The Trouble With Employee Surveys
This article discusses the challenges and limitations of employee surveys as a method of gathering feedback and addressing employee concerns. It highlights the growing voice of employee software market and questions whether technology is necessary to understand how workers feel.
The author begins by acknowledging the increasing number of employees quitting their jobs, forming unions, and engaging in "bare minimum Mondays." The article cites research from reputable sources such as Gallup, the Pew Research Center, Society for Human Resources (SHRM), and Mercer, which validate these trends. However, it also mentions a recent report by the Conference Board that claims employee satisfaction is at an all-time high, particularly among workers who recently changed jobs.
The author questions the value of employee surveys and listening software, considering the decline in job satisfaction in the United States since the year 2000. They highlight Gallup's findings that only 33% of people reported feeling engaged at work in 2022, even lower than in 2020. The article then introduces the global voice of employee (VoE) software market, which is projected to grow significantly in the coming years.
Jennifer Moss is mentioned as an expert in human resources technology, emphasizing the complexity of employee experience and the need for effective management practices. Moss suggests that some information could be better gathered by managers through a "management by wandering around" approach. She gives examples of hospital CEOs discovering issues like printer problems and lack of coffee in break rooms through direct observation.
Moss advocates for leaders to ask employees directly about their needs and concerns, suggesting that this could prevent burnout and improve employee well-being. The article questions whether employee surveying software would be able to uncover these issues or if workers would consider them important enough to prioritize.
The article concludes by raising the question of whether technology is necessary to address employee concerns when many issues are already apparent. It mentions specific situations that stress workers, such as layoffs in the tech sector and CEOs not being transparent about company decisions. It questions the relevance of survey questions in light of these circumstances.
Jennifer advocates for direct communication between leaders and employees to address their needs and concerns. Leaders could save themselves a huge amount of employee stress and subsequent burnout, if they were just better at asking people what they need. The jury is out on whether employee surveying software would discover these things or if workers would consider them important enough to push forward.