{"id":5057,"date":"2019-06-20T06:28:55","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T11:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=5057"},"modified":"2019-05-21T16:32:24","modified_gmt":"2019-05-21T21:32:24","slug":"employee-engagement-surveys-are-they-legit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/employee-engagement-surveys-are-they-legit\/","title":{"rendered":"Employee Engagement Surveys: Are They Legit?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: The author, Dwight\u00a0Mihalicz, is a subject expert matter on effective management and hosting a free\u00a0webinar for Flevy\u2019s audience on Empowerment 4.0<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0The focus of Empowerment 4.0 is to help managers of managers understand the elements that need to be in place for effective teams.\u00a0 Most management training focuses on the \u201csoft skills,\u201d whereas the teachings of Empowerment 4.0 are more fundamental and can help managers deal with root-cause issues of why they are not getting the team performance they desire and should be able to expect.\u00a0\u00a0You can sign up for the free webinar here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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\"\"The research proving the importance of employee engagement is overwhelming. Companies with engaged employees are more productive, profitable, and ultimately; successfully engaged employees are more likely to stay, less likely to\u00a0burn out<\/a>, and become advocates for the company brand.<\/p>\n

For these reasons, organizations go to great lengths to better understand how to improve engagement in their employees. Unfortunately, they often make the mistake of relying too heavily on the results of employee engagement surveys.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Problem with Employee Engagement Surveys<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019re certainly not alone if you\u2019re disillusioned with employee engagement surveys. The problem is that while these surveys are insightful, they\u2019re not exactly helpful. They will tell you that employees are unhappy about poor communication or lack of collaboration; however, they won\u2019t tell you how to attack the cause of\u00a0employee disengagement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To know that your company suffers from high disengagement doesn\u2019t help you cure the disease; it merely tells you just how sick you are. For example, by knowing that 32% of your workforce categorizes themselves as engaged, you still don\u2019t know how to approach the 68% who aren\u2019t. You ask yourself what all these numbers and categories mean, and how or if you can utilize them to improve engagement in your employees.<\/p>\n

The truth is that while employee engagement surveys are doing an excellent job of measuring symptoms, they don\u2019t address the underlying disease. And because companies mistakenly only treat the symptoms, they enjoy momentary relief. And like an infection that hasn\u2019t been fully cured, the fever will return.<\/p>\n

Measuring Manager Effectivity<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the intentions of employee engagement surveys are right, the data is meaningless without leading us to the base cause. After much research, we know that high employee engagement will always be traced back to the effectivity of the organization\u2019s management.<\/p>\n

For employees to be engaged, managers need to manage!<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>High performing organizations ensure that their managers are aligned, collectively working to help achieve strategic objectives. They\u2019re keen on maintaining operations and leading their teams. It requires an accountability and authority framework that is clear and implemented down and across the entire organization.<\/p>\n

In measuring the effectiveness of your managers, Effective Managers\u2122 has developed a survey-based on research conducted with the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. The\u00a0Manager Effectiveness Assessment<\/a>\u00a0provides a means of assessing the effectiveness of managers on dimensions such as:<\/p>\n