In Dialogue – The Employee Survey as a Compass for Orientation
In a two-week series of topics at the Agitano business forum, our board member Matthias Diete is launching the added value of employee dialogue through feedback processes and employee surveys. Part 1: “Employee surveys as a compass for orientation” describes, among other things, the differences in perception and weaknesses that can arise from a lack of dialogue.
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In Dialogue – Employee Surveys as a Compass for Orientation
Dialogue with employees reveals what reforms are needed within a company. Such surveys act as an early warning system that can be used to continuously and systematically increase a company’s competitiveness.
The fact that Pope Francis recently asked Catholics for their opinion on sexual morality is a clear indication of how popular these surveys are. The question was sexual morality. The result was disastrous for church leaders. The gap between church teachings and the actual lives of believers could hardly have been clearer.
It remains to be seen whether the survey results will lead to real reforms in the Catholic Church. One thing is already certain, however: every institution, be it church, state or company, would be well advised to adapt to current requirements and to incorporate the knowledge and experience of those involved.
Query Relevant Topics
Similar to the Catholic Church, companies that survey their employees sometimes reveal clear differences between the perceptions of bosses and those of their employees. Typical weak points are leadership (of some superiors), internal communication and poorly functioning processes.
As in the Catholic Church, companies should therefore also follow words with actions. Because nothing weakens the credibility of boards of directors and managing directors more than when the necessary change processes fail to materialize. However, those who are aware that clarity is better than ignorance can use the findings from employee surveys as a compass to guide them, for example, for personnel and organizational development measures.
Employee surveys: Addressing Controversial Topics
The prerequisite for this is that employee surveys, in addition to the classic research topics such as job satisfaction and motivation, also explicitly identify potential for improvement in areas such as leadership, communication, corporate culture, processes, projects, etc. For reasons of credibility alone, the questionnaire should not avoid topics that could be controversial.
As the Boston Consulting Group’s “Organization 2015: Designed to win” study shows, this effort pays off in several ways. According to the study, the companies that perform best are those that consistently focus on their soft core competencies: leadership, motivation, internal communication, and cross-company collaboration. Strategic employee surveys create the conditions for this and are therefore predestined to systematically challenge, evaluate, and promote these core competencies.
Don’t Break any Porcelain
But be careful: employee surveys can only have an impact if everyone – from the boss to the base – supports the survey and the associated follow-up processes. If, in the interests of a transparent, fair process, it is also ensured that not only managers but also employees can see the key results, employee surveys contain a special message to employees: that they are trusted as experts and that they can and should actively participate.