Perception based survey tools no longer relevant in these times of real time information
Engagement surveys based on an analysis of employee perceptions of organisation and work were developed at a time when there was not much free flow of information and more importantly when employer- employee relations were formal and were hierarchies worked. It was then necessary to adopt non threatening & inclusive methods to understand employee expectations at work and to objectively gauge employee views on matters that impacted their work life - perception based surveys provided organisations a basis to probe different aspects of work life & collect views of all employees and provided employees the anonymity to respond without fear. In this day of networks, access to information, technology enabled work systems and openness in employee – employer interactions, the relevance of perception based employee surveys is questionable.
A tool meant to improve HR credibility could actually compromise HR effectiveness
Employee surveys that are based more on employee perception of organisation & work, could confuse rather than clarify and through their focus on employee feelings and perception of organisation & work could perpetrate a view that may have no substantial basis in reality and thus actually jeopardise organisation efforts rather than drive it towards a desirable direction. The explosion of information over the past several decades and the availability of sophisticated analytical and statistical techniques have made it possible for more science and rigour to be brought into the way we can analyse and measure information and evaluate their impact on business performance. In marketing, sales, finance, production and host of other business divisions we are increasingly seeing the use of relevant and real time information in making decisions and use of statistical tools in analysing the impact of decisions and actions on business performance. HR has lagged far behind their organisation counterparts in incorporating this approach of using real information and statistical analysis and rigour in understanding the way people operate at work and contribute to business performance With Human Capital increasingly becoming the true differentiator between good and excellent companies , it is now critical that new and real measures of employee engagement that are driven by fact not perception be developed.
Learn from Consumer Research Methods
It is a well accepted fact that surveys as a research tool are vulnerable to bias – the wording of the question, the administration of the question, the circumstances under which the question is asked, all have an impact on the outcome. Research has shown that the environment, availability of choices and information and situational factors all have an impact on consumer purchase behaviour- and that the actual purchase decision of a consumer could be in variance to the purchase intent. Market Researchers are therefore increasingly using observation based and fact based data to gain insights to what consumers and competitors are doing. The focus is more on what consumers and competitors are doing not what they may like to do. HR should learn from the field of current Market Research to build measurement tools that are based more on what employees do rather than what employees feel or think they may do.
Develop tools to measure actions and outcomes
Develop tools to measure actions and outcomes
Work systems and technology today makes it possible to develop tools that measure employee engagement based on what an employee actually does at work rather than what he feels about or thinks about work.
As a first step towards developing those tools the focus could be on measuring
A comprehensive tool incorporating these dimensions and their impact on business performance could help business and leadership to understand and be better prepared in managing the People Facet of organisations. Until such time that HR can demonstrate this fact based understanding of people issues at work and advice accordingly, organisations will not be able to effectively leverage the true power of Human Capital at work.
- Enabling knowledge- individual alignment with organisation values, goals, objectives, job purpose; Individual understanding of department or Unit role
- Enabling actions – behaviours that impact on business performance- eg absenteeism, adherence to commitments etc
- Understanding its linkage with business outcomes
A comprehensive tool incorporating these dimensions and their impact on business performance could help business and leadership to understand and be better prepared in managing the People Facet of organisations. Until such time that HR can demonstrate this fact based understanding of people issues at work and advice accordingly, organisations will not be able to effectively leverage the true power of Human Capital at work.
2 comments:
The theme is engaging, the stance taken provocative.For starters, the first theme:"Perception based survey tools no longer relevant in these times of real time information". It is part of daily experience that merely because of an explosion in communication technology and devices,communication between individuals, within groups and across an organization haven't multiplied manifold - and even where it has, it cannot be said that a) there is free and open communication without fear b) that such communcation has been harnessed to get a sense of what people think and feel.
It is also not clear whether in the author's view, feelings and perceptions matter and is seen as linked to performance.
It would also help to get a sense of what real time measures one has in mind that the HR professional has / or could have access to for better performance.
I am not sure that merely a focus on "what people do" as recommended is sufficient. Can we state our assumptions about people, work and organizations and then build recommendations? At times otherwise it seems that HR risks becoming a "me too" - seeking to ape what other functions / disciplines do without examination / justfication.
Hi Naren, Thanks for your post and the points that you have raised. At this point of time I am working on specific recommendations & have more ideas than answers; I will however, attempt some clarifications:
The point is not about technology but about how relationships and interactions at work have changed making perception based engagement surveys less relevant in these times. Earlier when interactions where driven predominantly by the power of hierarchy and role the only way to get an unbiased view on the employees commitment & bond with the organisation was the engagement survey. Times have changed; employees now demonstrate, expect and demand open and honest communications & feedback. There are other systems –skip level interactions, grievance redressal forums, employee communication forums, group spocs etc that are now more commonly used in organisations to make it possible for employees to speak freely and seek help where there is fear. You have real information with specific instances that are brought to the fore in these forums- most often enough material for organisation to focus their attention.
I have no doubt that feelings are important, individuals bring their feelings into the way they work and act- it is seen in the quality of work and interactions- my point is that it is better to address the feelings demonstrated in action rather than work on perceptions - this gives people & organisations the ability to work on real things and progress rather than work in the realm of perception & probabilities. Ultimately the objective of an engagement survey is to bring management attention to blind spots and other gaps which stress the organisation and are otherwise not visible in daily interactions. When it is possible to bring blind spots and organisational gaps to the fore through organisational operating mechanisms why have perception based engagement surveys that are suggestive rather than conclusive and have the potential of misleading? Measures that reflect degree of real alignment and provide real data to work on are more constructive & more useful in defining action and making a difference.
Technology has made it possible for companies to track actions at work – be it attendance at work or meetings, progress of programs, successful conclusion of initiatives etc. I am sure that if the electronic trail of these real actions is analysed and if information scattered throughout the organisation is effectively collated we could get meaningful information on the state of the organisation that could be real pointers on where organisation actions/interventions should be directed for better alignment . For eg an analysis of email traffic could throw some great new insights on working organisation structures, I am willing to wager that it will not necessarily reflect the published organisation structure.
I do confess at this time, like I said at the beginning, I have more ideas and questions than answers. I am sure interactions and debates like this could throw up more ideas and more answers.
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