Engagement and Retention: Essentials of Employee Surveys

Abstract

This section understands the powerful tool “employee surveys” as a holistic approach where the employee, as a valuable performance driver, is the underlying force of all considerations. Therewith, the section raises awareness for ethical concerns and suggests the construction of a tailor-made questionnaire that considers a company’s unique characteristics. In that regard it is indispensable to clarify what information shall be queried in the survey. Thus, the process of finding the research objective is introduced by utilizing the advantages qualitative research entails. In addition, general rules for questionnaire construction are outlined including the formulation of survey questions, scaling, and the decision on a reasonable number of survey questions in relation to the expected responses. Besides discussing the possible survey forms (online or paper-pencil), the importance of creating acceptance among employees with an effective communication strategy is highlighted. Following, a low-scale and a comprehensive survey evaluation are described, whereby the comprehensive evaluation approach is extensively explained with the help of a highly sophisticated method – factor analysis. A step-by-step instruction manual guides the researcher through the procedures. Last but not least, it motivates management to design an action plan and integrate it into the company’s strategic alignment process.