How Singapore bosses can engage employees the right way

A recent survey in Singapore suggested that 46% of companies did not see engaging their employees as a priority. What world are they living in as that is an awful lot of people who might just be looking for another job?

Retaining your best talent now is both complex and ongoing. A key tool and one that is so valuable, yet so often abused, is the Employee Opinion survey (EOS). On it’s own it will probably add little value but when combined with other retention programmes it is a powerful weapon. If you have never carried out an EOS or just played at the edges the following may help you find out whether you are engaged with your people.

Every business has touch points for both external customers and employees. Are they working? Ideally the EOS should be ongoing, not just an annual event. The key to a successful EOS is planning and preparation so take into account the following:-

Use an independent and qualified outside resource. If it is done by an in-house resource it will lack the respect, credibility and authority. It will also affect your ability to get honest and open answers. You are not going to get the rich feedback you need if the replies are going back to ‘HR’ an ‘HR equivalent’ or some other internal department.

EOS’s need careful drafting of the questions to ensure they are not “loaded questions” meaning those questions which lead the respondent to answer in a manner you would prefer to see. It is unlikely that you will have the skill set in your company to draft a questionnaire professionally. Equally any form or survey has a strong scientific base where the results can be validated and can be relied upon, because decisions will need to be made on the feedback.

Communicate the implementation of the EOS to all involved as it demonstrates this is a major topic for senior management. If logistics allow bring people together to outline the process and that get together must be led by a senior manager. If numbers are large then make use of webinars or conference calls. Don’t rely on an email with a link or attachment. Give them an unconditional undertaking they will get the results and a date when those results will be made available. Do not dither or procrastinate on this point.

Be clear as to what you want feedback on and as mentioned above tap into all the touch points for both internal and external customers. Again an outside resource will help you with this

You have a choice today of both online and hard copy feedback. Online clearly has advantages in terms of speedier feedback and lower cost so part of the get together meeting is to encourage people to do that. Whichever option you choose give employees the option to remain anonymous. You might get some unexpected feedback as to the level of trust that exists when you see how many give names and those who didn’t

You need to look carefully at your internal market and consider tailoring a questionnaire to individual departments or groups. If you simply send the EOS as one broad survey, the equivalent of an untargeted email blast, the results may not be as focused as you would like or seen as irrelevant and ignored. That doesn’t mean you cannot have general questions that clearly apply to everyone.

In the same way you may have set up meetings to announce the EOS. then do the same with the feedback. To often companies do not provide that crucial feedback which instantly raises the questions in employee’s minds that there was a lot of bad news which will stay under wraps and management is trying to hide it and then the rumour mill starts to run riot. Worse don’t expect your people to participate in any future EOS, if they are still there of course!

You must let them know the good, the bad and the ugly. Own up where there is valid criticism and admit where things haven’t been what they should have been.

Make it clear what action you are taking and by when, what is subject to further review and by when there will be a further announcement and those points which will go to the back burner. You will not be able to please all the people all of the time People might not agree with you or like what you have said, but they do need to understand your decision and you have to communicate that effectively.

In taking topics forward do not leave them in the hands of the senior managers. Get the people who gave you the feedback involved in taking the action to make the changes. Create specific task forces and give them both responsibility and make then accountable. Build in regular feedback to employees as to the progress the topics/changes/initiatives etc are making.

If you follow these tips you will earn the respect and trust of your employees over time. Once you have started it you must consistently take their pulse. They will enjoy being asked and participating in making your office or company a better place to be. You have engaged them in your and their future which goes a long way to them staying. A vibrant employee pulse is challenging, invigourating and far better than no pulse at all - think about it.