Why Conduct an Employee Engagement Survey?

Anybody who’s browsed CustomInsight's blog, or even has taken the time to search Employee Engagement in a web browser will find seemingly infinite articles about the importance of employee engagement. From a purely economic perspective, no one can argue about how employee engagement affects the bottom line of any organization.

But who has the time and money?

Getting organizations to invest in an employee engagement survey can be tricky. There seem to be so many more “urgent” things that need time and money. After almost 20 years of working with organizations of all sizes, CustomInsight has come to some conclusive reasons as to why an organization should conduct employee engagement surveys.

We wanted to dedicate this space this week as a quiet reminder as to why employee engagement surveys are worth the investment and how they can help your organization grow and succeed.

1. Your biggest asset is your workforce: People make organizations – not gadgets or inventions. People. Just as an organization dedicates resources to maintaining and upgrading equipment, so, too, should it get to the pulse of success – finding out first-hand what its employees are thinking, where they believe the company is going and what their part is in that growth. Measuring engagement gives employees a voice.
2. Growth and change is part of any successful business: That said, growth and change can be uncomfortable. Stretching limits and understanding the direction an organization is going is critical to success. By conducting an employee engagement survey, your company has a bird’s eye view of where it is today, which will help you map out where you want to be tomorrow.
3. No organization is an island: As much as we say, “Don’t compare,” when it comes to employee engagement, making comparisons with other organizations is important. A good employee engagement survey uses benchmarked data based on research and statistics. This data helps your organization understand where it stands in comparison to other companies.
4. It’s All About Tomorrow: A good employee engagement survey must focus on actionable results, meaning the survey measures whether employees are engaged or not as well as what the drivers of motivation are in the organization. Basically, once a survey is conducted and the results are in, these results should help management and employees create a strategy that will become the blueprint for a company’s success and future.
5. Accentuate the Positive … and Much-needed Training Programs: CustomInsight often sees flaws in management. Frontline managers are critical to organizational success, as they are the direct link between organizational strategy and communicating that strategy to employees … every day. Once surveys are in, an organization can identify which managers are struggling, enabling the organization implement programs, training and initiatives that give managers the tools they need to succeed.
6. It Goes Beyond Being the "In" Thing: Successful companies take the time to conduct employee engagement surveys. What are they doing right? strategic alignment is essential to organizational success. Once a strategy is implemented, after a survey, companies can measure the pulse and progress. Organizations are dynamic, and an engagement survey is the first step toward measuring the feel of an organization and helping it improve and succeed. So being more than a trend, employee engagement surveys are an incredible tool to gauge engagement in an organization and map out a road to success.

These six reasons are gentle reminders as to why organizations should invest in employee engagement surveys. The heart of any company is its people. Start there. And succeed.