With the end of the year creeping closer, it is an excellent time to get feedback from employees to shape company plans for the coming year. Happy employees lead to greater productivity. A survey done by the University of Warwick found employees who were happy were also more productive, by about 12%. A similar study by the Harvard Business Review found happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome: raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks by 19%. Based on this, we have put together our tried and tested methods for gaining an insight on the company pulse.
Surveys
By using an employee satisfaction survey, you are providing a more open and freeform approach to measuring the happiness of your team and organization. We do recommend that when you ask the questions the survey is set up to be:
- Simple, direct, specific and comprehensible questions
- Request actionable responses, not just a complaint.
*Do make sure to avoid jargon, double-barreled questions, leading questions, and emotionally charged words
Suggestion Box
Having an anonymous suggestion allows team members to share their opinions and suggestions without the fear of repercussions. We recommend that you set this up so that the staff share the problem and provide 1-3 solutions. This way the staff are participating in the resolution of issues.
One-on-One Meetings
Having one-on-one meetings is an excellent way to have a personal understanding of the pulse of a team member. One-on-One meetings provide a more private conversation, which can lead to a clearer understanding the of successes or hurdles the team member is having both professionally and personally.
Breakout Sessions
Recently at our annual company meeting, we had several breakout sessions where colleagues from various offices, departments, and levels of management came together and discussed openly ways to improve for 2020, areas of continuous professional development and questions about personal reflections. After the session, each group shared the top 5 ideas and submitted the notes to the management team to work to implement for 2020.
The bottom line is a happy workplace leads to happier employees. We encourage you to get a pulse check on the happiness level in your workplace and work to improve it year after year.
