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Posts Tagged ‘personnel’

When good employees leave it is not only a loss in terms of time, effort and all the cost associated with finding a suitable replacement but it is also the loss of losing unique knowledge and experience specifically associated to the organization; Prevention is the best cure against the problem of losing good employees.

It is inevitable that employees will leave from time to time but a good employer will want to know why an employee has decided to leave to ensure that personnel are leaving for the right, and not the wrong, reasons.

Concerns of employees can be identified early by the regular use of well designed job satisfaction surveys, allowing for problems to be resolved and helping to minimize needless loss of staff. However, some problems, especially those that involve personalities, are not always brought to the surface until it is too late.

Poor management and/or a lack of any real career development are two common reasons that can result in employees deciding to leave an organization. Both of these problems can be difficult to identify even for organizations that adopt regular 360-degree appraisals (i.e. where as part of the overall appraisal process, employees may be asked to evaluate their managers).

While employed employees can be reluctant to criticize their managers for fear of the consequences, they can however be more candid when completing an employee exit survey.

Although adopting exit surveys many not prevent individuals from leaving it will help bring to the surface problems that could, if left unchecked, result in poor staff moral for the remaining staff and worse case scenario, a flood of resignations.

Limited Career Development

Not all employees desire, nor can employers always provide their employees with a clear and long term career path. Some people find comfort and job security in doing one job but there are just as many who prefer to be continually challenged, always acquiring new skills and steadily moving up the corporate ladder. A successful organization will maintain the balance of having high flyers and more modest and humble employees.

Where losses due to a lack of career development are occasional they may also be inevitable, but where they are frequent, then changes to the organizational structure might need to be considered to allow for greater career development of the employees.

Sub-standard Management

Many a manager has achieved their managerial position through hard work and a deserved promotion, but a good worker does not always make a good manager and many are awarded a management position without any management training.

Poor managers can be quick to discredit the views of disgruntled staff, ‘I was thinking of getting rid of them anyway’ and ‘they were a waste of space’ are typical responses to being asked if there is a problem causing people to leave an organization.

It is proper and natural for senior management to support their line managers by giving them the benefit of any doubt, after all a good managers can always be slighted by poor employees. If through an Exit survey a man-management problem were to be identified early it presents a realistic chance that the problem could be properly addressed and resolved with appropriate formal training and guidance.

Records

It is not uncommon for people to leave an employer and at a later date put in a claim for constructive dismissal. With ‘No win no fee’ legal representation this has become a real problem for even good employers. Exit surveys will at best, provide a valuable record of the employee’s reasons for leaving, and at worse, provide early warning that a possible claim might be expected.

Unless it is on record a tribunal will not necessarily accept an employer’s word that when an employee left they did so without indicating any grievance.

Timing the exit survey

Exit surveys can be conducted as part of the termination procedures or they can, with the employee’s agreement, be delayed for a few months.

The advantage with delaying an exit survey for a few months is that after a period of reflection a former employee can be less emotional and more objective and if they have taken up another position they may be in a position to compare their previous role with their new role.

Conducting an exit survey as part of the termination procedure has the advantage that although the leaving employee may be emotional their views may be more reflective of their true state of mind and therefore closer to the real reasons they have decided to leave. If delayed any comparison between the ex-employee’s old and new roles may be the result of them putting on a brave face, and if the reasons that are given require action, the delay may have prevented the problem from being resolved.

Summary

Organizations will generally benefit in a number of different ways by including exit surveys as part of their employee termination procedures. Having good records could prove to be very valuable later and they will also provide management with information that can help them improve an organization’s moral as well as the bottom line.

See the following survey for sample exit interview questions.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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 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 vital 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. There is little advantage for the employer to wait until they are prompted by the employee to make urgent change, if they are proactive the employer can operate from a position of strength and that in turn will help maintain the respect that their employees have towards them. 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 leads to further and less reasonable demands. It is not big and it is not clever.

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

The most obvious solution is to conduct an online employee survey. They offer a quick, easy and cost effective solution. Instead of weeks and months surveys can now be designed and published in hours and minutes, by harnessing the power of the internet invitations can be sent out instantly and free of charge using email, links on websites and postings on social networks; the results are collated in real-time and can be automatically displayed as charts.

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

Organisations can use survey results to highlight problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific concerns. With good intelligence 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.

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.

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.

If a single broken window is not repaired it won’t be long before more windows are broken. Resolving 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 satisfied you need to be aware of any day to day problems and deal with them before they get out of hand. Keeping the initiative is vital and it is nearly always 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. 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 not big and it is not clever.

The issue, then, is how to go about monitoring the morale of a company without a big budget and without much spare time?

The first port of call should be an online employee survey. 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 mechanism 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 identify 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.

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.

If not repaired it doesn’t take long for a building with one broken window to quickly turn in to a building with a lot of broken windows. Resolving 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 like wildfire and in the blink of an eye you can have the type of morale problems that are notoriously 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 just a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. 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 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 those 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’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?

The most obvious solution is to conduct an online employee survey. They offer a quick, easy and cost effective solution. 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.

A corporate intranet is the perfect 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.

Companies 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.

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.

If not repaired it won’t take long for a building with one broken window to quickly turn in to 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 a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. If management wait to introduce change until they are prompted by employees then they risk having to implement change from a weak position. Staff like strong, confident management and this approach generates respect not least because someone has taken the time to understand some of the employees’ issues.

Compare that with those 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’s not big and it’s not clever.

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

The first port of call should be an online employee survey. They offer a solution that is 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 perfect 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 an online survey to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged, concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.

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

Conducting regular surveys will allow organizations to address small problems in a timely manner and avoid ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where a relatively insignificant incident unleashes a torrent of pent up frustration.

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