Q: I am thinking of conducting a staff satisfaction survey to boost morale. How should I go about this and what are the advantages of conducting the survey?
A: Just the suggestion of introducing a staff satisfaction survey within your business can boost staff morale.
However, you will need to plan relevant questions that will allow you get a sense of how employees feel. Issue the survey at least annually, but what is most important is that you follow through on the answers your employees provide. The questions you ask should encourage workers to give fair and accurate responses and it would be advantageous to give them the option of remaining anonymous to encourage honest replies.
Determine why you wish to undertake a survey, what you will do with the answers and whether the opinions and views of your employees will make a difference. Ask open-ended questions rather than ones prompting a simple yes or no answer. Provide an option for further thoughts or comments on issues not covered in the questionnaire.
If people are unhappy at work, it can have an impact on their performance and morale. Employees should feel valued for the work they do, otherwise morale will be compromised. If you do not know why employees are unhappy, there is little you can do to resolve the issue.
Once surveys have been submitted, review the responses received and, when possible, action comments and suggestions. Provide feedback on the responses to managers so they can gauge the general opinion of their employees and implement relevant changes within their departments.
Distributing an employee survey on an annual basis will let you compare results and determine whether previous changes have made a difference to your workplace.
You should also communicate the findings from the survey to your employees and explain to them the changes that will be implemented. Employees will appreciate that you are taking their wellbeing seriously and that you are prepared to act on any concerns raised.
David Price is managing director of Health Assured
