3 min read

Employee Experience: Keeping Your Finger On The Pulse

Feb 27, 2017 6:30:00 AM

TINYpulse - FB.jpgIt’s no secret that disengaged workers can negatively impact your organization. Research, especially studies conducted by Gallup, continues to show us that disengaged employees are less productive, are absent from work more often, and more likely to have workplace accidents than their engaged colleagues.

A key component of managing the employee experience is gathering employee feedback. To improve employee engagement, you must understand your starting point. Do your employees feel valued? What do they appreciate most? What areas can be improved?

People change. Cultures change. Your workplace changes. With all this change, methods of gathering employee feedback can’t remain static. It needs to evolve as your people and your organization evolves.

For the past few years we participated in the Best Places To Work In Indiana survey. It gave us valuable insights into our culture, what we needed to work on, and what we were doing right. It broke down results by demographics for even further understanding. Participating in this survey provided us with highly actionable data. It helped us put a more concerted effort on managing the experience for our employees.

We’re excited for all the companies who received this year’s Best Places To Work In Indiana honor. We have fond memories of the pride it gave our organization. Most of all we’re grateful for their survey which helped us kick start our journey.

As our workforce has grown and the organization has evolved, we decided it was time for a change. We were looking for more frequent data and customizable questions. Rather than continuing with Best Places To Work and adding in additional survey mechanisms, we focused on  a single solution that would give us ongoing results, customized to our changing needs.

The tool we chose is TINYpulse. Rather than once a year feedback, TINYpulse asks employees one question a week. As an organization, this gives us ongoing feedback with the ability to customize the survey questions depending on current happenings. And for our employees, it breaks things down into a simple weekly task on a mobile-friendly platform. The results are completely anonymous, so employees don’t have to feel concerned about sharing what they really feel. This tool also has a feature for employees to share praise for their peers, which is a great way to help develop a culture of appreciation and encourage peer to peer recognition.

This is not the only solution out there. Survey tools vary widely. What’s right for our organization may not fit for your company. But we hope our story can help encourage you to think differently about how you’re gathering employee feedback. Have you been using the same survey for years? Is it giving you the amount and depth of results you’re looking for? How can you evolve to follow the changes in your workforce?

Asking these questions can help lead you down the path to more effective measurement of employee engagement. This can allow your organization to actively manage the employee experience. But remember, the results you get from any survey mechanism are only as good as what you do with them. You’re asking employees to take time to share their thoughts. It’s up to you to act on that feedback!

Gibson

Written by Gibson

Gibson is a team of risk management and employee benefits professionals with a passion for helping leaders look beyond what others see and get to the proactive side of insurance. As an employee-owned company, Gibson is driven by close relationships with their clients, employees, and the communities they serve. The first Gibson office opened in 1933 in Northern Indiana, and as the company’s reach grew, so did their team. Today, Gibson serves clients across the country from offices in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Utah.