Discussing bad results of an employee engagement survey
No one likes to receive bad employee engagement results. It can be a really difficult experience to review them on your own or with management, but it can be even more difficult discussing employee engagement with your staff members. Your employees naturally want to be a part of a successful and strong team, and so when they hear that the results are not so great, they might feel discouraged.
That said, sharing employee engagement survey results is always important. It is a good idea to give honest and accurate feedback results to your team. This builds a sense of trust and honesty; no matter what the results, they need to know about them.
‘Bad’ results are not always bad
When you receive results that appear bad, always remember that you are on the path to something positive for your business. Seemingly bad results are a lot better than no results – they show that your team is ready to tell you truth and give you their honest opinions.
The ostrich with its head in the sand cannot see the danger coming towards her – just because she can’t see a predator approaching does not mean it isn’t there! Your business is the same. If you don’t know about the negative survey data, that doesn’t mean it isn’t fomenting in the head of your employees. It is better to know about their negative feelings – this enables you to address them.
Sharing good and bad results is important to build trust
If you only share the seemingly positive results of your employee engagement surveys, your staff will catch on pretty soon. What is the point of conducting these surveys if you aren’t going to be honest and share the truth? Your employees need to witness you sharing all aspects of the results – this act will build trust and help your team to see that you are serious about building at atmosphere of honesty. Discussing employee engagement results both good and bad is an important step for further development of any enterprise.
Pay attention to benchmarking
If you want to showcase the positive aspects of even the most ‘negative’ results, have a look at the publicly available results of similar organisations in your industry. Even the biggest and best companies have received negative survey feedback – use their inspirational stories of overcoming these issues to inspire your team.
The humanizing effect – remember that no organization is perfect
No matter what industry you work in, you are not alone. Countless other managers and business owners have been in your shoes in the past. However, they have been able to overcome these issues and use them as a launch pad for success. You can do the same, but only if you acknowledge these weaknesses and listen to your employees about how to make these into strengths.
Engage your employees, brainstorm with them about potential solutions, and communicate every step of the way.
