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Posts Tagged ‘feedback’

I’m not happy. My chair has just broken and the printer has still not been fixed. The problem with the company is that it is going to the dogs. The boss is okay but really doesn’t seem to have a clue as to what is really going on.

And on it goes.

These are the sort of thoughts that start to go through the minds of individuals when an organization loses touch with their personnel; the chair that is broken, no feeling of appreciation, blaming ‘management’ and for some even questioning the futility of what they are doing. Trivial problems fester and a suspicious and unhelpful frame of mind develops. Can you be sure that it isn’t going on right now in your organisation?

What should be social events held outside the office become no more than a forum for complaints and negativity grows among people who feel unable to effect change. Dissatisfaction will often synthesise into a demand for an increase in remuneration, as though like a cheap fix more money will momentarily lessen the pain.

If ignored by management the concerns of this employee will inevitable find empathy with their colleagues own individual concerns, where the only common demand might well be a demand for an increase in remuneration, more paid holidays and a reduction in working hours, all of which will not fix the broken chair, ensure that new personnel are in future properly introduced, trained and managed nor help management identify areas of inefficiency.

Organisations have a habit of pigeon holing people, physically through offices, cubicles or workstations and also in terms of responsibility. With effective and strong management to support this structure it can be productive, but as an organisation grows, and weak or inappropriate management infiltrates the management chain, it is perhaps inevitable that cracks will begin to appear.

From the top down all can appear rosy in the corporate garden as the weak and inappropriate manager reports that all is well in the engine room, oblivious to the fact that their coal stocks might be dwindling.

Experience shows us that relying on a limited number of indicators gives a skewed perspective just like a person with only one eye has difficulty judging distance. By establishing procedures that sample the mood from different perspectives throughout the organisation good management will be able to form a rounded picture.

The benefits of establishing good, frequent and extensive communication channels are both direct and indirect.

Greater respect will be given to a senior management team that is known to have their ear to the ground and where they keep the middle management honest by knowing that middle managers can no longer shrug away the senior manager’s searching inquiry “How is everything going?” question with a non-committal “Fine”; It is my experience that if someone replies with “fine” you need to dig deeper and ask if they really know what is going on.

Most principals of organisation will not have the luxury of spending time walking the floor and discussing the issues of individuals but through online employee surveys they can achieve the same benefits.

Online surveys provide an ideal method to establish effective communications between the employee and employer. Using a survey hosting service they can now be created and published with speed and ease.

Using the Internet and intranet surveys can be deployed in seconds, easily completed by employees and results can be displayed in real time allowing ‘problems’ and common themes of dissatisfaction to be identified early.

With their ability to get to the heart of an organization online employee satisfaction surveys can confirm that all is well in the engine room and that there is sufficient fuel to keep it running.

The benefits that online surveys bring are considerable, not only are the real issues identified, but employees feel that their voices are being heard and that their views, right or wrong, have a forum.

Online surveys will not in themselves resolve a problem but what they will do is give senior management the opportunity to address the problems and concerns of their employees, if people then leave the organisation they will at least hopefully be doing it for the right and not wrong reasons.

The grass may always appear greener on the other side but the drivers that cause good people to leave a company is rarely just a monetary concern (although this can often cited as the reason) but more often to do with one or more of the following:-

• the workplace environment;
• a lack of fulfilment;
• limited training and feedback;
• lack of a career path;
• over worked;
• lack of trust and respect with their senior managers.

Good communication between the employer and employee can help identify the individual and common concerns of the employees and will give the senior management team the opportunity to address root problems and not just the symptoms of employee dissatisfaction, enabling them to demonstrate to their employees that they are valued as an important resource.

Each individual organisation needs to customised their own employee survey so that it is relevant for them. To get an idea as to how effective online surveys can be try completing the sample employee satisfaction survey, then view the results of the satisfaction survey and just think of the benefits to management being able to measure so easily the heart beat of the organization.

