Manufacturing workers have been increasingly disengaging over the last decade, and the pandemic has deepened the crisis. Today we’re going to talk about the employee engagement surveys in manufacturing.
According to the Gallup State of the Workplace Report, despite a global investment of more than 18 billion dollars, only 25% of manufacturing employees feel engaged. Low engagement impacts retention, productivity and increases accidents in the workplace so this statistic should certainly create an urgency to take action.
In an increasingly competitive market like manufacturing, salary, benefits and special bonuses are often not enough to retain your talent. When we are experiencing a phenomenon as complex as The Great Resignation and the Great Logistics Crisis of 2021, we have to approach the situation differently if we expect significantly better results.
Best practices to get the most out of employee engagement surveys in manufacturing
So, what is a better strategy? For starters, it’s important that you listen to and learn from your employees, understand what they need, and align with their goals so you can create a workplace that means much more than just a paycheck to them. How do you most effectively do this? Through employee engagement surveys and by using some best practices that we will outline in this article.
Done is better than perfect
Though we don’t prescribe this way of thinking always, in terms of employee surveys, we have seen organizations question what to ask, when to send surveys, how frequently, etc. so much that it’s actually completely kept them from doing surveys at all! Surveys are a phenomenal way to better understand your workers and show them that you care.
They will be happy to hear from you and will never wonder if the questions are “perfect.” Also, organizations like QuestionPro will provide you with quite a few survey templates and questions, so that you will feel comfortable knowing where to start. So don’t overthink it, and let’s get started!
Better frequency equals better efficiency
Back in the day, the annual employee survey was the gold standard, but now, leaders want more actionable results and insights. Continuous listening leads to positive employee perceptions about how valuable their opinion and advice is to leadership.
Also, employees who are surveyed often see more effective measures taken as a result of their feedback. In employee engagement surveys, consistency is the key to success. Now you don’t have to rush from annual to daily surveys, quarterly are more than enough to start, and they don’t have to be dozens of questions long.
Choosing the most impactful employee survey questions will help with focus, efficiency, and taking timely actions on the results.
Think outside of the inbox, and make your surveys accessible.
HR leaders often find it difficult to get workers to complete surveys. Sometimes the challenge may be a lack of time but often it can be a lack of access to a device or a company email to complete the survey, limiting their ability to participate.
But technologies such as QuestionPro Workforce can send surveys via SMS to employees’ cell phones if they do not have a work email. There is also the possibility, for those who do not have cell phones, that the company installs physical kiosks where employees can fill out the forms.
Giving confidence to share their real opinion
Workers are much more likely to participate in surveys if they are confident that anonymity is guaranteed. Often, they are concerned that HR or their managers can easily figure out which answers belong to them.
More sophisticated platform providers can help you set up the survey in such a way that the employees are not asked any self identifying questions, which automatically not only increases the comfort level to provide truthful answers, but also increases the quality and accuracy of the information collected.
To specifically answer the questions “Am I doing the right surveys? What is the ideal frequency? What type of surveys do I need in my organization?” for you, please contact us so we can share more about our technology and services. We would absolutely love to help you set up your employee survey strategy and make it a key part of your success in 2022 and beyond.
Learn more about how to get ongoing feedback from your employees and start taking action to make a positive impact in your organization with QuestionPro Workforce.
