Industry Research: Employee Satisfaction Is Out, Employee Engagement Is In

How HRs can be the true strategic partners to leaders

The employee survey landscape has changed dramatically in the last 30 years. My early days in surveys involved paper surveys, scannable response sheets, and many hours cleaning data, setting up files and running analysis after analysis with SAS and SPSS.

 

Those days are long gone. The topics have changed…employee satisfaction is out, employee engagement is in…and technology has revolutionized the way we collect, analyze and report data. Just about any type of survey is possible, at just about any time to any audience.
 
So in a world where technology makes just about anything possible, what’s the right thing to do? There is no end to the advice in the HR press and from HR gurus. Survey frequently! Ask just a handful of questions! Annual census surveys are dinosaurs! Everything you need to know is in the comments! How do you separate the noise from good practice?
 
In my experience, it’s always a mistake to choose a methodology before determining purpose. A short survey sounds great, but what if the company needs deeper insight? Frequent surveys may help follow trends, but frequent reporting may overwhelm the users of the data.
 
Therefore, here’s my advice: Start at the start. Talk to leaders to determine what they need to know about people. What data from employees will enable the successful implementation of the company’s strategy? Think about the users of all this data that we want to collect. How is the data collected intended to help them be successful? What capabilities do we need to develop to enable users to get the most out of the data we provide to them? The answers these questions will guide methodology design.  
 
Ignore the noise. Don’t simply follow the crowd. Take advantage of this opportunity to consult and advice. Create a survey strategy that addresses critical needs, supports business success, and makes you and the rest of the HR team true strategic partners to leaders.

Author Bio

Sarah Johnson, Ph.D., is the Vice President Enterprise Surveys and Analytics at Perceptyx, Inc. She has more than three decades of experience in her field. Sarah specializes in employee engagement, organizational development and effectiveness, and survey data analysis – advising senior leaders at Fortune 500 firms around the world. She has worked as both an internal consultant at Procter & Gamble, IBM, and Eastman Kodak, and as an external consultant with Genesee Survey Services and CEB, where she was Practice Leader for their global survey business. Connect Sarah Johnson Follow https://twitter.com/perceptyx