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guide to interpreting engagement survey data
You've completed the surveys, conducted the interviews, done the focus groups, and observed your employees. You've tallied the results.
So . . . what do I do now???
It all depends on your results.
Gathering employee feedback is essential for any organization, but what matters most is that management takes action on that feedback. If handled correctly, your employees will be far more engaged within their work environment -- and your organization will be much more productive. Through the use of your analytical techniques, you can go beyond simply compiling a list of questions on which employees gave low ratings. You should further analyze the data to identify which of those issues has the most impact on employee engagement. Using this technique, you can clearly pinpoint opportunities for implementing positive change. This is your opportunity to develop solutions and implementation strategies based on critical issues that arise from the employee results derived from surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observation.
My Work |
Typical Critical Issues |
Improvement Strategies |
Employees don't know what is expected of them.
Employees don't think the work load is balanced.
Employees don't feel challenged.
Employees don't enjoy their jobs.
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- Provide a job description and work plan to every employee at orientation. Discuss these to ensure that you and your employee have the same idea of what their job is and the results of their work.
- Offer new challenges. People like challenges when they believe they can meet the challenge, management will support them in meeting the challenge, and the organization will reward them appropriately for meeting the challenge.
- Assign short, small projects that challenge employees. Give them an assignment that stretches their abilities or requires them to learn something new. Keep the projects short and small so workers get variety in their work. You don't want to overwhelm them with their new assignments.
- Conduct staffing audits to make certain staffing levels match the workload.
- Meet with employees and discover their goals and their wants.
- Review work design and roles to see if there are other ways to organize the work assignments.
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Resources |
Typical Critical Issues |
Improvement Strategies |
Employees do not think they have received sufficient training.
Employees do not have the materials to do their job.
Employees do not have enough information to do their job.
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- Encourage employees to use their full potential. Invest in employees by offering training and learning opportunities. Show that you really consider them an asset by investing in their development.
- Conduct a gap analysis to determine what kind and how much training needs to be done. Employees need on-going training to remain focused and engaged
- Provide an accurate job description and work plan to every employee at orientation. Discuss these to ensure that you and your employee have the same idea of what their job is and the results of their work.
- When you express goals or explain projects, be sure the employees really understand what you are asking for.
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Organization |
Typical Critical Issues |
Improvement Strategies |
Employees don't understand the mission, vision, values and goals of the organization.
Employees don't think that they are valued.
Employees don't think they are kept informed of events and issues in their organization.
Employees don't think open communication exists in their organization.
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- Provide employees with opportunities to actively participate on teams to suggest ways to improve work processes to better achieve organizational goals. Look for every opportunity to include employees at every level of the organization as active participants.
- Recognize and reward employees for suggestions that improve the work of the organization.
- Assign employees the task of interpreting what the agency mission, vision, values and goals mean to them. Conduct a staff meeting where everyone discusses the meaning of each one.
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Leadership |
Typical Critical Issues |
Improvement Strategies |
Employees don't think their leadership treats everyone with respect.
Employees don't think upper management acts with integrity.
Employees don't think poor performers are held accountable.
Employees are not satisfied with the leadership in their organization.
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- Much of the role of senior management is coaching and motivating. Lead by example.
- Leadership is about influencing people to change.
- Create an atmosphere of partnership to reduce fear in subordinates.
- The best way to empower employees is not only to manage them, but also coach them to success. This is a process of developing their skills and providing them specific feedback to meet high standards.
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Supervision |
Typical Critical Issues |
Improvement Strategies |
Employees think that their supervisors show favoritism.
Employees don't think they are trusted to do their jobs without interference.
Employees don't feel appreciated by their supervisors.
Employees don't feel supported in their jobs.
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- Delegate. Show your staff that you trust their judgment and abilities by giving them new responsibilities. Give them the authority to make the decisions necessary to successfully complete their new assignments. Look for opportunities to delegate and enhance the employees' career development at the same time.
- Provide Training for the Supervisors. Ensure that your supervisors are comfortable in and knowledgeable of their positions. Provide necessary supervisory and managerial training.
- Hold Supervisors Accountable.
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Co-Workers |
Typical Critical Issues |
Improvement Strategies |
Employees don't have a support group among their co-workers.
Employees don't think their co-workers are committed to doing quality work.
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- Encourage people to work together as a team. Build working relationships by doing things together outside work. Have lunch together or engage in sports activities. This allows co-workers to get to know each other as people not just as supervisors and co-workers.
- Participate in team building activities. Organize a company picnic, bowling event, boat trip, etc.
- Get involved in the community. Assign employees to projects that help improve the community you live in. Help make your community a nicer place to live and work. This will also help you attract good workers.
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Our research indicates that most employers believe employee engagement moves beyond organization loyalty and satisfaction to provide a crucial competitive advantage. Yet, despite their general optimism about the value of employee engagement initiatives, many employers find them difficult to implement in their own organizations. To effectively implement engagement initiatives, it is clear that you must develop an engagement strategy. This strategy will include cultivating a closer understanding of the employee population and what they expect from the organization in order to become more fully committed. The organization will define what an engaged employee looks like and provide the metrics for measuring the success of engagement initiatives in terms of productivity and other desired employee behaviors. We have provided only a few suggestions for improving employee engagement in your organization. The Office of State Personnel encourages you to be creative and resourceful in your research and develop methods and techniques for addressing the critical issues that you have uncovered through your employee engagement assessment. By creating a clearer vision of how engagement can support organization objectives, mission, vision and values, agencies can move engagement closer to the top of the management agenda.
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