It’s a well-known fact that staff satisfaction is at the core of any successful business.

Unhappy staff produce substandard work and this, of course, will significantly impact business profitability. Acquiring and maintaining the right team of people can be the difference between success and failure. If you have a dynamic team which generates ideas, motivate each other and strive for results, your business will succeed – there’s no doubt about it.

However, before you start arranging delivery dates for foosball tables and giant beanbags, the best way of perceiving and improving a proactive workforce is, simply, to listen.

A thorough employee survey will define the strengths and weaknesses of a team, and provides managers with a detailed insight into areas that need improvement. Essentially, a survey should be tailored to the company and the staff – there’s no point in sending out a template that has no relevancy to the industry or individual. You may want to focus on a specific issue or commit a broader audit that provides a general oversight. Whatever the purpose, once the data has been collected, it’s important to collate results and take action.

If you want to gather an essential and comprehensive evaluation of how your employees’ perceive you as a manager though, a traditional employee survey won’t work as well as anonymous 360 degree feedback.  In recent years, this has become the industry standard for work-based psychological assessment as it consistently provides quality results, extracting development and leadership opportunities. This, however, is worth nothing if you do not assemble the results and make the appropriate changes. All too often, employee surveys actualise very little progression, which defies the point all together. If this is the case, it’s important to bear in mind that staff perceptions influence their commitment to any given role and this has a genuine impact on your business model.

Why not implement an employee survey today and listen to your most value resource, your staff? You’ll see benefits to your business almost immediately.

Dominic Wake is director at ETS plc where he is responsible for leading human resource projects across performance management, development and engagement. For more information about how 360 appraisals can benefit your business, please visit the website.

Tags: 360 feedback, business productivity, employee productivity, staff satisfaction, surveys