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SATISFACTION, from page 5
one component of employee engagement. “We believe employees can only support the things they can understand,” he says. Larson Design Group, like KJWW and H2M also uses a third-party vendor to conduct anonymous engagement sur- veys every 18 months. After the survey is administered on- line, the vendor compiles and analyzes the results across four main areas: Organizational engagement
into this and will conduct another survey next spring to get a measurement.” Uzzo says that they have corporate reps from each group who meet monthly to report on successes and progress. H2M also conducted “stay interviews” with about 20 per- cent of the organization. They looked for top performers and asked them what they were doing right and wrong. These employees met with individuals from the executive team and members of the HR staff. Feedback was then shared with the entire management team. SURVEYS DELIVER RESULTS. Uzzo says that both of these initia- tives led to: A new mid-level management training program A revamped mentorship and enhanced onboarding program More efforts to provide better visibility between division/ departments Education to staff about salary structure and career path Additional transparency about the benefits program The development of an advisory team of volunteers from out on the floor to communicate with their divisions Enhanced communication on a corporate level Regular meetings conducted in a small group setting More celebrations for things like promos, project wins, and happenings A realigned HR to better meet the needs of managers and staff, and much more ENGAGEMENT VS. SATISFACTION. Mark Morgenfruh, vice presi- dent of HR at Larson Design Group (Williamsport, PA) – a 311-person engineering, architecture, and surveying firm – says that for them, the focus is really on employee engage- ment rather than satisfaction. “Realizing that it’s just not possible to be all things for all employees, we try to be open and transparent about the ‘why’ behind our decisions so that employees gain an un- derstanding that we run our firm under the premise of the greatest good for the greatest number of people,” he says. It’s this approach that helps employees to understand when a business decision, policy, or practice isn’t optimal for cer- tain situations. While satisfaction is important, it is just
Job/career engagement Co-worker engagement Leader engagement
Other sections of the survey also ask about overall satis- faction, change in satisfaction over time, and the employ- ee net promoter score. Trends are reported back from the vendor first to the executive team during an in-person ses- sion. Then all other managers and leaders in the company get a separate in-person session. Both of these meetings in- clude company, division, department, and individual super- visor reports. “Using those reports, each manager conducts a staff meet- ing with his/her respondents, digging into the results to gain further clarity about the highlights and areas where improvement can occur,” Morgenfruh says. “If a manag- er has less than three respondents, s/he will not get an in- dividual report, but will use the departmental report in- stead. From these focus groups the manager creates one or two action plans.” TAKE ACTION. Action plans can focus on either how to take bet- ter advantage of a strength or how to make improvements. “We like to see one of each,” he says. The plans are reviewed by each divisional vice president, and by the executive staff, to ensure they are not only mean- ingful, but to look for commonalities where they can im- plement positive change on a larger scale for efficiency. This year, they settled on five corporate-level action plans that were adopted across the entire company. HR is responsible for the execution of some, but also tracking and the effec- tive implementation for all action plans. “This has been a very effective and well-received approach to measuring and improving the engagement of our people,” he says.
7 WAYS TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project , identifies seven areas where employers can improve happiness in the workplace. Give employees more control. Give employees more control over their schedules, environment, and/or work habits. meetings shorter and more efficient. gastrointestinal problems, and substance abuse,” says Rubin.
Encourage social connections. Consider an office arrangement that fosters communication. Arrange workstations so employees can see each other and talk. Promote good health. “Corporations pay a heavy cost for stress- related illnesses, such as hypertension,
Create an atomosphere of growth. Provide training,
Ease commuting stress. For example, stagger work times to
acknowledge benchmarks, and celebrate accomplishments. Encourage employees to take risks and learn new skills. Break up routines. Look for small ways to surprise employees.
avoid heavy traffic.
Stop wasting time. Tight deadlines are a source of stress for employees. Ease this stress by doing things like making
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THE ZWEIG LETTER NOVEMBER 9, 2015, ISSUE 1127
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