3 Tips on How Employee Engagement Surveys Can Help in Today's Tough Econimic Times

Top employees seek inspiration, appreciation, and clarity of direction. There is no more important time to ramp up your employee communication than now and employee engagement survey are an indispensable tool to ensure the lines of communication are open, honest and effective.

1. Invite Participation Good leaders are good listeners. But great leaders go one step further; they actively solicit input from their employees. Your employees want to feel as though their opinions matter. If you run annual employee survey this is not the time to stop and if you don't conduct an employee survey this is a great time to start. Engaging them in feedback will also engage their head, heart and hand even more into their jobs.


2. Articulate a Compelling Vision: Effective communicators rally their employees around a vision of a better future. For example, Cisco (CSCO) does not describe itself as a seller of routers and switches. Instead CEO John Chambers positions Cisco as a company that changes the way we live, work, play, and learn. Your employees want to be part of a bigger purpose, something meaningful. Incorporate into your employee survey a section to measure your employee's level of understanding and commitment to your vision. TalentMap's research clearly point to a compelling visioin as one of the biggest area that impacts your ability to retain your very best talent.


3. Commit to Open and Honest Communication: Many award-winning companies are committed to open and honest communications with employees. This means continuing to conduct and deploy your annual employee survey. Now is not the time to put your survey on hold. Your employees will appreciate the open line of dialogue. time. Consistent management practise like a survey and transparency around the results shows respect for the people who are growing your company and they, in turn, respect the fact they are valued.