Badly managed employee surveys help destroy commitment

ATTITUDE SURVEYS

Badly managed employee surveys help destroy commitment

When properly designed and managed, employee surveys can be a highly effective tool for managing organisational change and improving performance.  But there is little point in conducting surveys unless you are prepared to take action on the basis of the results. In fact, companies that carry out this type of research but fail to take action on the results could be seriously damaging employee commitment, according to research by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

As many as 3,500 employees participated in the research.  Among its key findings are:

• In organisations where employee surveys are conducted regularly but no follow-up action is taken, only four in ten employees report a high degree of commitment. 
• In contrast, where issues are addressed in response to survey results, more than eight in ten employees say that they are highly committed to their organisation.  

Dr Patrick Gilbert, head of organisational research and effectiveness at Mercer, said: "Organisations that fail to follow up on employee surveys not only waste their resources but, more importantly, they risk destroying employee commitment.  Though a number of factors are always at play in building staff loyalty, organisations that take action in response to survey results are sending a clear signal to staff -- we value your views and seek your input in guiding our decisions.      

He added: "It is ironic that, even when considerable time and resources have been spent on survey follow-up, companies often fail to communicate their efforts to staff. This is a real missed opportunity to use the survey to build motivation and commitment.  

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Mercer Human Resource Consulting is one of the world's leading consulting organisations. It has more than 13,000 employees serving clients from some 150 cities in 40 countries worldwide. To find out more visit www.mercerhr.com

Posted 5 May 2004