Staff Survey
Staff surveys demonstrate levels of job satisfaction and the extent to which staff identify with their workplace and the company as a whole. They provide a concrete analysis of weak points by demonstrating dissatisfaction and more in-depth structural problems pertaining to certain aspects of the workplace.
A staff survey is suitable for both regularly ascertaining satisfaction as well as including staff at an early stage when it comes to specific questions and decisions within the framework of organisational development projects.
Surveys can thus focus on very specific target groups (executives, field-based staff) or very specific topic areas (assessment of training events or part-time models).
Qualitative Preliminary Studies
Particularly when conducting surveys about individual areas, one cannot work with a standard questionnaire; instead, the relevant questions should be ascertained in a qualitative preliminary study. This is why we also advise people not to use external benchmark data that is often offered in this context within the framework of the subsequent collection of quantitative data. These comparison figures almost never allow a valid interpretation of the differences discovered.
For qualitative preliminary studies, Vocatus either uses 1-1 interviews or telephone surveys or online focus groups. It is thus possible, even with international surveys, to quickly ascertain the relevant questions with little effort.
Conducting the Survey Anonymously
Anonymity must be 100% assured when it comes to a staff survey, because otherwise one has to reckon with very low participation or the fact that responses will be very much distorted in the direction of social desirability. This is why most companies opt to have the survey conducted by an external institute such as Vocatus.
Vocatus is obliged to follow the strict data protection guidelines set by BVM, ESOMAR, and ADM. We reliably ensure that the data collected remains anonymous and that the evaluations don't allow one to draw any conclusions about the responses of individual staff.
Paper and Pencil or Online Survey?
If all the staff who are to be surveyed have access to the Internet, the staff survey can also be carried out online. As opposed to the paper and pencil survey, this option also offers the advantage of being able to filter the questions. Staff are then asked different questions depending on their area or previous answers. In this way it is also possible to directly illustrate their totally individual viewpoint.
It is thus possible to simultaneously conduct a comparable gathering of data across all areas of the company, and nonetheless achieve the necessary depth of detail so as to be in a position to make meaningful analyses for individual areas or topics.
If only some of the company's staff are accessible online, the survey can be conducted as a combination of online and paper and pencil survey.
Deduction of Concrete Measures
The criticism staff most frequently make of staff surveys is that nothing happens afterwards, because of course any staff survey also gives rise to certain expectations.
Yet for most companies, even those with the best intentions, it is often hard to deduce concrete measures from nothing but frequency counts and satisfaction scores. At best, the data can be used to make comparisons with identical questions from the previous year or from other areas. However, intelligent project conception and expert evaluation can also allow one to analyse the drivers for staff behaviour and thus deduce concrete proposals for improvements.
International Sector-specific Benchmarks
In the wake of internationalisation, staff surveys conducted in a number of different countries are also gaining in significance. However, any comparison of the findings in the various countries requires a great deal of cultural sensitivity, because it's actually impossible to compare every kind of data. In many cases, the survey content of standard concepts manifests an unconscious cultural bias. For this reason alone, it's vital to possess considerable intercultural know-how when designing questionnaires as well as evaluating the findings. Sector-specific benchmark data also has an important role to play when interpreting the results - and Vocatus possesses such data for more than 30 countries.
How Staff See Themselves, and How Others See Them
One interesting version of the staff survey that can be integrated into classic surveys is the comparison of how staff see themselves and how others see them. Various forms of this can be distinguished here: for example, staff in each department can be asked for their assessment of the service their department provides within the company (how they see themselves). At the same time, other departments are likewise asked to assess this department (how others see them).
A comparison exercise of this sort can likewise be undertaken by staff and customers or job applicants. How all the bosses see themselves compared to how they're viewed by the staff can also provide interesting results if, for example, the intention is to investigate the management culture.
Such comparisons are not only important in terms of identifying the need for action, but also back up the company when it comes to implementation, since staff find it easier to understand the need for action. Unpopular changes are therefore more easily accepted too.