Human Resource Management: An Attitude Survey on Employee Satisfaction
The dynamic nature of the current business environment has made human resource management a complex task. Very often, companies of all types and sizes strive to attract and retain quality employees in order to outperform competitors in their respective industries. According to Guarav (2012), employee satisfaction is one of the most critical aspects in ensuring long-term association of the employees and the organization. Gregory (2011) also states that a high rate of employee satisfaction translates to a lower turnover rate. Thus, every employer should make use of effective performance management tools and procedures and at the same time create a good working environment in order to keep the employees satisfied. An employee attitude survey is one such tool, and it is an essential component of human resource management (Knapp and Mujtaba, 2009). It helps the HR managers determine some of the reasons employees can become discouraged and unmotivated. This text presents an attitude survey aimed at assessing the level of job satisfaction among employees. It explains the purpose of the survey, the preliminary design issues and the instructions for administering and interpreting the survey.
The purpose of the survey
Statistics show that American workers hold an average of eight jobs throughout their careers Gregory, 2011). The high turnover rate can be attributed to employee dissatisfaction, which as an added cost to any organization particularly because even in economic downturns, employers have to invest huge sums of money recruiting and training new employees. Thus the employee satisfaction survey will provide useful information on how to retain employees to avoid extra costs. The survey will assess how satisfied the employees are with their jobs in terms of appreciation and recognition, discrimination, reward systems, levels of stress, opportunities for growth and communication within the organization.
Knapp and Mujtaba (2009) explain that in today's global and competitive work environment, employers have to pay keen attention to employee attitudes, opinions and suggestions. The authors further explain that the more they know about the feelings of the employees, the easier it will be to monitor their behavior and improve their performance. Thus the survey intends...
They explain effective ways of designing and administering surveys in all types of organizations. Information will be gathered through the use of questionnaires with questions that will focus on how the employees feel on various issues concerning their jobs. They will begin with a clear statement of the purpose and key areas covered. However, due to the diverse range of issues that may affect employee satisfaction, determining the topics that would be covered was a difficult task. The topics were narrowed down to four main categories namely: benefits and compensation, involvement and communication, diversity and company culture. Knapp and Mutjaba (2009) state that the way respondents are asked to answer questions should be accompanied by an appropriate way to report what they have to say. This made it difficult to design questions that had one thought, and to avoid biased phrases that may intimidate the employees. To correct this, both multiple and open ended questions were used, which avoid bias, enhance clarity and make it easy to interpret the results. The questions use a five point scale depending on whether the employees: strongly agree, agree, are neutral, disagree or strongly disagree with the statements provided.
Instructions for administering, scoring, and interpreting the survey
The head of departments will first communicate the need and importance of the survey to the employees. The questionnaires will then be administered to employees who will be willing to take part in the survey. Knapp and Mujtaba (2009) assert that anonymity and confidentiality of the responses should be emphasized. Therefore, the respondents will answer the questionnaires in private rooms and they will not be required to provide their personal details.
After the survey has been completed, the results for each section will be summarized and a total score for each section provided. The results will also be presented based on the length of time the employee has been in the organization, their gender and the department in which they…
