Employee surveys and the dangers of ignoring feedback
In today’s competitive business environment, it is more important than ever for you as an employer to listen to and act on the feedback and suggestions from your employees.
As we examined in a previous Akyra blog, employee surveys (e.g. Akyra’s HR SnapShot) can provide valuable insights into the experiences, needs and concerns of employees. They can also help you to identify and make decisions that will address any issues that may be impacting employee morale, productivity and engagement.
Failure to listen to and act on employee feedback and suggestions risks the business losing valuable opportunities for improvement. There can also be additional negative consequences, including decreased employee engagement, productivity not at the level that is required and higher employee turnover rates.
This week, we take a look at the potential costs and consequences of ignoring employee feedback from survey findings and discuss the importance of regularly collecting and acting on this information.
Negative impacts on employee morale, engagement and productivity
Ignoring employee feedback from survey findings potentially negatively impacts employee morale and engagement.
When employees feel their feedback is not being heard or valued, they are likely to become disillusioned and lose trust in their employer; leading to a decline in morale and engagement as employees may feel unappreciated and unsupported in their work.
Decreased morale and engagement can also translate into a subsequent loss of productivity and efficiency. Demotivated employees are more likely to be less focused, less efficient and less likely to go the extra mile to deliver high-quality work; leading to a decline in productivity.
These issues are particularly pertinent in relation to recent concerns related to quiet quitting plus the significant financial impacts that employee disengagement can have on a business.
Increased turnover and recruitment costs
Ignoring employee feedback may also contribute to higher levels of employee turnover as disaffected workers choose to look for work elsewhere. Higher employee turnover results in losing the right people and has a considerable financial impact (e.g. training time, loss of productivity recruiting and onboarding new employees and/or customer dissatisfaction). The cost of recruiting and onboarding new employees has increased significantly in recent years.
Loss of trust
Another effect of ignoring employee feedback and survey findings is the loss of trust in your leadership. When employees feel their feedback is not being heard or acted upon, they usually become more sceptical of your commitment to making changes that address the issues identified in the survey.
The outcome is a lack of trust in your leadership because employees may feel their concerns and suggestions are being ignored or dismissed.
Businesses can build trust and improve morale among their employees by taking action communicating to employees the findings of the survey and what the business can/can’t do in relation to those findings. In turn, this will demonstrate your commitment to listening to and acting on the concerns of your employees.
Akyra’s key takeaways
- Conducting regular employee surveys can provide you as an employer with valuable insight into what is working – and what isn’t – within your business.
- Merely conducting these surveys isn’t enough. You should ensure that, where possible, you communicate the outcomes and act meaningfully to address issues identified by the survey responses.
- Failure to act on feedback collected from employee surveys can have a negative effect on a business; leading to loss of morale, engagement and productivity amongst employees – and has the potential to contribute to increased employee turnover rates, which can prove costly.
- Conversely, acting upon employee feedback in a meaningful way can boost employee engagement and retention, and improve your workplace culture
Would You Like Help With Your Employee Engagement Survey?
Akyra Strategy and Development is a human resource and people management consultancy practice who specialise in helping businesses become employers of choice.
Our HR SnapShot Survey is a ‘done-for-you’ employee engagement survey like no other. Carefully crafted to measure predictors of employee engagement, perception and satisfaction, your employee responses will be assessed by a team of experts who will prepare a report with the findings, conclusions and suggested recommendations (rather than an automated report that pulls from outdated research like many of the other options out there).
If you’d like to learn more about the HR SnapShot, you can do so here. Or, if you’d like to speak with an expert from our ever-helpful team, you can reach out to us by calling 07 3204 8830 or emailing our team connect@akyra.com.au.
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Akyra can help your business to assist and support all your questions and concerns related to employee surveys and implementing feedback. Please contact Akyra on 07 3204 8830 or book a free 30-minute consultation for an obligation-free conversation.
Disclaimer – Reliance on Content
The material distributed is general information only. The information supplied is not intended to be legal or other professional advice, nor should it be relied upon as such. You should seek legal or professional advice in relation to your specific situation.