For any organization that wants to offer products or services that are focused and well targeted market research is essential. Business decisions based on good market research can minimise risk and pay dividends. By making market research part and parcel of the business process and conducting market research throughout the life cycle of a product or service market research will bring the following benefits:-

• Market research will help you better communicate – Your current customers experiences are a valuable information source, not only will they allow you to gauge how well you currently meet their expectations they can also tell you where you are getting things right and more importantly where you are getting things wrong. By consulting with the customer you not only show them that you care you also take the guesswork out of customer services.
• Market research helps you identify opportunities – If you are planning to launch a new product and want to know how people will react then market research will help, not only in predicting how well the product will be received, but also by testing the marketing message to see if that needs to be adjusted.
• Market research will minimise risk – Market research can help shape a new product or service, identifying what is needed and ensure that the development of a product is highly focused towards demand.
• Market research creates benchmarks and helps you measure your progress – By establishing a benchmark you then have a useful reference to allow you to measure your progress – If you do not measure you will not be able to properly gauge how well your business is performing. Early research can identify where improvements need to be made to a new service or where there are flaws in a product, by conducting regular market research it will identify if improvements are being made and, if positive, will in turn help motivate a development team.

Market research brings considerable benefits and it is perhaps surprising how few organizations invest sufficient resources to enable them to gather good intelligence that will help them improve their business. Many may think that market research takes too much time and effort but that is just not the case anymore as through the power of the Internet online survey software is readily available and vital market research data can now be gathered in a quick, simple and cost effective manner.

How to create a survey using Survey Galaxy

Writing surveys is easy; isn’t it? The reality is that writing surveys is easy but writing surveys that will be effective is more difficult. The following tips will help you write more effective surveys.

1. What is the purpose of the survey?

There are many reasons for conducting surveys and questionnaires. By correctly phrasing the questions and structuring the answers surveys can be used in a multitude of ways and for a variety of reasons. When compiling a survey don’t lose sight of its purpose.

2. Title the survey

The survey title is a golden opportunity to instantly summarise a survey’s objective and grab the attention of invited respondents. Respondents need to invest time in completing the survey so encourage them that the investment they make will be worthwhile.

3. Do not make the survey any longer than it needs to be

Every question asked should be asked for a reason. Minimize asking questions that will provide you with ‘nice to know’ information and concentrate instead on ‘need to know’ questions.

4. Use plain English, avoid terminology and acronyms, be consistent and don’t ask questions that may result in ambiguous answers

Word the question carefully. If a question is unclear then there is every chance that respondents may understand the question differently to that intended by the publisher making any analysis of the data worthless or at the very least suspect.

5. Avoid long questions

Try to use succinct sentences wherever possible. Long questions can cause a respondent to lose concentration and lead to them abandoning the survey.

6. Ask one question at a time

Avoid confusing the respondent with a question like ‘Do you like golf and tennis?’

7. Avoid influencing the answer

It is important not to load the question. ‘Should irresponsible shop keepers who sell alcohol to minors be prosecuted?’ is unlikely to have any value.

8. Ensure that the answer format used allows the respondent to answer the question being asked

Ensure that the respondent can answer how they really feel or they may be inclined to abandon the survey. As a last resort consider the benefit of including a “No comment”, “Can’t say” or similar response option.

9. When you are compiling your survey consider how the compiled data is going be analysed when the survey is complete

Appreciate that questions that allow for a free text open ended response is likely to be difficult to score and/or summarised. Consider grouping answers. For example “How long have you worked here?” – ‘less than 3 year’, ‘between 3 and 6 years’ and ‘more than 6′.

10. Try and ensure that the questionnaire flows

When asking questions group the questions into clear categories as this makes the task of completing the survey easier for the participants.

11. Target your respondents

You may want to target a specific group, in others a cross section. If you can’t easily control the respondents consider including questions/answers that will allow you to filter out respondents who don’t fit your target profile.

12. Allow the respondent to expand or make comments

Allowing respondents to make additional comments will increase their satisfaction level and the comments will also give valuable feedback on the specific questions and/or the survey as a whole. Remember that for large sample collections that free text open ended responses may be difficult to analyse.

