understand the challenges of your business and illuminate the path forward, don’t underestimate the power of finding out what they think. 

Prioritising Your Actions: The Role of Key Drivers in Market Research

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Published: Tuesday, 03 June 2014 15:04

Written by Scott

Introduction

If you are currently thinking about surveying your customers or employees you are probably thinking about a range of questions to ask them about how they interact with your organisation. These questions are often best asked as statements where respondents can rate their satisfaction or agreement level (likert scale). In a typical customer survey these statements often cover areas to do with products, service and brand. We call these key touchpoints in the customer journey. An employee survey might include statements to do with management, leadership, rewards, training, career development etc.

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