Employee climate surveys are used to get employee feedback on the organization's progress in addressing issues such as how to fulfill its mission or internal challenges such as the quality of working conditions. It depicts the organization's requirements (Rogers, Winslow, & Higgins, 1993).
Hytec, Inc. is the client, an electronics manufacturer that provides high-quality products and technological solutions to the global cellular communications market. Due to the company’s wide range of job categories, it does a climate survey twice a year to assess different aspects of the workplace in order to improve its operational strategies.
Objectives
The main purpose of this survey is to analyze the results of the survey conducted by Hytec, Inc., interpret the results and then draw necessary recommendations based on how the climate dimensions affect life at work. The objectives of the survey are;
To determine how employee satisfaction is affected
To find out what factors lead to the decline in employee satisfaction in the workplace.
To find out the best interventions and plans of action that can maintain a high level of engagement within Hytec, Inc.
Methodology
The concerns are addressed properly by dividing the employees into focus groups. Qualitative research is best suited for this survey because flexibility is key in determining the root causes based on the employees’ concerns regarding the company survey. The most relevant qualitative technique to be applied is the use of questionnaires
Use of questionnaires
After defining the survey objectives, a subset of employees from each job category will be selected for the information collection process. Proper communication is critical in convincing the employees to participate if they believe better action plans will be developed from the survey.
Questionnaires are preferred because employees can freely express their minds due to the benefit of anonymity. It is difficult for them to withhold any relevant information. The questions have to be simply structured, clear and to the point. This avoids confusing the employees resulting in bias. According to the company’s evaluation cycles, some of the survey questions include;
Does the company offer employee benefits?
How well have the working conditions improved over time
How effective are employee-to-manager and employee-to-employee communication within the organization?
Does the company recognize and reward the high performing employees?
These are just a few of the questions owing to the fact that Hytec addressed multiple concerns during their employee survey. After the process, the questionnaires will be collected and reviewed to obtain the results of the survey.
Findings, Interpretations and Recommendations
According to the information obtained from the questionnaires, most of the concerns have not been addressed properly and implementation of key actions has not been done fully hence employees lose confidence in the strategies developed by Hytec. Pareto Priority Index will be used in determining which action plans need to be implemented first based on their level of success, cost and implementation time.
From the questionnaires, employee satisfaction depends on the benefits that the company offer to them (Bin, 2015). Employees do not enjoy as many benefits hence their poor performance as indicated by the results from the evaluation cycles. There is a need for extra compensations apart from the normal employee salary to enhance satisfaction. The best action plan for increasing the economic security of the employees is to offer tax-free benefits. These benefits, however, should not be included in the normal salary in order to receive a full package without any deductions (O'brien, 2003). These benefits can include sick leave, domestic help, and vacation payments etc.
There is a slow improvement in working conditions at Hytec, Inc. employees often tire easily due to small rest periods and tight work schedules. The changes made by Hytec have slowly improved the physical and mental conditions in the organization. The previous survey shows a small improvement in the participation of employees in the survey. Poor working conditions raise safety concerns hence they must be improved. Regular breaks should be given to the employees as well as reducing the standing periods during production. These action plans alleviate stress and fatigue hence employees remain active throughout the working period. Regular breaks mean that production targets will not always be exceeded but the upside of it is that employees will be happy and they will maximally utilize the allocated working time to try and achieve daily targets (Burke, Sarpy, Smith-Crowe, & Salvador, 2006).
Communication is key to enhancing employee satisfaction. Employees raise concerns on the types and effectiveness of communication within the company. Development of high-end products requires a lot of precision and concentration hence lack of proper communication can lead to cumulative errors throughout the entire manufacturing process. The best recommendation to be implemented in order to improve communication is dismantling the hierarchy. Hierarchies are the main causes of communication jams. Establishment of team structures is the best way to increase fluidity in communication leading to fewer delays in decision-making hence faster results (Newlands, 2016).
Employees need to feel valued and recognized by the company. Based on the evidence from the questionnaires, employees do not feel satisfied with their level of importance to the company. They raise questions like, “why continue working if my contribution to the company is worthless?” Employees need to hear positive comments about their work as well as giving them rewards for exceeding expectations. Recognition programs should be established e.g. yearly awards for best-performing employee, best safety-oriented employee etc. (Luthans, 2000).
Based on Pareto Priority Index (PPI), all the above-stated recommendations require money and time to be implemented properly (Munk, 2014). PPI factors the following inputs in determining the order of implementing the action plans.
The saving brought by the action plan
The likelihood of the plan being successful
The cost incurred during implementation
The time it takes to be fully implemented
The PPI is calculated as follows;
PPI = (savings x probability of success) / (cost x time of completion)
The table below represents the PPIs of the four recommendations.
Recommendation
Cost
Completion time
Probability of success
Savings
PPI
Increasing employee benefits
$100,000
15 weeks
89%
$250000
0.1483
Regular breaks
$123000
4 weeks
87%
$325000
0.5750
Establishing team structures
$45000
24 weeks
96%
$500000
0.4444
Rewards and recognition programs
$75000
35 weeks
90%
$100000
0.0340
Table 1: Pareto Priority Index
Conclusion
This study has explored the impact of different dimensions and has shown that a relationship exists between these dimensions and employee satisfaction. Hytec employees feel that there is little recognition from their bosses in case they perform well. This problem can be worked out if the company manager and other superiors appreciate the performance of their subordinates with even the smallest things. Improving safety within the company makes the employees courageous and happy during working hours. Also, periodic allowances and salary increments motivate workers by increasing their morale to work for the company. Employee satisfaction narrows down to the relationship between the employee and the employer. A successful relationship increases employee engagement and enthusiasm for the company.
References
Bin, A. S. (2015). The relationship between job satisfaction, job performance and employee engagement: An explorative study.
Burke, M. J., Sarpy, S. A., Smith-Crowe, K., & Salvador, R. O. (2006). Relartive Effectiveness of Worker Safety and Health Training Methods. American Journal of Public Health, 315-324.
Luthans, K. (2000). Recogntion: A powerful, but often overlooked, leadership tool to improve employee performance. Journal of Leadership Studies, 31-39.
Munk, J. (2014, July 8). The Six Signma Approach To Project Selection. Retrieved from Six Sigma Daily: http://www.sixsigmadaily.com/the-six-sigma-approach-to-project-selection/
Newlands, A. (2016, January 26). 5 Proven Ways To Improve Your Company's Communication. Retrieved from A Forbes Website: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mnewlands/2016/01/26/5-proven-ways-to-improve-your-companys-communication/#227ee5f03118
O'brien, E. (2003). Employers' benefits from workers' health insurance. The Milibank Quarterly, 5-43.
Rogers, B., Winslow, B., & Higgins, S. (1993). Employee satisfaction with occupational health services: results of a survey. AAOHN Journal, 58-65.
