Have you fixed the broken window?
by Martin Day
Published on this site: July 18th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
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 larger 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.
Ensuring your employees are happy is mostly about being tuned
into what their problems are and, importantly, dealing with
them early on. 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 virtuous circle. Fixing the problem when
it's small is also when it's easiest and when it's cheapest.
And taking the initiative without being prompted puts the
manager in a position of strength, which also suits the employees.
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 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's not
big and it's 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 survey. They're
quick, easy to use, and a 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.
A corporate internet is the ideal delivery mechanism. By
linking through to an online survey website such as http://www.surveygalaxy.com
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.
Using the survey results companies can quickly identify problem
areas and follow-up surveys can be used 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 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.
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, but there it is - sometimes management
problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy
and won't break the bank.
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