Alternatives to Large Scale
Employee SurveysJohn E. Jones and William L. Bearley
The
following tips are from Surveying Employees
by John E. Jones, Ph.D. and William L. Bearley,
Ed.D. Drs. Jones and Bearley are experienced
professors and consultants who have done substantial
work in the field of employee surveys and
360° feedback
with numerous public and private organizations.
Survey Projects
A number of activities can be carried out without having to go through the carefully
designed steps described in our book. Each of these activities is a compromise
from, or is in preparation for, the total-system intervention that we prefer.
Several of these activities can be combined in one project.
Small-group surveys. Team building is often aided by the
use of survey feedback. A team-oriented questionnaire can be devised, administered
to a work group, summarized, and fed back in an extended staff session, preferably
offsite.
Samples. Remarkably accurate statistics can be derived from
small samples of employees. This approach can be used as a starting point for
using survey-feedback technology within an organization.
Upgrading the attitude survey. It seems to us that the annual
attitude survey, the results of which are studied only by select senior managers,
is largely worthless. One way to get started in the approach that is advocated
in this guidebook is to change the survey and its feedback, to emphasize behavior
and problem identification through feedback to all.
Working with senior management. In order for a large-scale
survey to be ideally targeted, there must be a consensus among top leaders
on the organization's vision, mission, purpose, goals, and values. HRD personnel
can assist as facilitators of the discussion of these vital topics as preparation
for working with a task force to determine the present state of the organization
against these important directional statements.
A "quick-and-dirty." If senior managers are concerned about
what they perceive may be a problem in the organization, a simple, short questionnaire
can be devised and administered to explore the situation. It is important to
promise feedback to everyone involved, including a report on management's action
plan.
Seminar using this book. A task force to conduct a survey
can profit by studying this guidebook closely.
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