Employee surveys, when done well, are useful tools for gauging the overall state of employee morale and commitment to the organization and its goals, objectives, and customers. They’re generally quick, relatively low effort for the respondents, and provide the sort of quantitative data that our analytical brains crave.
What they find it hard to do is deliver deep insight into what people are thinking – the whys behind the ratings and comments found in most surveys. In order to be quick and efficient, survey designers are forced to define a narrow set of items with mostly predetermined response options. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for your employees to share their experiences, their ideas, or their recommendations for change and improvement.
For that, you need a conversation:
- Structured interviews that combine quantitative ratings with insightful questions get to the heart of the employee experience.
- When your leaders and managers conduct the interviews, it puts them in a listening mode. Employees appreciate it and the interviewers gain useful perspective.
- While surveys are quite often designed as broad “pulse checks,” interviews can be used to go deep on specific issues, problems, and opportunities.
- Quotes, stories, and examples – straight from key people – bring the “voice of the employee” to the attention of those who may not hear it regularly.
- Listening leads to understanding, and understanding leads to commitment. Who’s not looking for employees to be engaged and committed?
How can E.G. Insight help?
Our unique Talk2® interview process is designed specifically with both measurement and ideas in mind. Whether used as a stand-alone insight gathering tool, or as a follow-up to your voice of customer process, it’s a powerful way to get employees talking about the issues that matter most – to you and to them.
