For some employers, annual engagement surveys exist as the company’s bread and butter, the key to determine how satisfied your employees are, what draws them in like a magnet, and what makes them feel like they want to fly the coop.
But is it really adequate to use an annual survey to monitor a continuous process?
Employees come into work day-in, day-out, with new issues to be addressed that could last for days. They may feel like this is the type of thing that needs addressing in the survey, but if they’ve got to wait a few months down the line before they can get a word in the question is will they wait around or will you find youself having to recruit over again?
It’s not so much the surveying of engagement that’s causing all these bumps in the road. It’s the annual part that’s holding people back.
Deloitte conducted a piece of research on how frequently employers send out engagement surveys. The survey showed:
That final statistic right there is the solution. The shining light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Rather than waiting for the annual list of issues that you have to wade through, real-time engagement will mean you can address any problems right off the bat so they don’t have to circulate, leaving you with a laundry list of woes at the end of the year. You’ll be able to understand the effectiveness of your initiations.
This more frequent method of feedback will also give you a better insight of your company culture, the trends of employees, the needs, the drives… and essentially, what makes them tick. You wouldn’t be able to get that level of detail if it was all squashed into an annual report, which could be read as simply "The Highlights. For their part, employees will benefit from having a more present voice in the company rather than the 15 Minutes of Fame allowed by the annual survey.
So how do you encourage regular feedback and ditch the annual survey?
One of the rapidly increasing methods of employee engagement come in the form of employee apps. Employers can upload surveys onto the app and circulate them to everyone in the company. Employees can then undertake daily polls giving you real time insights to improve employee experience. Time is no longer a factor as employees can fill out the forms whenever, wherever they are straight to their mobile device!
Real-Time Feedback is the right way forward to ensure you have a happy and productive workforce. You may find it opening up various avenues for your business. But like all grand foundations, it just needs the right tools....