Rethinking and Retooling Surveys

by Thuy Sindell, PhD. and Milo Sindell, MS.

Surveys are the most prevalent and widely used methods for collecting data and insights on the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of employees, customers, and other business stakeholders.

“While employee engagement surveys are the norm, the changing nature of business and world of work have created a demand for innovative survey and assessment solutions that address a broader set of organizational priorities” says Dr. Salvatore Falletta, EVP & Managing Director, Organizational Intelligence Institute – a Skyline Group Company

Measuring workforce engagement still matters!

In the past decade, a growing body of research has demonstrated that having a highly engaged

workforce not only improves individual and organizational performance but maximizes a company’s human capital investment by reducing undesirable turnover and absenteeism as well as positively influencing other important business outcomes.

Source: The Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance, Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Report, 2013

Moving beyond workforce engagement

While it is critically important to measure and manage workforce engagement, business leaders should question whether the focus on employee engagement alone is sufficient to drive organizational effectiveness and important business outcomes. In short, it is time to move beyond employee engagement to a broader, business-driven approach to surveys and assessments.

Business-driven surveys and assessments

Recent research conducted by the Organizational Intelligence Institute shows that leading companies are rethinking and retooling their survey and assessment practices to address a broader set of organizational priorities with a greater focus on strategy creation, alignment & execution and the organizational capabilities needed to drive organizational effectiveness and business performance.

10 REASONS FOR BUSINESS-DRIVEN SURVEYS & ASSESSMENTS

Strategy creation, alignment & execution

1. Capture internal and external business intelligence for strategy creation and innovation
2. Identify the most pressing business challenges and opportunities for improvement
3. Align individuals, teams, and organizational culture with the strategy and goals of the company
4. Benchmark functional and industry-specific metrics and analytics for effective strategy execution
5. Communicate and reinforce the company vision, mission, and strategic objectives and initiatives

Organizational capabilities

6. Gather data and information from customers, employees, and other business stakeholders
7. Assess the organization’s readiness for change, and its ability to adapt to, and sustain change
8. Diagnosis organizational culture and climate, M & A fit and integration, and workgroup trust
9. Pinpoint leadership and management capabilities, and learning and development gaps
10. Evaluate the quality, value, and impact of products, services, programs, and solutions