How to Create an Employee Satisfaction and Retention Survey – Employee Opinion/Attitude Survey

Employee satisfaction and Retention surveys have been around forever in one form or another.  However up until recently they have been used primarily to gauge only employee satisfaction. Advancements in measurement and analysis now make it possible to link employee satisfaction to other aspects of the employee experience and most importantly, to the impact on business outcomes. 

Employee satisfaction and retention surveys can give management the knowledge and tools that directly impact the bottom line and builds positive employee relations and a positive work environment.  Consider the results of employee management surveys that lead to understanding the drivers within your organization for:

• identifying cost-saving opportunities
• improving productivity
• predicting and explaining turnover
• reducing absenteeism
• identifying areas of ethics, honesty and value concerns
• strengthening management skills and training
• evaluating customer-service problem areas and issues
• Identifying training needs
• Identifying communication bottlenecks and problem areas
• benchmarking your organization's perceived progress relative to competitors in the industry
• gauging employees' understanding of and agreement with corporate rules, policies and mission

Managed Employee Satisfaction Leads to a Healthy Organizational Climate
Organization health is a reflection of healthy attitudes of your employees.  Employee attitudes and opinions revolve around the four pillars of strength in your organization: Communications, Compensation, Culture and Commitment.

A comprehensive survey of these factors can boost the value of your employee capital and direct your employees toward fulfilling your strategic organizational goals.

Corporate Communications
Effective internal communications builds productivity and satisfaction.  Employee attitudes are most positive when based on open communication and understanding of management goals and other employees.

Corporate Culture
Corporate culture can be defined as the “intellectual moral, social, and behavioral norms of an organization.”  These norms are based on and reflect the beliefs, attitudes, and priorities of the organization as communicated on a regular basis.

Cultural values are reflected in and influence many dimensions of employee satisfaction.  Personnel policies and reward systems may reflect cultural values.  The following cultural values are appropriate for a company that follows a "team culture approach:

• Common and consistent goals
• Organizational commitment
• Role clarity among team members
• Team leadership
• Mutual accountability with the team
• Complementary knowledge and skills
• Reinforcement of required behavioral competencies
• Power (real and perceived)
• Shared rewards

Current organizational literature identifies other cultural “factors or orientations.” Whatever the cultural orientation, it will influence employee attitudes and satisfaction.  These factors can be measured and should be considered when measuring employee satisfaction and opinions. 

Individual vs. Collective Organization: The focus of control at which behavior is regulated.

Power-Distance to Management: The employees’ accept of management power and the degree to which employees adhere to formal rather than informal channels of communications.

Risk-Avoidance Acceptance: Employee satisfaction may be dampened by an improper balance of risk in the employment situation.  Ambiguity in the workplace can create a perception of organizational instability. A well defined set of rules, clearly defined prospects of long-term employment and a well defined set of career ladders that signal steady and predictable progression are critical in reducing employee risk and increasing employee satisfaction with the organization.

Organization Dominant Values: Dominant values are the message that the organization communicates through management to the employees.  Dominant values influence employee satisfaction and employee, as well as the functioning within the workplace.  Example dominant values might emphasize flexibility vs. adherence to fixed rules, job satisfaction, quality of relationships and concern for others.  Values also include management assertiveness, monetary focus, or adherence to well defined gender roles.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Perspective: The time frame used: short-term (involving more inclination toward consumption, saving face by keeping up) vs. long-term (involving preserving status-based relationships, thrift, deferred gratifications).

Employee Compensation and Benefits
A broad spectrum of  compensation, benefit and health care issues are considered important by employees, including satisfaction with health care, confidence in the health care system, the future of benefit programs, and their attitudes toward additional benefits and compensation. Employee survey provide insight into perceptions of health care quality, benefits packages, their real cost of coverage, preferences, needs and perception of retirement benefits.

Corporate and Employee Ethics and Values
Stated and unstated management and employee ethics can play an extremely important role in the success of an organization. Qualtrics tools for predicting and measuring employee theft, as well as whistle blower technology provide valuable tools for identifying the existence and violations of stated ethics policies.

