How to Research Employee Happiness and Put the Results Into Practice

How to Research Employee Happiness and Put the Results Into Practice
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Employee Happiness. It is an aspect of the past after the Hawthorne studies. It is no more a sustainable approach towards growth and profitability for the company and a needless drain on resources. The focus should be on better compensation, leave allowances, and other administrative aspects.

 If the above is your outlook. Well, reconsider.

A study at the University of Warwick concludes happier employees exhibited 12% higher productivity.

Research clearly shows an organization having satisfied employees encounter lower labor turnover.

A comprehensive analysis of 357 managers shows a positive outlook usher in transformational leadership and better tackles job burnout.

These numbers heavily outline the need for conducting employee happiness research and effectively utilize these to boost company morale, profitability, image, and sustainability.

How?

Assessing employee happiness is not a walk in the park. You would want to cover every aspect of an employee and company to get complete results. Surveys are the most powerful tool you have.

No, they are not obsolete; instead, they form the basis of data collection and processing. These later contribute significantly to building a positive work environment and tackle any traditional shortcomings in your organization. And for that you need the right survey maker, attention to detail, focus on your goals, and time.

While surveying through questionnaires, particular vital aspects should be kept in mind about designing to obtain comprehensive data and reasonable response rates.

 You do not wish to conduct survey research with low, insignificant response rates. Right?

Decide which stakeholders need to give inputs.

Set deadlines for all methodologies and processes, with considerable flexibility.

Clarity.

In a survey, employees should be able to answer clearly, without any dilemma. The point is to mention a single construct per question. Refrain from double-barreled questions to ensure maximum clarity. Avoid jargon, negations, triggering words, and be concrete and concise. Make them like everyday conversations.

Objectives.

All components of a survey should have a purpose, defined by an objective. Take into consideration ongoing processes and plans. This ensures consistency throughout all respondents, as all questions would mean the same to all. Pay special heed to include a portion that caters to employees' roles and work is meaningful. Insights on this are invaluable to understand employee turnover or lack of happiness.

Ensure Confidentiality

A significant chunk of employees might not be willing to give honest feedback if the element of anonymity is lacking.

Consider the Company Culture.

Surveys should reflect the uniqueness of your company and its employees. Do not include questions only for the sole reason some rival companies had it. Generalized questions will only wear out the respondent, defeating the very purpose.

Open-end Comments.

Combining these with the Likert scale helps obtain in-depth employee data and caters to the physical aspect of question response. Having a midpoint option on the scale also ensures accurate data collection. In its absence, respondents might inflate the positive side of the scale, even if they are neutral towards a question.

Lengthiness.

Asking a set of 250 questions will not solicit actual data and discourage employees from responding. Have a single survey cater to particular aspects to keep the respondents attentive and interested. This also motivates them to conduct periodic surveys on critical elements.

A survey is not a blatant questionnaire. It is a meticulous tool that helps foster employee happiness analysis and actionable plans. Developing a robust survey structure encompassing the above aspects is arduous. However, having a great and wholesome survey template for inspiration can make the task considerably facile. This fulfills the framework of a holistic and practical survey in a shorter duration.

Methods such as Employee Satisfaction Index and Employee Net Promoter Score can be employed to boost accuracy, clubbed with data analytics, software, and predictive models.

Utility and Implementation.

After amassing data and gaining valuable results through analytical tools, developing future and actionable plans is essential. The research or survey was not window dressing.

There are vital steps to make holistic use of it immediately:

Make the results relevant and communicate them to managers with expectations, accountability, and a timeline. Obsolete data is of no good to anyone.

Begin formulating actionable plans and do not solely focus on low-scoring areas. Employ fundamental driver analysis to ascertain factors heavily impacting employee happiness, and make necessary tunings and tweaks to enhance them. Look out for managerial gaps between levels to incorporate all hierarchy.

Make sustainable choices to ensure long-term benefits from the results instead of on one-time initiatives. Turn your findings to establish permanent fixtures to prevalent shortcomings.

After concluding surveys, thank your employees and instill an appreciation for their time and responses. Communicate the insights and planned actions to the employees and be transparent. People don't want to be kept in the dark. Transparency is also the overarching objective of these researches and makes employees understand they are being heard. This further boosts morale and higher response rates in subsequent studies or surveys.

Benchmarking your research and surveys helps with subsequent ones too. Cross analysis with different departments or levels helps to identify ones that need greater effort.

Continue to follow up on the actions ensuring positive change and reinforcing transparency and all levels in the organization. Avoid tall claims and refer periodically to the results to exercise control over implementation.

Remember, the solution to all problems is not hiking compensation or more monetary benefits. It has more to do with aesthetics and ideology.

Incorporating the findings makes research worthwhile and an inherent part of sustaining long-term growth and more incredible work culture. After all, the scientific approach of F.W. Taylor revolutionized a manager's role, and outcomes of employee happiness research will help transform your organization at the grassroots level.

Conclusion

Such research ought to be conducted at particular periods to maintain consistency and value. The associated findings help foster a culture of oneness at the organization with strategies supporting a diverse, equitable, and all-inclusive happy workforce and humane organization.

Above all, maintaining the humane touch in today's rat race and mechanical age is paramount.

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