If the Window is Broken – Fix It Quick
If not repaired it won’t take long for a building with one broken window to quickly turn in to a building with many broken windows. Fixing problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into larger problems.
The same is true when considering the level of employee satisfaction. Dissatisfaction can spread rapidly throughout an organization and before you know it you can have morale problems that can be hard to resolve.
To ensure that your employees are satisfied you need to appreciate any day to day concerns that they may have and deal with them quickly. Keeping the initiative is vital and it is nearly always better to give a little and often.
This turns out be just a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. And taking the initiative without being prompted puts the manager in a position of strength, which also suits the employees. Employees like strong, confident management and a proactive approach generates respect not least because someone has taken the time to understand some of the employees’ issues.
Compare that with those managers who are out of touch. They arrive late at a problem so they are on the defensive, and with their credibility eroded they have to concede to demands which in turn leads to further and less reasonable demands. It’s not big and it’s not clever.
The question is how one goes about monitoring the morale of a company without throwing money at the problem and without the luxury of having spare time?
An online employee survey. They offer a solution that is quick, easy and low cost. Surveys can be written and deployed in seconds, using email, web links and social networks invitations can be sent out immediately and for free and the results are collated and displayed in real time.
The ideal delivery mechanism is the corporate internet.
By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.
With the real-time results that are a by product of online surveys the mood of the employees can be accurately gauged and individual and collective concerns highlighted.
Using the survey results companies can quickly identify problem areas and follow-up surveys can be used to target specific concerns. With good intelligence managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.
Conducting regular surveys will allow organizations to address small problems in a timely manner and avoid ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where a relatively insignificant incident unleashes a torrent of pent up frustration.
It should not be forgotten that most employees appreciate being consulted and asking their opinion is not seen as a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.
It’s unusual to find a solution to management problems that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank but here one is.
