3 On Your Side: Employee Surveys
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Are you happy at work? Does your boss listen to you? These are some of the questions being asked in surveys popping up at companies across the country. 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan explains.
Quirky is a New York business that turns inventors ideas into products. To find out what's working and what's not the company gives employees a weekly survey. Quirky employee Anna Buchbauer says, "It seemed like an extra task but as its continued its proved to be a good exercise."
Typical questions range from "what challenges are you facing?" to "who deserves recognition this week?' And more companies are talking to their workers this way.
The Society of Human Resource Management says, some 80 percent of firms have used a survey to gauge how employees feel. Evren Esen says, "Most organizations realize if they want to keep employees with high skills they need to create a work environment where employees will want to stay."
Leaders at Quirky say the surveys helped clear up confusion during a recent corporate restructuring. Rochelle Dire is Quirky's Chief People Officer. She says, "We truly want to know what's on people's minds so we can address them, get out in front of it before it turns into a crisis."
The surveys can also find future leaders. Some employees recognized by their fellow co-workers were promoted. These surveys are often referred to as "pulse surveys" because they take the pulse or gauge the feelings of workers. In many cases, specialized companies are brought in to tailor the pulse surveys to a businesses' individual needs.