Leadership

Are you satisfied?

I have been in my new role as an HR director for about four months. I have many ideas about programs I want to create to help improve the lives of the employees I work with. Something that has been nagging at me is how I determine if a program is effective or not in helping employees. How can I measure the impact of a new program if I don’t already know the baseline for employee satisfaction? For me, that is where an employee satisfaction and engagement survey comes in.

Creating an employee satisfaction survey that isn’t just a cliche

One of my goals with this survey is not to create something that wastes employees’ time. I want them to see real change based on the data that we receive. I want the results to be anonymous but transparent to the staff. Below are the steps I plan to take to help this be an effective and appreciated tool.

1. Use this first survey to establish a baseline of satisfaction
2. Share aggregated and anonymized results with all staff
3. Share information on how upcoming programs are designed to address specific areas of satisfaction and ask for feedback
4. Start the revised program
5. Ask employees to complete another survey after a period of time
6. Used the results of the survey to determine if the program is making an impact or now
7. Rinse and repeat
   

Sections of the satisfaction survey

As I built the satisfaction survey, I realized the questions should be grouped into sections. The questions then are asked to gauge employee satisfaction in the following areas.

• Organization Overall
• Job Responsibilities
• Work Environment
• Stress and Health
• Compensation and Benefits
  

I believe this grouping will help us split the results into more meaningful analyses. For example, suppose satisfaction with Compensation and Benefits is low. In that case, some of our first programs should be geared toward improving satisfaction in that area as much as possible with the resources available. I think a critical part of this plan is to continually check in with staff to make sure that each section is asking relevant questions.

A couple of upcoming programs I have in mind

A couple of programs will depend on the results that I get from the first survey. However, we have a plan to start working annually to visit and rewrite job descriptions with the help of employees to make sure that job descriptions accurately represent the work that people do.

A program that I have already put into place is regularly occurring performance and goal check-ins. You can read more about the program I created to improve my organization’s performance and goal systems here.

Lastly, I want to work on a robust rewards and compensation program. I feel that our organization could benefit from creating a structure for employees to pursue rewards based on different accomplishments or other criteria. I am actually scheduled to take a course in April to get some ideas on some rewards and compensation programs that we could put in place. That class will align well, as I am hoping to get the first employee satisfaction survey out at the beginning of March.

If you have implemented such a system and have some lessons learned to share with me, I would be grateful for any comments you could provide.

Why performance management systems are still important

A performance management system can either be helpful or a complete waste of time for employees’ growth and performance. I believe that the success of such a system requires dedication by management to invest time and effort into the system. Scheduling one hour per employee in each department every quarter is no small task. However, I feel that as a manager, it is a critical part of my role and should be made a priority.

Employees are concerned that annual reviews are just ways for managers and supervisors to identify mistakes or performance issues as a means to avoid distributing compensation rewards or promotions. I think that a performance management system needs to be separate from a performance correction system. I believe that issues with performance need to be addressed more quickly than once per quarter or, god forbid, once per year. The performance management time can be used to measure how an employee has responded to the behavior or performance corrections.

The performance management system looks at how an employee is contributing to the organization. It also looks at how an employee is making progress toward their career goals. Traditional performance management systems tend to focus on what an employee is giving to the organization and ignore what the organization is giving back to the employee. Compensation is only a tiny piece of the pie and is not enough to help employees grow and stay loyal to the organization. In addition, we need to focus on career growth opportunities.

Scheduling and consistency is key

We all know that it is hard, if not impossible, to reflect on an entire year. The following scheduling helps to break the review into much smaller and more manageable chunks. The schedule also allows a more agile response to problems or obstacles that can be removed.

Annual evaluations should be scheduled within the first two months of Q1. These evaluations will look back at Q4 of the previous year.

Quarterly goal check-ins should be scheduled for the first two months of Q2, Q3, and Q4. Each one of these goal check-ins will look back at the previous quarter while also planning for the current quarter.

• Q2 reviews Q1
• Q3 reviews Q2
• Q4 reviews Q3
  

Annual Evaluations and Quarterly Goal Check-Ins

Elements of meeting

• Review service assignments and job description
  
  • We review how an employee’s time is distributed between different services. The measurement informs budgeting as it shows how each employee’s time is allocated. We also should review the employee’s job description to determine if it still represents the duties and experience of the employee.
• Review 2023 projects and discuss 2024 projects
  
  • This is the primary measure of an employee’s contributions to the organization. Discuss progress projects from the previous year. What went well? What obstacles were encountered? Are there any projects that need to be abandoned or rolled over to the next year? Were expectations met?
• Review goal progress for 2023
  
  • Each employee determines their goals. The supervisor’s role is to be an accountability partner. Review progress toward goals. A note that employees should be encouraged to pursue a balance of aspirational and realistic goals. Employees should now be punished for not completing goals. Instead, review progress and answer the question, “Are your goals moving you in the direction you want to go?” It is also important to keep in mind that not all people look at goals the same way. Each employee needs to do what works best for them. We are just coaches to our employees.
• Setting individual goals for 2024
  
  • Each Employee should set new goals or rollover ongoing goals from the previous year. Encourage employees to set goals in such a way that the goals feel effective as a means to measure progress. Reiterate that we are their accountability partners and that we will help determine progress each quarter. We will also brainstorm ways to free up stuck goals.
• Scheduling professional development
  
  • What professional development should the employee pursue? As managers, we can offer suggestions. Employees should also be given opportunities to identify professional development opportunities they want to pursue as long as they fall within the professional development budget constraints.
• Reflect and kudos
  
  • What is one thing that the employee was most proud of from the previous quarter? What kudos do we have to give to the employee?
• Expectations reviewed
  
  • List out and discuss your or the organization’s expectations for the employee. Are they meeting those expectations?
• Feedback
  
  • Review response to performance corrections, if any
  • Are there any growth suggestions we can offer to the employee?
  • Ask each employee the following questions
    
    • “Is there anything we can adjust in this process to make it more effective for you?”
    • “As your supervisor, Is there anything you need me to stop doing or start doing to help you be more effective?”
      

Personal and employee impressions after two quarters

After two quarters of using this system, I have received a lot of good feedback from employees. They appreciate the more thoughtful review and the encouragement they get on their goals. They feel more supported. They also don’t feel like managers and supervisors are using this system to find ways to avoid rewarding them. Each employee gets to set goals in a way that makes the most sense for them. Supervisors do not micromanage an employee’s goals. However, managers can review an employee’s contributions to a project and expectations. The managers are able to help get employees back on track as well as monitor for overload.

From an HR perspective, I feel like I have a better sense of how each employee is doing and the areas of growth I can monitor. I feel like I can help managers to identify potential problems before they get out of hand. I can also better identify professional development resources that are more relevant to an employee’s goals.

Lastly, this system requires a lot of commitment and time. At this point in time, I am attending all employee reviews and goal check-ins. So, altogether, this accounts for about 14 hours within the first two months of each quarter. Along with other responsibilities, those hours become a considerable but important amount of time.

If you have any questions about my process or lessons learned, ask in a comment below.