Ok, ok—the employee survey itself is not dead. But the annual frequency of it is. If you’re still polling your employees once a year just to check a box, you’re missing out on what true feedback is all about.
Employee engagement isn’t something to take lightly. In fact, Hay Group reports that “companies with engaged employees experience 2.5x more revenues than competitors with low engagement levels.” So considering your employees’ well-being affects your bottom line, perhaps the way you gather their feedback should be a little more strategic?
Here are three reasons why you should “kill” your once-a-year employee survey cadence if you haven’t already:
Less frequent surveys mean low participation.
Positioning your employee surveys as an annual occurrence causes them to be time-bound instead of experience-bound, resulting in inaccurate feedback. Ask yourself the same questions—do you remember that company meeting back in Q1? How did last year’s open enrollment process go? By making employee feedback-gathering a regular occurrence, you can collect more accurate, genuine responses that are based on more vivid and recent experiences.
Additionally, once-a-year surveys also tend to be a “catch-all” document that drags on and on because of a build up of missed opportunities throughout the year. Remember—the longer your survey, the less likely an employee is to participate or provide genuine answers.
Forcing your employees to wait until the end of the year to share their opinions about your company may be convenient for you, but it can be frustrating for them. Without a way to express their opinions throughout the year, employees may become disengaged or leave the company before you’ve even realized it. Take the time to engage regularly—right after a company meeting or as you’re setting new quarterly goals—so employees feel connected and valued as a part of the decision-making process within the company.
Engagement
