By: Lisa Pinkard, Emplicity VP of HR and Authority On All Things HR-Related

Ever want to know what is really going on in your workplace? How many skeletons would you find if you really asked the tough questions? Employee surveys are a great way to unwrap the mysteries in the workplace. Whether good or bad, it is better to know then not to know.

Must-Haves Prior To The Employee Survey:

1) A great survey that will capture all of the info you need to know about your organization as to what is working and what isn’t (or for some employees, who is working and who isn’t)

2) A group of executives that are willing to make changes based on the results. The worst thing you can do is ask for your employee’s honest feedback and then do nothing with it. All executives must be willing to make changes… if not, don’t even bother conducting the survey!

3) Make sure that you make it anonymous, not confidential, because you will have to share the information. Using a third party is always a great way to make employees feel that their comments will be anonymous.

4) Give timely feedback to your employees that participated in the survey. Have routine follow up meetings to show them that actions have been taken and their concerns are your concerns.

Things You Don’t Want To Do:

1) Don’t try and figure out who said what…. It doesn’t matter who said it, perceptions are what matter.

2) Don’t use this information to retaliate against your team. Even hearing bad news allows you to go in and fix things!

3) Don’t take offense if you are surprised. There are a lot of companies that have no idea how good or bad their workplace actually is. If you aren’t surprised by some of the feedback then you probably aren’t hearing the entire truth.

Celebrate!:

1) Celebrate the things you are doing well!

2) Let your employees know that they have an open door and can communicate anything they need to at any time. No need to wait for an employee survey to give feedback.

3) Host a monthly bagel breakfast to review progress on your action item list. Continue to show them you care about their happiness and a cohesive work place.

Emplicity will be more than happy to come to your organization and conduct an employee survey that will work for you!