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Disciplined action planning drives employee engagement.

Article Excerpt
Human Resource departments can maximize the value of an employee survey by designing survey instruments that align with business goals and paying careful attention to follow-up action plans. The experience of Arbitron, an international media and marketing information firm, demonstrates the measurable business impact of effectively managed employee surveys. In 2003, Arbitron surveyed its part-time call center population during a period of significant internal growth and external competition for top talent. The survey results showed a decline in favorable responses among part-time staff across several key measures. The call center leadership responded by working directly with employees to identify priorities and commit to specific follow-up actions. The outcome? Unprecedented improvement in employee engagement as measured by the subsequent survey and improved retention of high performance employees.

Disciplined Action Planning Drives Engagement

The first step in a typical employee survey project is to design an effective survey instrument. This means making certain key decisions: What questions to ask? How many questions to ask? Are benchmark data available? Who to survey? How frequently? Before deciding how to gather data, the HR department must determine the organizational purpose of the survey. In other words, what organizational issues are driving the survey project, and what does the organization plan to do with the data it collects?

The real value of an employee survey is not in the survey itself, but in the follow-up process that translates data into action. Unfortunately, companies often fail to take the key step of using survey data to trigger change. Sometimes, managers do not know what to do with the results or do not have the time or energy to implement major initiatives. In other instances, line departments perceive Human Resources as the project "owner," rather than the facilitator, and so assume that HR will take responsibility for follow-up. The result? A year passes, another survey is completed, and the outcome reveals that little progress has been made.

Employee surveys do not have to be a vicious circle of disappointing results. You can achieve your objectives by taking a highly disciplined approach to survey action planning.

Action planning demands a multi-step, concentrated, ongoing process based on management commitment, time, and accountability. No single strategy or process will be right for every company. A structured approach built with an understanding of the specific needs of the organization is essential for success.

Arbitron: A Success Story

Across the United States and Europe, call centers employ between 1 and 3 percent of the workforce (McBain 2002). Improved technology has sparked a record increase in the number and size of call centers in recent years.

Attracting and retaining top talent within call centers is a challenge, particularly given the large number of employees required and the industry's limited career advancement opportunities. Added to the challenge is the fact that engaging and retaining a large part-time population of any kind has proven difficult (Hillmer, et al., 2004). A strategic use of employee surveys, combined with effective follow-up action plans, can, however, make a dramatic difference...

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