Let us navigate the critical factors that lead to employee satisfaction and how employee satisfaction surveys aides in providing a vibrant work culture and therefore profitability
Today’s competitive world has posed many challenges to organizations in the form of diverse consumer demographics, complex strategies of competitors, changing customer base, workforce issues and many others. Sustaining in such a situation requires an organization to have committed and loyal employees. It is also necessary that these employees guarantee high levels of productivity. Therefore, employee Satisfaction plays a pivotal part in determining the health of your organization. Simply speaking, employee satisfaction is defined as how happy and content are the employees in your company.
Satisfied employees prove to be motivated and committed to the organization and are able to perform their best, whereas dissatisfied employees do the minimum, have low employee morale and might also add costs to the company. Various factors can lead to dissatisfaction among employees which should be diagnosed and eliminated at an early stage to avoid disrupting the atmosphere and a weak culture at the workplace. Based on perceptions, an employee develops a positive or negative attitude towards their job and environment. The more a person’s work environment fulfills his or her needs, values or personal characteristics, the greater is the degree of job satisfaction.
Employee satisfaction cannot be measured on an individual basis as it might be subjective and infeasible but it can be done on a collective basis to gauge the overall workplace environment.
Factors influencing employee satisfaction
A company could face consequential losses and even inferior brand name owing to unhappiness and dissatisfaction among its workers. A dissatisfied employee would put in less effort towards their work and lack motivation to do better. Whereas a happy and satisfied worker would go an extra mile to ensure productivity and higher outputs.
There are a broad range of factors that can lead to employee satisfaction. Some of which are:
-Treating employees equally and with respect, regardless of their background, age and gender
-Providing compensation congruent to their performance
-A sense of autonomy and authority to indicate that the company values its employees and their judgement
-Recognition for their work and achievements
-Empowering employees
- A good working environment and a culture that breeds innovation and productivity
Furthermore, the company may include benefits and perks, engagement activities and outings, healthy and harmonious superior-subordinate relationships. A positive approach to management can go a long way to maintain employee satisfaction at the workplace.
What is an employee satisfaction survey?
Employee satisfaction is measured using employee satisfaction surveys. These surveys usually include a set of questions that are directed to the employees to rate the culture and environment of the company, express their opinions on how they feel about their work, relationship with colleagues and management. They are prepared keeping in mind the metrics on which the organization wishes to assess upon. The surveys are handed out to the employees to be surveyed on a periodical basis to administer its effectiveness. Some of the common factors that can be controlled and measured are quality of communication, co-worker relationships, perceived sense of opportunity to learn and grow both professionally and personally, stress levels, satisfaction on compensation and management effectiveness.
A company that decides to measure employee satisfaction can do so by establishing metrics to comprehend their current position. Employee satisfaction can be measured in various ways but surveys remain the highly effective and practiced option among businesses. Conducting surveys on a regular basis can help monitor results and plan remedial actions timely and appropriately.
Types of employee satisfaction surveys
Employee satisfaction surveys are broad and thus are not restricted to a certain pattern. The needs and objectives of a company while conducting an employee satisfaction survey are usually unique. They can be developed keeping in mind the gaps in employee experiences and aligning company strategies in such a way that it minimizes their pain points. An employee satisfaction survey can be classified into two categories to provide an outline that can further be customized upon.
Job Satisfaction
In the job satisfaction survey, the aim is to get insights on how an employee feels on aspects related to his job. It could include his job experience, job satisfaction, current position, communication experience in the organization, opportunity to learn and grow adequate use of his skills and capabilities, etc.
Self Satisfaction
In a self satisfaction survey, the aim is to get insights into how employees perceive themselves in the current role. It evaluates his self satisfaction. It could include questions on his experience in the company, if he’s being heard, getting due credits and recognition for his work, satisfaction with his job on a daily basis, his relationship within the organization, sense of motivation, etc.
Any basic employee satisfaction survey should include questions that give an understanding on how an employee perceives his job and how he perceives himself on that job. Besides that, the possibilities of subcategories that can be incorporated into a survey are endless. It depends upon the goals of the company.
Benefits of employee satisfaction surveys
Employees are the pulse of an organization. And to keep a check on its well being, it's important to administer employee satisfaction surveys regularly. This helps in understanding your employees better and discovering potential causes of dissatisfaction at an early stage so that they don't lead to any obstruction in your business.
A good Employee satisfaction surveys measure workers' feeling of contentment and empowerment. They ask questions about how employees feel about company culture and recognition by superiors. Surveys can be accessed via an internal online link and are usually anonymous so that workers feel uninhibited expressing their views.
Based on the above content, you must have understood that a few advantages of an employee satisfaction survey are: good work atmosphere, positive employee morale, improved productivity levels, harmonious relationships, good work culture and coveted brand name.
Balancing company needs and employee satisfaction
Doing what is right for your company and at the same time satisfying employees might not be possible. The answer here is to find the right balance that aligns the company needs with employee satisfaction. The superiors can use their powers to improve employee engagement by involving employees to a bigger cause (company’s mission) and by making them feel valued. This can be done at all levels with the help of middle level managers and supervisors. They are the ones who have direct influence on employees and are in a better position to resolve satisfaction issues if any arises.
As an employer you should use your power to up employee engagement by creating inclusive work environments in which everyone is given a chance to contribute to their fullest potential, and finding ways to provide junior employees with visibility opportunities.
The survey results that emerge points out certain areas that can be addressed quickly and management may also be comfortable to accept those demands. Those items must be picked and addressed in priority so that the organization is on the correct path. Working on low-hanging fruit will help a big deal in starting the journey.
The bottom line is that employee satisfaction requires the involvement of employees as much as employers to improve the work environment, thus it should not be considered as the sole responsibility of the employer. In fact, it is a shared responsibility that falls mutually on both; the employer and the employee. The way husband and wife, both contribute to a happy family, similarly both need work towards it.
Thanks for reading the blog..
-- Shalav
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