We’ve heard it all: Free food, unlimited PTO, flex time — but what really works to increase employee engagement? It’s hard to know, so we usually survey people to try and find out.
But what if the answer lies in the survey itself?
After nearly 10 years in the works, researchers in the field of consumer behavior came across an interesting finding. When customer feedback surveys were changed to start with positive solicitation, repurchase scores improved dramatically. In fact, one study showed that spending behavior increased nearly 33% (yep, you read that right) compared to users who responded to a traditional survey.
Why does this happen? According to the study, framing a survey in this way draws consumers’ attention to positive experiences during a transaction, which in turn increases repurchase behavior.
In a personal interview with one of the researchers, Dr. Kristen DeTienne, she advised, “Don’t ask all your customers to search for what you did wrong — use your survey to focus their attention on what went well.” Although many of us see memories as a snapshot in time, she points to research that shows that memories are malleable and that surveys can be used to shape perceptions. "If the customer has a good experience, don’t ask them to dig for something that they didn’t like.”
Now I know that you’re thinking, “What does this have to do with employee engagement?”
Let’s look at two forms of application:
1. Surveying Employees: Since research shows that most of the variance in employee engagement is explained by daily events, why not design employee surveys to be an occasion for improving engagement? For example, you could start an employee feedback survey with a positive solicitation such as, “How has working for XYZ company helped you progress in your career?” By asking this question, not only will employees be reminded of the good things the organization, their boss or coworkers have done for them, but they will also be inspired to “spend” additional time and energy in their current roles as their loyalty for the company grows.
2. Sharing Positive Feedback: There is nothing more gratifying for employees than hearing that their work matters to someone. By gathering positive customer feedback and sharing it with frontline employees, a significant bond is formed between self and work. Companies can now share this feedback faster than ever. For instance, JetBlue uses a series of algorithms to sort and share positive comments from surveys with employees and managers. This "compliment dashboard" has been credited with saving the company millions of dollars through customer and employee retention.
So, how do I implement this?
First, with employee loyalty in mind, let’s look at how to build the engagement survey. Above all else, you will need to start your survey with a positive, open-ended question. Closed-response questions will limit the expression of the respondent, especially for a question that may be very personal.
Design the first question so that it provides the right mindset for the rest of the survey. For instance, if you want the survey to focus specifically on the manager-employee relationship, perhaps ask, “How has your manager provided new ways to expand your skill set?” Also, be authentic. If your question has any hint of manipulation or insincerity, the data will not be valid and you may receive the opposite effect.
Second, if you want to share positive customer feedback with employees, create a process that regularly distributes these comments to the appropriate people. Whether it’s an algorithm that feeds to a dashboard or personally sorting the data, the important part is that the responses are being viewed and shared. Great venues for distribution are staff meetings, newsletters, and one-on-one discussions with direct reports.
Finally, leave room in your surveys for negative feedback. You need to know of problems in order to correct them. Dr. DeTienne suggests including an open-ended question such as, “Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?” so customers and employees can inform you about concerns and needed changes.
Too many surveys are used the wrong way. With the overarching goal of improving customer or employee experience, we instead ruin the experience itself by designing an assessment that leaves the respondent frustrated and annoyed. Quite literally, it becomes a box to check. When surveys become opportunities to remind respondents of the good that has already occurred, data is validated, and results change.
