Don’t Forget Your Employee Engagement Survey Results:

There is no “right” time to conduct an employee engagement survey, though many organizations do in the second semester of the year. A great way to set the tone for the new year is to conduct a pulse survey. Collect real-time feedback to see how the action plans created based on the engagement survey results are going, then make necessary adjustments.

An effective survey process can only work when:

1. The survey is confidential.
2. The survey is comprehensive – measuring all pieces of employee engagement including work, team, management, and the organization.
3. The survey results are actionable, and leaders create action plans with their teams based on the results.
4. Action plans create a culture of accountability on all levels.
5. Communication before, during, and after the employee survey process is clear, consistent, and effective.

With the new year comes new energy for projects, plans, and possibility. It’s key not to forget the challenges of the past. This can lead to falling into those same ineffective work patterns and behaviors that discouraged your collaborators, causing disengagement, the previous year.

Revisit the engagement survey and action plans to give your organization the necessary change it needs to start the year on the right foot:

1. Values and behaviors should take a front-row seat. How do they relate to day-to-day work? Do collaborators, team leaders, and senior leaders understand this and live it. Define those values and describe the behaviors that show this value.
2. Accountability, or lack thereof, can make or break an organization culture. Taking responsibility for actions (good and bad) starts from the top. What actions are your organization and organization leaders taking to model accountability?
3. Invest in your team for continuous improvement –technical skills, soft skills, education possibilities and more.
4. Metrics matter. Again, so many organizations get derailed with “lofty goals.” Certainly, we all want to dream big, but without benchmarks and ways to measure and track progress, we can lose focus fast.
5. Change does not happen overnight. And it can be daunting to see a lot of effort go into change with few results. Don’t get discouraged. Cultural change, in particular, takes time. Make sure there are short, medium, and long-term goals so you can celebrate the small victories feeling like you’re still going to reach your end-goal.

For an employee engagement survey to have a real impact, meaningful actions and plans must be revisited, analyzed, and adjusted. Likewise, there needs to be continuous communication about what the organization is doing to improve. Remember, if you don’t communicate it, it didn’t happen.

Here’s to a year filled with prosperity.