13. If the survey you are conducting is to be confidential ensure that your pledge is upheld

If you have assured respondents that the survey is to be confidential you need to ensure that the collated data is not shared with anyone or used for any other purpose. Confidentiality must be maintained at all times and any identifying information destroyed once the survey has finished.

14. Weigh up the benefits of allowing respondents to be anonymous or identifiable

If your respondents are to be anonymous then you will be unable to follow up specific complaints or match “pre” or “post” surveys. Allowing respondents to remain anonymous will however allow respondents to respond without possible peer pressure.

15. Carefully consider what the best response format will be

Being consistent with the format used for responses is good practice. When creating your survey keep in mind that when analyzing the data radio buttons are easier to analyze than check boxes that offer the respondent multiple responses. If a radio response can be used do not use a check box.

16. Give the respondent an estimate as to how much time the survey will take

If the survey appears to be a stream of never ending questions then respondent drop out can become a problem. It is good practice to indicate how long the survey is likely to take so that the participants can choose the best time to complete the survey.

17. Advise the respondents of the survey end date

Encourage respondents to complete the survey as soon as possible but advise respondents as to the survey’s end date so that they have the opportunity to schedule the necessary time.

18. Trial the survey

Before publishing a live survey publish the survey as a trial to check for questions that are ambiguous or confusing and to ensure that the survey is aesthetically pleasing.

19. Before publishing the survey proof read the survey several times

Check and then check again that a survey is grammatically correct and makes sense. If practical get a colleague to check the survey before you publish, if you are unable to do this then take a break before checking again.

20. Thank your respondents

Respondents invest their time when completing surveys and should therefore be thanked at the end of completing the survey or in a follow up letter. You may even want to consider incentives such as entry into a prize draw or a reward.

For more information please visit Survey Galaxy

If a building’s broken window is not repaired promptly it doesn’t take long for many of the building’s other windows to be broken. Resolving problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into serious problems.

The same is true when considering the level of employee satisfaction. Dissatisfaction spreads like wildfire and in a surprisingly short period of time you’ve got morale problems of the kind that are notoriously hard to fix.

To ensure that your employees are happy you need to understand what their problems and concerns are and it is important to deal with them early on. Keeping the initiative is important and it is nearly always better to give a little and often.

This turns out be a vicious circle. Fixing the problem when it’s small is also when it’s easiest and when it’s cheapest. Most employees prefer their management to take the initiative without being prompted and by doing so management can operate from a position of strength. Employees like strong, confident management and the management will gain the respect of the workforce if they take time to understand the issues.

Compare that with managers who are out of touch. If they are late in addressing problems they are always on the defensive, having to concede to demands they run the risk of losing credibility which in turn can lead to having to agree to less reasonable demands. It’s not big and it’s not clever.

How then can an organization monitor the morale of the employees without a big budget and an abundance of spare time?

offers a solution. They represent a quick, easy and low cost solution. Surveys can be created in minutes and deployed in seconds, with the results compiled in real time; and by using email and websites they cost nothing to disseminate.

The ideal delivery platform is the corporate intranet.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With an online survey’s ability to produce results in real-time the mood of the employees can rapidly be gauged and concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.

A company can use survey results to highlight problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific concerns. With good information managers are able to get to the root of specific problems and prepare a considered response.

A major advantage of regular surveys is that they allow companies to address relatively small problems in a timely manner and avoid ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where what might be seen as a insignificant incident explodes into a torrent of pent up anger.

The majority of employees appreciate being consulted, asking their opinion is not a sign of weak management but an indicator of good decision making.

It’s unusual to find, but there it is – sometimes management problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank.

How to create a survey using Survey Galaxy

Writing surveys is easy; or is it? The reality is that writing surveys is easy but writing surveys that will be effective is a little bit more difficult. The following are twenty tips that if followed will help you with your survey questionnaire design and help you write effective surveys.

