Could an employee satisfaction survey have prevented the BP disaster in the Gulf?  Maybe not, but perhaps it could have served as a useful early warning system.

 In today’s Monday Morning Manager, Harvey Schachter suggests that sometimes the results of employee soundings, such as low or dramatically decreasing performance, satisfaction and engagement scores, among other indicators, could signal future troubles for the organization.  Changes in employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction over time could well indicate that problems exist and that management has work to do in addressing emerging issues before they become potentially gigantic failures.  And the flip side applies as well.  When employee satisfaction research is conducted on a regular basis, it helps employers identify areas of potential improvement that, importantly, could lead to enhanced productivity, streamlined processes, a better workplace experience, and improved customer satisfaction. 

 An unbiased, independent third party researcher can contribute to making employee satisfaction research successful by ensuring the appropriate methodology is used, determining the right questions to ask, managing the process, analysing and interpreting the findings, and assuring employees of complete confidentiality.  Most importantly of all, however, management must be committed to listening to the findings, acting on them, and demonstrating to employees that the organization is taking action to address what it has learned.

 Here’s the link to today’s Monday Morning Manager:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/managing/morning-manager/mistake-proof-your-company/article1651717/?cid=art-rail-morningmanagerblog