From the HR Practitioner’s perspective, it is very important to be able to assess and measure a range of employee activities. The most common method of employee related data collection is through an annual employee engagement survey.
Many of us spend a lot of time sending out the surveys; waiting for employee responses; sending out prompts to remind employees to respond; collecting the data; analyzing the data; writing reports about what we think the data means; and then, finally, coming up with recommendations that we hope will address the issues. The process and the methodology for all of this is usually electronic and should be efficient; however, the reality and timing is not always on the mark. When all of the data collection and report writing is complete, it is usually time for another annual survey and the process starts all over again.
Maybe it is time to pitch the long and drawn out annual employee engagement survey. If your organization is not doing annual employee surveys at all or if the annual surveys are stopped, how else can the HR practitioner assess and evaluate what employees are thinking about their workplace?
The Director of Customer Happiness at OfficeVibe was interviewed recently on the CBC radio network. He offers a short and sweet approach to employee engagement activities.
Click Here to Listen to the Interview.
It seems that sending out annual surveys could be a thing of the past if the future relies on constant and meaningful employee engagement strategies.
Discussion Questions:
- What are metrics?
- What are the specific metrics that provide good indicators for employee engagement?
- What are privacy concerns related to the collection of data from employees?
- Do you agree that a weekly ‘pulse’ survey would be an effective way to gauge employee engagement?
- Would you recommend a product like ‘OfficeVibe’ to your employer? Why or why not?
- What are some of the risks involved in employee engagement surveys?