1. What is the survey’s purpose?

There are many reasons for conducting questionnaires. By phrasing the questions and structuring the answers surveys can be used in a multitude of ways and for a variety of reasons. When designing a survey don’t lose sight of its purpose.

2. Give the survey a good title

The survey title represents an opportunity to instantly summarise a survey’s objective and encourage respondents to participate. Respondents need to invest time in completing the survey so you need to encourage them that their investment will be worthwhile.

3. Keep the survey as short as possible

Every question that is asked should be asked for a reason. Concentrate on the ‘need to know’ questions and minimise ‘nice to know’ information.

4. Use plain English, avoid terminology and acronyms, be consistent and ensure that the questions you ask will not result in ambiguous answers

Word the question carefully. If a question is not clear then there is every chance that respondents may interpret the question differently to that intended by the publisher making any analysis of the data meaningless or at the very least misleading.

5. Avoid having long questions

Try to use succinct sentences wherever possible. Long questions can cause a respondent discomfort and lead to them abandoning the survey.

6. Ask only one question at a time

Avoid confusing the respondent with a question like ‘Do you like golf and football?’

7. Do not influence the answer

Do not load the question. ‘Should irresponsible shop keepers who sell alcohol to children be prosecuted?’ is likely to have no value.

8. Ensure that the chosen answer format allows the respondent to answer the question being asked

Ensure that the respondent is able to answer how they really feel or they may abandon the survey. As a last resort consider the benefit of including a “No comment”, “Can’t say”, “Don’t know” or similar response option.

9. When you are compiling your survey consider how you will analyse the results once the survey has been published

Appreciate that questions that allow for a free text open ended response is likely to be difficult to score and/or summarised. Consider how answers can be grouped. For example “Indicate your length of service?” – ‘less than 3 year’, ‘between 3 and 8 years’ and ‘more than 8′.

10. Try and ensure that the questionnaire flows

Group questions into clear categories as this will make it easier for the participants completing the survey.

11. Target your respondents

In some cases you will want to target a specific group, in others a cross section. If you can’t easily control the respondents consider including questions/answers that will allow you to filter out respondents who don’t fit your target profile.

12. Allow the respondent to expand on their answer or make comments

Allowing respondents to make additional comments will increase their satisfaction level and will also give valuable feedback on the specific questions and/or the survey as a whole. Keep in mind though that for a large sample collection it may be difficult to analyze free text open ended responses.

13. If the survey you are conducting is to be confidential ensure that you honour your pledge

If you have assured the respondents that the survey is confidential ensure that the individual data is not to be shared with anyone and not used for any other purpose. Confidentiality must be maintained at all times and any contact information destroyed once the survey has finished.

14. Weigh up the advantages of allowing respondents to be anonymous or identifiable

If your respondents are to be anonymous then you will be unable to follow up or match “pre” or “post” surveys. In some cases allowing people to remain anonymous will however allow people to respond without possible peer pressure.

15. Carefully consider the best response format

It is good practice to maintain a consistency in the format used for responses. When designing your survey keep in mind that when analysing the data radio buttons are easier to analyse than check boxes that offer the respondent multiple responses. Do not use a check box format if a radio response format would do.

16. Advise the respondent as to how much time the survey will take to complete

If the survey appears to be a stream of never ending questions then respondent drop can increase. It is good practice to give an indication as to how long the survey is likely to take so that the participants can determine the best time to complete the survey.

17. Provide respondents with the survey end date

Encourage respondents to complete the survey as soon as possible but advise respondents as to the survey’s end date so that they have the opportunity to schedule the necessary time.

18. Test the survey

Before publishing a live survey publish a pilot survey to check for questions that are ambiguous or confusing and to confirm that the survey is aesthetically pleasing.

19. Before publishing the survey check the survey carefully

Check and then check again that a survey is grammatically correct and makes sense. If practical get someone else to proof read the survey before you publish, if no one else is available then take a break before checking again.

20. Remember to say thank you

Respondents invest their time when completing surveys and should therefore be thanked at the end of completing the survey or in a follow up letter. You may even want to consider an incentive such as a reward of some sort.