Measures of Employee Satisfaction
The following measures, as well as those in our survey library provide a starting point for measuring employee satisfaction and employee attitudes and opinions.

Communication
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
I read most of the Company's newsletters that I receive.
Company policies and procedures for employees make no sense to me.
I usually know in plenty of time when important things happen.
I usually hear about important changes through rumors rather than management communication.
I generally feel informed about changes that affect me.
It is easy to get answers to questions about personnel policies.
The Company's communications are never up-to-date.
It is safe to say what I think at my job.
Email is a good way for the Company to get information to me.    

Resources
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
I know where to go to get the information that I need to do my job.
I have adequate technology to do my job.
I feel unprepared to do my job.
I have the opportunity to learn skills that will improve my chances for promotion.
I need more equipment to do my job well.     

Training
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
Employees have equal access to job related training opportunities.
I get the training I need to do my job well.
My agency needs to offer more training opportunities. 

Career Strongly
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
I am aware of promotion opportunities.
I have the opportunity to advance within my agency.
I have the opportunity to progress within the [Company] system.
You have to know the right people to get ahead in the [Company] system.
I think the Company's Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline saves the [Company] money.
It takes too long to hire someone when a position becomes vacant.
My job description matches my job duties.

Procedures
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
Personnel procedures make it difficult to get rid of poorly performing employees.
Procedures necessary to do my job often involve unnecessary steps.
The Company Employee Suggestion Program saves the [Company] money.
The Company should be more flexible in personnel matters.
The grievance process available to me is a fair way to resolve disputes between employees and management.
There is too much paperwork involved in doing my job.    

Management
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
I am confident in the leadership at my agency.
I sometimes doubt the truth about what management tells me.
My supervisor takes a personal interest in helping me to get ahead at my job.
The relationship between management and employees is good. 

Teamwork
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
The meetings that I have with my co-workers and supervisors help me to get my job done.
There are people to whom I can go for help when I have work-related problems. 

Job Security
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
I frequently feel stress in my job.
I worry about losing my job. 

Work Life
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
I can leave work to take care of personal matters if I need to.
I understand the services offered by the Company's Employee Assistance Program.
My agency offers flex time or alternative schedules.
The Company provides a way for me to get confidential help when I have personal problems that affect my work. 

Satisfaction
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
I am proud to be a Company employee.
I get a feeling of personal satisfaction from my work.
I would recommend my agency as a good place to work.
I would recommend the Company as a good place to work.
It is important to me to feel appreciated at work.
My job is boring.
My work-related concerns are generally handled to my satisfaction.

Respect
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
Employees are usually respected as individuals at my agency.
I am usually treated with respect at my workplace.
I feel I am valued at work.
My agency has a genuine concern for safety.

Recognition
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
Hard work is seldom rewarded at my agency.
I am told if I have done a particularly good job.
I receive enough recognition for work that I do.
If I do a good job I have a better chance of getting ahead.
People are not appreciated where I work. 

Equality
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
Employees are usually promoted based on performance.
I believe that rewards are given fairly where I work.
I know people in my agency that don't do their share of work.
My agency is a place where individuals with disabilities can work comfortably.
Policies and procedures are usually applied equally to all employees.
There is generally no discrimination shown at my agency.
When discussing problems or complaints, I feel that I am ignored.

Compensation
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
I am paid adequately for my responsibilities.
I am paid appropriately for the work-related experience that I have.
I am paid at an appropriate level for my qualifications.
Even if I do a good job, I think rarely get more money.

Benefits
Strongly Agree    Agree     No Opinion            Disagree Strongly                               Disagree
The current pay system has a positive effect on employee productivity.
Fear of losing benefits has kept me from looking for another job.
I am satisfied with my health insurance plan.
I am satisfied with my retirement plan.
I know where to go for information related to benefits.
I like my benefits package.
I think of my benefits as part of my earnings.
I understand how my retirement benefits are calculated.
I would like more flexibility in my benefit options.
The benefits package that I receive is not as good as most available in the private sector.
The information that I have received about employee benefits is easy to understand.
In what areas would you like to see investments made to improve the business?