Editor’s note: David Miller is an educational researcher and contributing author with ProProfs, New York.
The employment landscape is changing. Millennials are different from previous generations in many ways, including not only their digital skills but also the expectations they have for their workplace. Also, employees’ needs are changing, especially as mobile technologies blur the boundaries between work and real life. Finally, companies’ needs are evolving with many organizations focusing more on workplace culture and putting emphasis on soft skills than on hard ones. In today’s ever-shifting environment, how can you keep up?
One effective and affordable way to stay current is to use online surveys to assess the attitudes and behaviors of these various groups. Creating surveys is easy with online survey software, which can not only deliver your surveys but also track the results. Here are a few ways you can use surveys to help you attract and retain top talent in your organization.
Recruiting better candidates
If you want to recruit better candidates, you need to know what your ideal employees want from their work experience. For example, according to SuccessFactors Recruiting’s 2012 HR Beat: A Survey on the Pulse of Today’s Global Workforce report, more than 40 percent of Millennials want mentors. If your organization doesn’t have a mentoring program, you may be missing out on the opportunity to attract a large portion of that generation. What else might you be missing out on? Create survey questions to assess the needs of your target employees – you might be surprised at what you learn. Recruitment surveys can also be used to measure employees’ goodness of fit with the organization and predict future performance.
Retaining great employees
More than two million Americans quit their jobs every month. There are many reasons people quit but the vast majority of them can be classified under the general category of low job satisfaction. Unless they are asked, many people do not voice their dissatisfaction – they just look for a new job. Conducting regular (e.g., monthly, quarterly or yearly) employee satisfaction surveys is an excellent way to assess how your employees feel about everything from their salaries and benefits to their manager’s leadership style, the organizational culture and the opportunities for training and development. Giving your employees the opportunity to express their opinions will in itself contribute to increased job satisfaction. To get the most accurate picture possible, create survey environments that allow employees to submit their answers anonymously.
Increasing productivity
The productivity numbers from Gallup’s 2013 State of the American Workplace Report are rather grim – only 30 percent of employees report being engaged and inspired at their jobs. The other 70 percent are either just putting in their time or are actively disengaged. Surveys can help you both measure productivity and identify potential obstacles to productivity. Create survey questions that assess management’s effectiveness, individual effectiveness and team dynamics. Ask employees when they are most productive individually and in a group and what factors contribute to or detract from their personal senses of productivity and engagement. The answers to these questions can help you advise managers on how to form more effective teams, use better leadership strategies and even schedule more productive meetings.
Learning why good employees leave
The exit interview is not generally considered a place for honesty and this perception deprives companies of the opportunity to learn anything when their good employees leave. Using an online survey, particularly if it is anonymous, is one way to elicit more candid responses, which can help your organization address problems and keep from losing more employees. Don’t miss out on this valuable information.
Surveys are powerful tools you can use to help your organization improve its recruitment, productivity and general employee relations. It is easy to develop, distribute and track the results of surveys using online survey software. Transform your HR practices by creating effective, informative and engaging surveys today.