To get started there are numerous survey software websites to choose from.

If you conduct effective market research what are the things you can learn?

Know your customers – Market research will help you better understand your customers in a number of ways including demographic information such as their age, gender and geographic spread. The better you know your customer the easier it is to target your marketing and fine tune your product or service.

Know your target market – Who exactly are your existing customers and where do they live? Does your product or service appeal to specific age groups? Do you know who your potential customers are and where they live?

Know your competition – Market Research will help you measure your service compared to others. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your business and are you improving in the areas that customers demand?

Products and services – Do you have the products or services that people want? Do you represent value for money? How do your organization’s products and services compare to those of your competitors? Can you, do you, should you deliver directly to your customer?

Ease of doing business – Do your customers find it easy to deal with you and when they visit your store and/or website do they find what they want? Is there enough good advice and assistance on hand? Do people find it easy to buy from you? Are your staff properly trained, helpful, knowledgeable and available?

Marketing – Is your marketing reaching the right people and is the marketing message clear and effective. Which are the least effective and what are the most effective marketing channels?

Do people correctly understand your marketing message? Does your marketing properly represent your brand? Do you advertise through the right channels? Are you reaching the right people?

With the power of the Internet it is now very easy to conduct market research using one of the many online survey software sites that make conducting surveys and collating good market research intelligence quick, easy and extremely cost effective.

Left alone it doesn’t take long for a building with a single broken window to rapidly become a building with many broken windows. Problems that are fixed when they are small will stop them from developing into more serious problems.

When considering the level of employee satisfaction the same is true. Dissatisfaction can spread rapidly throughout an organization and before you know it you can have morale problems that can be hard to resolve.

To ensure that your employees are happy you need to understand what their problems and concerns are and it is important to deal with them early on. It is important to keep the initiative and a good tip is to give a little and often.

This turns out be just a vicious circle. Fixing the problem when it’s small is also when it’s easiest and when it’s cheapest. The majority of employees would prefer their managers to act without being prompted and by doing so they prevent the situation where they have to address employees’ concern while on the back foot. Employees like strong, confident management and the management will gain the respect of the workforce if they take time to understand the issues.

Compare that with managers who are out of touch. They arrive late at a problem so they are on the defensive, and with their credibility eroded they have to concede to demands which in turn could lead to further and less reasonable demands. It is neither big nor clever.

How then can an organisation monitor the morale of the employees without a big budget and an abundance of spare time?

Online employee surveys. They are quick, easy to use and a low cost solution. Surveys can be written and deployed in seconds, using email, web links and social networks they cost nothing to disseminate and the results are collated and displayed in real time.

A corporate intranet is the ideal delivery platform.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With an online survey’s ability to produce results in real-time the mood of the employees can rapidly be gauged and concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.

Organisations can use survey results to identify problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific areas of concern. With good information managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.

By conducting regular surveys companies are able to address small problems before they grow into much bigger problems that are then more difficult to address.

And don’t forget that the majority of employees appreciate being consulted so asking their opinion is not a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.

Once in a blue moon a manager’s problem can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank; that looks like a blue moon.

Left alone it doesn’t take long for a building with a single broken window to rapidly become a building with many broken windows. Fixing problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into more serious problems.

When considering the level of employee satisfaction the same is true. Dissatisfaction can spread rapidly throughout an organization and before you know it you can have morale problems that can be hard to resolve.

To ensure that your employees are satisfied you need to appreciate any day to day concerns that they may have and deal with them quickly. Keeping the initiative is really important and the secret is that it is better to give a little and often.

This turns out be a vicious circle. Fixing the problem when it’s small is also when it’s easiest and when it’s cheapest. The majority of employees would prefer their managers to act without being prompted and by doing so they prevent the situation where they have to address employees’ concern while on the back foot. Employees look for strong, confident management and having a proactive approach and taking time to understand the employees’ issues will gain the respect of the workforce.

