Does your opinion matter? Should it?

Does your opinion matter? Yes, indeed, your opinion does and should matter.  Companies in our Best of the Best Benchmark from our Employee Opinion Surveys rate almost 20 points higher than organizations in our Overall Benchmark regarding their ideas and opinions counting at work. Research conducted by Quantum Workplace revealed that two of the top drivers for employee engagement of front-line employees are that their opinions count and that they are being recognized for their contributions. Our survey data confirms that companies in the Best of the Best Benchmark score 21 points higher when employees are asked if they feel they are a valued member of the team, and 17 points more favorable regarding receiving credit and recognition when they do a good job.

Employee’s opinions are, in fact, the heart of the organization and employee opinion surveys are a great way to gain that opinion. Once you have a read on employee opinions, you can then manage your culture. If you haven’t conducted a survey or you, as a manager, would like to improve your department’s culture, below you will find tips on how to successfully lead your culture to create workplace excellence.

Seek the opinions and thoughts of employees. The Best of the Best organizations rank 15 points higher on average when it comes to seeking and being receptive to the thoughts and opinions of employees. To accomplish this:

• Set aside time in every team meeting to ask for employee opinions and really listen!
• Include frontline employees in discussions about new products or services that meet customer demands
• Invite employees to participate in decisions that affect their work

Make sure all employees have a clear understanding of how their work relates to the overall goals and objectives of your company. The Best of the Best companies outpaced everyone else when employees were asked if they were clear on the contribution their work makes to the overall organization. As a leader, ensure you:

• Help employees understand the vision of the company
• Set clear goals for each employee
• Explain the importance of each goal and how it is an integral part of reaching the overall goals and objectives of the company

Value and recognize employee contributions. When it comes to employees feeling valued, the Best of the Best organizations outscore the overall organizations by 20 points. Regarding receiving credit and recognition for a job well done, the Best of the Best companies score 17 points higher.  Recognition and feeling valued are at the base of everyone’s implicit needs. When leaders are able to recognize this and make praise and recognition a daily habit, employees are more willing to go the extra mile for their leaders and engagement levels rise.  Ways you can incorporate this in your leadership are:

• Take time every day to appreciate employees and their work
• Measure progress on individual goals and recognize employees for meeting or exceeding goals
• Celebrate team and individual accomplishments
• Recognize employees who contribute to organizational wins

Promote from within and develop your people. Nothing sends a clearer message that an employee is a valuable member of the organization than providing development opportunities or a promotion within the company.  In fact, the Best of the Best companies outranked all other organizations by 19 points on having the opportunity to learn new skills and 13 points regarding their job making the best use of their skills and abilities and being promoted from within.  As a leader, it is your job to develop your people. When you do, you will have a more successful, capable team because of it. Ensure you:

• Take a personal and professional interest in your people
• Identify career aspirations and create development plans for each employee
• Provide training to accomplish development goals
• Groom high-potential employees for advancement to leadership positions

Do you want help creating a culture where your employees are more engaged? Contact us for more information about Employee Opinion Surveys and the actions you can take to create an environment where employees love to come to work.