Satisfied employees - the prerequisite for satisfied customers

In times of increasing pressure to perform and a growing shortage of skilled workers, employee satisfaction is thus becoming an even more decisive competitive advantage in the so-called "war for talents". However, conducting an employee satisfaction analysis not only enables companies to put themselves in an advantageous position in the battle for the best employees, but also helps to open up various other areas. For example, in addition to job satisfaction, a survey can also be used to record the emotional and ideal bond to the company, the so-called commitment. The survey also reveals the strengths and weaknesses (also known as optimization potential) of the company. Furthermore, information and communication gaps can be identified and stronger employee loyalty can be achieved.

Exponential growth of applications

However, the intervention function is only one side of the coin. The majority of companies also value the diagnostic functions. Thus, employee satisfaction analyses enable evaluation, analysis and control functions. A large part of the companies has already recognized these circumstances. A study by Hossiep and Frieg about the use of employee surveys from 2008 states that 80 % of the companies have already carried out an employee satisfaction analysis once. However, the study, which examined German, Swiss and Austrian companies, also shows that in the years 1990 to 1994 only 14 % of the companies stated that they had already conducted an employee survey once. Thus, since 1994, a continuous, almost exponential increase in the use of this instrument can be observed.

One reason for the increasing prevalence of surveys can be found in the growing importance of various certifications, for example in the area of quality management (QM). This is because the spread of well-known QM standards such as ISO 9001 and EFQM has also increased exponentially in the same period. For example, the ISO 9001 standard up to and including the current revision (ISO 9001:2015) does not explicitly require an employee satisfaction analysis. However, if a company conducts one, the points required by the standard in terms of employees can be covered. However, quality management certifications are not the main reason for conducting an employee satisfaction analysis. In fact, in the above-mentioned study, most companies state that they carry out an employee survey in order to check the implementation of the strategy or to achieve an improvement in communication within the company. The quality management certifications as a reason for the survey are only in sixth place with less than 20 % agreement.

Approach to the optimal implementation process

There is no "one right way" to conduct an employee survey. Depending on the size and type of the company, other points must be considered or other instruments used. For example, in a service company, an employee survey can usually be carried out very well by means of an online questionnaire, whereas in an industrial company where, for example, production employees only have an irregularly used or checked e-mail address, a physical survey is more appropriate. A conflict of objectives that often enters into the considerations of companies is that between a high quality of the survey and the associated costs. In practice, concessions are often made to less scientificity and thus to less (scientific) quality in order to reduce costs.

The Institute for Quality Management and Applied Business Administration at the University of Applied Sciences St.Gallen (IQB-FHS) has recognised this problem. Together with various companies, the Institute has developed a pragmatic, yet high-quality analysis tool that can be used to evaluate employee satisfaction and concerns while still achieving a high standard of quality. When conducting an employee satisfaction analysis, it is important to ensure that anonymity is guaranteed. This means that employees must be able to decide voluntarily whether they wish to participate in the survey or not. In addition, the names of the respondents must not be requested, and it must be possible to

"Giving feedback to bosses means "belonging."

must be possible to omit individual questions. The collected data should preferably be evaluated externally. If possible, an employee satisfaction analysis should always be carried out under external supervision in order to eliminate the most common conceptual errors, such as imprecise question formulations, organisational deficiencies and the risk of the survey becoming a paper tiger.

Customized design of the instrument

The current situation of employee satisfaction can be analysed on the basis of 12 superordinate topics. At the same time, the tool makes it possible to identify potential for performance improvement. Several detailed questions are assigned to each of the 12 superordinate topic areas, which allows a very high degree of specification of the respective questionnaire and thus accommodates the heterogeneous corporate landscape in Switzerland. The topics include work organization, workplace design, supervisor behavior, employee interviews, communication and the suggestion system, to name but a few. Furthermore, the questionnaire can be supplemented with company-specific questions, which are then directly incorporated into the instrument.

Each detailed question is asked according to the scales of satisfaction and importance. This procedure enables good visualization forms for the practice-oriented clientele. The figure clearly shows the points and questions on which the company should focus its measures. Each point that lies below the diagonal shows potential for improvement, as the objective importance exceeds the corresponding objective degree of fulfilment. Priorities are also easy to identify. For example, measures relating to point 5 should be introduced sooner than measures relating to point 3, because point 5 is perceived by the respondents as more important than point 3 and both have similarly poor values for the degree of fulfilment. The opposite is true above the diagonal. These points are, so to speak, "overfulfilled". That is, the satisfaction is greater than the employees' perception of importance. Here the questioning enterprise theoretically has savings potential. In the optimal case, all points (questions) lie on the straight line. There the importance as well as the satisfaction show the same values. In addition to satisfaction and importance, companies can also evaluate the questions according to various socio-demographic criteria. Examples of this are, for example, seniority, hierarchical level or different company divisions or branches. In general, it can be said that depending on the question type, extensive statistical evaluation options such as cross-tabulations, regression calculations, correlation calculations or factor analyses are possible. Due to the low practical relevance and the difficult communication of such analyses, however, they are only little desired by the companies.

The benefit becomes apparent over time

It is undisputed that the employee satisfaction analysis is an organizational development tool. However, the results should also definitely flow into company-wide personnel development. Every company is different. This diversity implies that a so-called benchmarking (the comparison of one's own company with other companies) in the employee satisfaction analysis is only meaningful in a few exceptional cases. More meaningful, however, are comparisons of the same company over several years. Such evaluations over time can show the effectiveness of measures. The IQB-FHS therefore recommends that the employee survey be carried out at intervals of no more than three years. This can also be used as a means of communication with the various stakeholders. However, the benefits must also be considered from the perspective of the employees. If they have the opportunity to give regular feedback to the employer, they get the feeling of "belonging", which can manifest itself in a stronger sense of belonging. On the other hand, it also lets employees actively participate in the design process for various measures to improve their work situation, which makes them realize that they can have a direct impact in the company. This closes the loop, as satisfied employees bring the company to a higher level of performance or quality, which also makes its customers more satisfied and thus, in the best case, more loyal to the company.