Compare that with managers who are out of touch. Arriving late to a problem they are on the defensive, their credibility at risk as they may have to concede to demands which can lead to further and less reasonable demands. It is neither big nor clever.

The question is how one goes about monitoring the morale of a company without throwing money at the problem and without the luxury of having spare time?

offers a solution. Online surveys are quick, easy and low cost. Surveys can be created in minutes and deployed in seconds, with the results compiled in real time; and by using email and websites they cost nothing to disseminate.

A corporate internet is the ideal delivery platform.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With the ability of online surveys to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged and collective and individual concerns highlighted.

Using the survey results companies can quickly identify problem areas and follow-up surveys can be used to target specific concerns. With good intelligence managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.

A major advantage of regular surveys is that it allows a company to address small problems in a timely manner avoiding ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where a relatively insignificant incident unleashes a torrent of pent up concerns.

It should not be forgotten that most employees appreciate being consulted and asking their opinion is not seen as a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.

It’s unusual to find a solution to management problems that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank but here one is.

Left alone it doesn’t take long for a building with a single broken window to rapidly become a building with many broken windows. Addressing problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into larger problems.

The same is true when considering the level of employee satisfaction. Dissatisfaction can spread rapidly throughout an organization and before you know it you can have morale problems that can be hard to resolve.

To be confident that your employees are content you need to be aware of what their day to day problems are and you need to deal with them before they get out of hand. Keeping the initiative is really important and the secret is that it is better to give a little and often.

This turns out be just a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. The majority of employees would prefer their managers to act without being prompted and by doing so they prevent the situation where they have to address employees’ concern while on the back foot. Employees look for strong, confident management and having a proactive approach and taking time to understand the employees’ issues will gain the respect of the workforce.

Compare that with managers who are out of touch. If they are late in addressing problems they are always on the defensive, having to concede to demands they run the risk of losing credibility which in turn can lead to having to agree to less reasonable demands. It is neither big nor clever.

How then can a company monitor the morale of the employees without a big budget and an abundance of spare time?

Deploying online surveys would appear to tick all the right boxes. Online surveys are quick, easy and low cost. Surveys can be written and deployed in seconds, using email, web links and social networks invitations can be sent out immediately and for free and the results are collated and displayed in real time.

The ideal delivery platform is the corporate internet.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With an online survey’s ability to produce results in real-time the mood of the employees can rapidly be gauged and concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.

Companies can use survey results to expose problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target exposed concerns. With good information managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.

By conducting regular surveys companies are able to address small problems before they grow into much bigger problems that are then more difficult to address.

And don’t forget that the majority of employees appreciate being consulted so asking their opinion is not a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.

It’s unusual to find a solution to management problems that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank but here one is.

What will conducting effective market research teach you?

Know your customers – Market research will help you better understand your customers in a number of ways including demographic information such as their age, gender and geographic spread. The better you know your customer the easier it is to fine tune your product or service towards the target market.

Know your target market – Who exactly are your existing customers and where do they live? What age group does your product or service appeal to? Do you know who your potential customers are and where they live?

Know your competition – Market Research will help you measure your service compared to others. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your organization and are you improving in the right areas?

Products and services – Do you have the products or services that people want? Is what you offer value for money? How do your company’s products and services compare to those of your competitors? If you have a product can you, do you, should you deliver directly to your customer?

Ease of doing business – Do your customers find it easy to deal with you and when they visit your store and/or website do they find what they want? Is there enough good advice and assistance on hand? Do people find it easy to buy from you? Are your staff properly trained, helpful, knowledgeable and available?

Marketing – Is your marketing reaching the right people and is the marketing message clear and effective. Which are the most effective marketing channels?

Is the marketing message understood? Does your marketing material properly represent your brand? Do you use the correct advertising and promotion channels? Are you reaching the right people?

With the power of the Internet it is now very easy to conduct market research using one of the many online survey software sites that make conducting surveys and collating good market research intelligence quick, easy and extremely cost effective.