Request a free consultation
See how easy, flexible and effective our solutions are.
what is Employee Satisfaction?
Employee satisfaction is how content employees are with their jobs.
How do you measure Employee Satisfaction?
Satisfaction is typically measured using an employee survey or questionnaire.
What are some good employee satisfaction survey questions?
Questions cover topics such as compensation, workload, attitudes about management and organization leadership, work-life balance, staff relationships, improving working environment, work climate, and company culture. These metrics influence and help measure employee satisfaction.
See examples of survey questions related to these topics.
What are the elements of employee satisfaction?
Employee surveys can assess aspects of satisfaction such as:
- Compensation
- Working environment
- Tools & Resources
- Workload
- Attitudes
- Work-life balance
- Staff relationships
- Company culture
These defining factors are important to companies who want to keep their employees happy and reduce turnover, but employee satisfaction is only a part of the overall solution.
Is employee satisfaction important?
Yes, employee satisfaction is important.
Satisfaction is a prerequisite for engagement. Employees whose basic needs are not being met can't be engaged employees until the fundamentals are addressed.
It is also important to understand that satisfaction doesn't mean high performance or engagement. In fact, if your low-performing employees are also satisfied employees, then "employee satisfaction" might not be helping your company.
Employee satisfaction and employee engagement are similar concepts on the surface, and many people use these terms interchangeably; however, they measure different outcomes. The importance of knowing the difference is critical for an organization to make strategic decisions to create and improve the culture of engagement. Employee satisfaction covers basic concerns and needs in the workplace. It is a good starting point, but it usually stops short of what really matters. Satisfied employees are content. Engaged employees show up every day to give their best to help their companies succeed.
Employee Satisfaction versus
Employee Engagement
What is meant by employee satisfaction?
Consider the following definition of employee satisfaction:
Employee Satisfaction Definition:
Employee satisfaction is the extent to which employees are happy or content with their jobs and work environment.
Compare that with this definition of employee engagement.
Employee Engagement Definition:
Employee engagement is the extent to which employees feel passionate about their jobs, are committed to the organization, and put discretionary effort into their work.
Engaged employees are the engine of a company,
and their performance is proof of this.
What are examples of employee engagement?
Engaged employees are motivated to do more than the bare minimum needed to keep their jobs. Examples of an engagement attitude include a strong sense of purpose and leadership, a desire to be challenged, and commitment to improve performance and workplace results.
Engaged employees are the engine of a company, and their performance is proof of this. The importance of engagement cannot be overstated. Satisfied employees are merely content with their jobs and the status quo. For some, this might involve doing as little work as possible. An employee satisfaction survey will not diagnose key factors that can help an organization improve engagement and performance.
Wondering how satisfied and engaged your employees are?
Turnover vs. Unwanted
Turnover
Some level of turnover is healthy for all companies. Employees who are not adding value or who are not a good fit for the company leave, making way for fresh new perspectives and new energy. We could call this healthy turnover. By contrast,unwanted turnover happens when a company loses talented employees that they want to keep.
Why is employee satisfaction a
potential problem?
Talented and motivated employees expect more from companies. For these employees, job satisfaction includes a different set of criteria.
They want to be engaged and empowered. They want to be challenged and pushed. They want their work to have meaning. They want a sense of purpose. A culture of continuous improvement and the importance of professional development opportunities for employees to grow and advance their careers, to better their performance, are key factors that contribute to the engagement of high performers.
How does engagement affect employee performance?
As opposed to satisfied employees, engaged employees add value by pushing limits, driving growth and innovation. Companies with an engagement strategy provide informal and formal learning experiences to create significant opportunities for employees. Engaged employees will often snatch up these opportunities, satisfied employees often will not. In a culture of engagement, employees feel valued and recognized for their work.
Employee satisfaction surveys are an important component of a broader engagement survey, but they are not a stand-alone solution. As a company, if you focus on increasing the wrong kind of employee satisfaction, you risk entrenching those employees who are adding the least value while driving your most talented employees out.
See also: What is employee engagement?
Popular employee engagement article
topics and resources
How It Works
1
Choose the Best Survey Solution for your Organization
Employee Engagement Survey, 360 Degree Feedback, DEI Survey, Pulse Survey, Team Assessment, or Custom Survey.
2
Conduct the Survey
Prepare your organization, communicate the reasons for conducting the survey, and share the results with your teams.
3
Engage & Develop Your Employees
Implement meaningful actions and policies based on survey results.
We have helped Thousands of organizations worldwide
Get proven solutions With measurable results
Years
1,000s
of Clients
Millions
of Surveys
+
Languages
What our clients say
“An amazing tool!!!!! We have used it for 10 years, without fail. It has helped us transform our culture and business results. We recommended it to our clients too. It is affordable and high quality - simply the best.”
Lori S.
Chief Executive Officer - Software Consulting Firm
“Your solution has been a HUGE hit with our management!”
Karley P.
GM Assistant - Leading Retailer
“I've been in the employee feedback business for 30 years and this is the cleanest app that I have ever seen. It's so easy to use!”
Kirk H.
Director of Learning & Development - Fortune 500 Corporation
“CustomInsight has probably been the most helpful and responsive vendor partner we have worked with in all our thirty plus years in business.”
Carolyn T.
Founder & CEO - HR Consulting Firm
“Your employee feedback system has been transformational for our business. We have come back to it again and again and would have made bad decisions without it.”
Eileen L.
VP of Culture and Talent - Technology Company
“We are super happy! This is going to be a game changer for us. We had very good participation and the tool has been fantastic. Your personalized service has also been fabulous and has made this so easy for us.”
Dan C.
Director of HR - Professional Service Firm
“We had an awesome response from our employees, saying this was the best survey they've taken. Our CEO was blown away by the data he now has at his fingertips and how actionable it is. We are very impressed and will definitely recommend the platform.”
Angelique A.
Sr. Director of HR - Global Non-Profit
“We were really impressed by CustomInsight's feedback tool and strongly recommend it to other organizations that are serious about continuous improvement. The ROI has been huge!”
Will G.
HR Leader - Global Manufacturer