Manufacturers are no strangers to personnel challenges. No-call no shows, high turnover rates, and fluctuating productivity are just some of the issues that throw a wrench in your daily manufacturing operations and make a sizeable dent in your bottom line.
But what if there was a solution that could help you address these pain points at their root cause?
Enter the employee engagement survey, a tool that organizations of all sizes, sectors, and industries use to determine how engaged — or not — their employees are, and why.
Studies show that understanding the level of employee engagement is crucial for business owners because it has a significant, correlative impact on some of the most important factors driving their business, from absenteeism, turnover, and productivity to product quality, safety incidents, and profitability.
By reading this article, you’ll gain a better understanding of employee engagement and employee engagement surveys — what they are, how they work, and the best way to utilize them.
What is Employee Engagement?
Employee engagement isn’t about employee happiness or job satisfaction; it’s a measure of how employees feel about their employer. It’s how connected they feel to the organization. The level of passion they have for their work and role. The commitment they have to their employer. And the energy they feel toward achieving their goals.
What is an Employee Engagement Survey?
An employee engagement survey measures the motivation and emotional investment employees have in their workplace. Although there are many “brands” of employee engagement surveys available to business owners, they typically comprise a short series of questions your employees can answer anonymously.
Depending on what brand of survey you use, the survey responses are aggregated and then grouped in different ways for interpretation, analysis, and — guided by the resulting data —responsive action.
What are the Benefits of an Employee Engagement Survey?
Conducting and responding to the results of an employee engagement survey will benefit organizations in multiple ways, finds global analytics and advisory firm Gallup. Compared to a disengaged workforce, having a highly engaged team leads to a:
*Source: Gallup: 2023 State of the American Workplace Study
How is an Employee Engagement Survey Conducted?
Developing the Survey Questions
Typically, an engagement survey consists of a standardized list of roughly a dozen questions. Depending on which brand of survey you elect to use, additional questions can often be customized, enabling you to gain insights into how your employees feel about specific practices, policies, procedures, benefits, leadership traits, and many other areas.
At Rehmann, we use the globally recognized and time-trusted survey tools offered by Gallup, because they’ve been scientifically proven to deliver accurate and useful results. Gallup also provides industry benchmarks, enabling our clients to compare their results to those of their peers.
Another reason we prefer Gallup: Its survey data can be stratified to provide analysis of specific roles, teams or shifts — key to identifying different opinions by group across the organization and allowing clients to target their engagement improvement efforts. The ability to target means organizations waste little time or resources guessing what efforts to apply where, maximizing the return on their investment.
Administering the Survey
Whichever survey your organization elects to use, honest employee responses are required for the survey to produce meaningful and actionable feedback. As such, surveys should be designed and administered to ensure the identity of respondents is concealed. When they know they won’t are more likel employees y to share candid and sincere feedback about their workplace experience, especially if there are problems.
Analyzing the Results and Implementing Changes
After the data is collected, and the survey closes, an experienced survey administrator should analyze the results and share the findings in a way (or ways) that makes sense to you. If you’re comparing surveys and how they’re conducted, look for those that offer a survey administrator that not only has experience with a manufacturing workforce but also is equipped to help your specific organization identify, prioritize, and tailor a course of action to address your survey feedback. This will help ensure you get the right guidance to make meaningful and impactful changes to improve your workplace engagement
What Should I Look for in an Employee Engagement Survey Provider?
Choosing the right partner to conduct your employee engagement survey is a critical step toward driving positive change in your organization. Not all providers are created equal, so it’s essential that you understand their capabilities, approach, and track record before committing. Here are just some of the things to look for when you’re researching survey providers:
- Industry Expertise: Look for a provider who understands the specific challenges that manufacturing operations encounter. The production floor dynamics between employees are vastly different from what is found in an office setting, so knowing how to navigate the nuances of that environment is key. If a survey provider has only worked in white collar workplaces, it’s advised to look for a different provider who has experience conducting surveys in blue-collar environments, such as warehouses, factories, etc.
- Post-Survey Support: Employee engagement is not a one-and-done operation. Intentional effort to prioritize and respond with thoughtful action to the areas and issues the initial engagement survey reveals is recommended. Follow-up and regular surveying after action plans have been implemented and have time to take effect allows you and your partner provider to track progress and tweak efforts as necessary. Again, look for a survey provider who will help you not only interpret and analyze data but also design and implement action plans in response to that data.
- Proven Track Record: Lastly, find a partner who has been there and done that. Look for a collaborative survey provider who has helped measure, track, and improve employee engagement in organizations similar to yours. When evaluating, ask about success stories, case studies, and/or references.
If your organization is ready to improve employee engagement, consider working with Rehmann. With extensive experience in manufacturing-specific human resources support, our HR Solutions team is equipped to provide the specialized guidance and services you — and your employees — deserve.
Want to learn more about our employee engagement surveys, we’re happy to offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation to guide you in the best direction for your organization.