In the midst of the challenging reality of today’s work environment, we see more and more companies and organizations transforming their interactions with their employees through the use of an Employee Engagement Platform. Notwithstanding the necessity to pivot to virtual touchpoints due to the pandemic, we are keen to highlight how these platforms provide a critical engagement opportunity through facilitating the flow of employee feedback. Read on to find out why, and how you can powerfully leverage your virtual interactions!

Being Asked What You Think Matters!

We all love being asked what we think. Knowing we have a voice is important but more important still is that our voice is being heard. While it’s very likely that many of your employees do not feel they have much say in what their work experience is like day to day (and especially these days), you can bet every dollar you have that they do have an opinion about it!

You need to know not only these opinions but can benefit greatly from also understanding your employees’ always evolving thoughts and feelings.

Establishing such an honest and open means of communication has always been fundamental to building any level of ‘employee engagement’. The simple act of seeking employee feedback demonstrates that it is important to you as a company. Moreover, while Bonusly was gathering data for its 2020 Employee Engagement & Modern Workplace Report, they uncovered an intriguing correlation between more frequent measurement of engagement and engagement level itself.

They found that the organizations who measure engagement once a year or less (33% of all surveyed) record a highly engaged score of just 21%, whereas the mere 7% of companies who reported measuring engagement weekly or more often record a highly engaged score of more than double at 48%!

The Pulse Is A Vital Sign

It is no surprise that pulse rate is one of the key vital signs immediately measured and frequently monitored for the sick. It speaks volumes about the health of the person. And so it is with Employee Pulse Surveys… their purpose is to provide you with a real-time view of engagement, so you can always have a fast, accurate understanding of your organization.

They are the tool through which you can gain both immediate measures that are a snapshot in time, and also track trends and changes over time, in your employees’ opinions regarding what matters to them, and what matters to you as an organization. Pulse Surveys allow you to explore and gain insight into the many drivers and dimensions of engagement such as Satisfaction, Retention and Recommendation.

This activity is ‘vital’ in another sense too… they give employees the chance to feel heard and a tangible channel through which to express their voice. Not seeking their feedback on a regular basis sends a clear message : you simply don’t care about their opinions.

Measure Smart

Let’s face it, annual Employee Satisfaction Surveys have always tended to make people yawn… both the employees who are asked to complete them and those who are then presented with a vast body of ‘dry’ findings! The challenge to obtain insightful and actionable information in a way that engages and inspires your employees must be met…

Making use of an employee engagement platform is an ideal way to implement smarter surveys. Eloops has designed a unique suite of Pulse Surveys for the exclusive use of their clients with automated analysis and access to expert interpretation. These surveys have been designed to take up a small amount of an employee’s time, and to reflect how real employees really think and feel, to ensure participating in the feedback loop that is essential to every organization’s success is an enjoyable experience rather than a chore.

Measure Often

Now we understand more about the ‘how’ the question of ‘when’ must be addressed, to properly fulfil the mission of generating lots of employee feedback in the form of ‘news we can use’.

The best survey results picture is one that can always help you see how things are unfolding. How have various events impacted your workforce? What most needs to claim your/your management’s attention? Whether your goal is to make the most of an opportunity that has arisen, or to intervene in something that you are concerned could get worse, Pulse Survey data can be your constant roadmap.

So yes, in order to detect change, you need to arm yourself with information that comes from regular monitoring, yet we know many worry about so-called ‘survey fatigue’.

Why ‘so-called’? Because Ben Matthews, Executive Communications at Google asserts in his article Why There’s No Such Thing As Employee Survey Fatigue that ‘Survey fatigue is the man-flu of internal communications. It doesn’t exist’. And Paul Wolcott, President Of Great Place To Work, gave his July 2020 article the title Survey Fatigue Is A Bad Excuse! They both have some top advice about (to use Paul’s own words) ‘the five most important things you can do to jump-start your feedback loop and put the excuse of survey fatigue to bed forever’.

As we’ve already said here, Measure Smart and Measure Often!  But then what?

Diagnose, Analyze, Action

What is the point of gathering data if nothing is done with it? Keeping surveys short, simple, and user-friendly not only encourages and improves employee participation, it allows an organization to quickly analyze, make diagnoses and take action on what has been learned. The best Pulse Surveys are a dynamic tool designed to make the most of the feedback loop, to assist you in developing the highest possible levels of engagement across your workforce, wherever they are.

You Must Keep Some Promises

For this feedback loop to work optimally, you have to make certain promises and keep them. What after all is the benefit for your employees in accepting your invitation to share their thoughts honestly and openly?

First you have to provide ‘safety’ by promising their responses are 100% anonymous and confidential. Then you have to promise you will noticeably take action on what you learn… remember how important it is for your employees to feel heard? There is nothing worse than being asked and then becoming aware no-one paid attention to your input! It is better not to have been asked at all…

Sharing findings reinforces the ‘deal’ between you and your employees; it builds trust and inspires future participation. Tangible and visible action taken on findings sends a clear message that you are sincere in your mission to make your organization a great place to work.

Go Deeper

What if your Pulse Survey findings indicate something you can’t quite understand, or something doesn’t seem quite right, or you can’t help but notice a trend going in a direction you are not so happy about… what can you do?

While you have promised anonymity at the first stage ‘surface’ level, the next step (to allow you to diagnose further and then fix something if necessary) is to invite further input from those who choose to come forward to assist. Additional customized surveys to further clarify the picture are easily developed and they will work according to the same principle as explained above… people love to be asked what they think. Furthermore, you can be sure that employees who come forward at this point to be part of the solution, will be your champions and ambassadors of employee engagement for as long as they are with you!

Are You Ready To Take Action?

Smart Pulse Surveys implemented through your employee engagement platform give you the ability to explore a little, discover a lot, and go on to explore as deeply as you wish if you choose to. This means you will always have the means to understand the ‘state of health’ of your workforce in terms of their levels of engagement, and even more useful : what you can do to improve it.

Operating without this easily obtained wealth of insight means you are missing the opportunity to optimally capture the hearts and minds of your employees, which is the very essence of engagement. Arm yourself now with the understanding not only to improve the experience of all of your employees, but also to improve productivity and ultimately your bottom line.

Power-up your employee engagement platform with Pulse Surveys!

We are ready when you are to discuss how Eloops can be of service to you and your organization. Our Pulse Surveys are a vital element of our on-boarding process and provide all of our clients with an immediate benchmark on which to build and improve their engagement picture, with the help of our Employee Engagement Platform and rich Marketplace of pre-made content.

Book your demo now.