5 benefits of employee satisfaction surveys

What is an employee satisfaction survey?  

An employee satisfaction survey is a digital questionnaire that can be sent out to employees to give HR managers and other decision-makers a better understanding of how employees perceive and feel about their work, how satisfied they are with their work environment, and where there is potential for improvement. Employee satisfaction surveys are a modern and efficient way of collecting feedback, enabling a more agile, scientific, and data-driven approach. 

What is employee satisfaction? 

Before we go on to list the benefits, let us first clarify what employee satisfaction is and why it is important. Employee satisfaction is a term widely used in the context of HR and people operations, to describe how content or satisfied employees are with their employee experience. Employee satisfaction is an important metric that is also closely related to employee engagement.  

Why are employee satisfaction surveys so important? 

One of the fundamental reasons is that it is important for companies to understand the “whys” of their employees. When employers understand the drive and motivation of their employees, they can meet their needs and wants. Listening to employees makes them feel seen and valued, and when employees feel valued, they are more willing to go above and beyond in their work. Both employers and employees share the same sentiment that they want more than just to “meet expectations”, and that is why a workplace that ensures that they are doing everything they can to fulfill the needs of their workers will get more out of their employees than companies that do not care about employee satisfaction.  

5 benefits of employee satisfaction surveys 

1. Satisfaction surveys give your employees a voice 

Job satisfaction is a great measurement of how engaged and satisfied employees are. Employee satisfaction surveys measure this in real-time and make it possible for employers to act on the collected data immediately to maintain or increase employee satisfaction. When employers act swiftly upon the employee feedback in the surveys, employees will notice the actions taken to improve their satisfaction and that their voices are heard and valued at the company. This in turn improves employee motivation at the company and helps to increase productivity.  

2. Satisfied employees lead to satisfied customers 

We have already established that employee satisfaction surveys lead to an empowered group of workers who are willing to put that little bit extra into their work every day. And who benefits from engaged workers that are willing to go the extra mile? That's right, the customers. Customers' perception of the service they are provided with has an influence on overall customer satisfaction. That means that customer satisfaction is a consequence of employee satisfaction and that those two concepts go hand in hand. When employees feel a sense of purpose at a company, they are much more committed to delivering the service customers expect and, in that way, create customer loyalty. 

 3. Employee satisfaction surveys reduce employee turnover 

Customer relationship management is a field that is becoming increasingly important for businesses. Scholars such as Kotler & Armstrong talk about how good CRM leads to long-lasting customer relationships that have a high lifetime value. Keeping a customer means more than losing just a sale, it means losing the entire stream of purchases that customers will make in the future. It is therefore cheaper to manage relationships with existing customers rather than having to attract new customers for each sale.  

The same idea applies to employees. By managing employee satisfaction and keeping workers engaged and motivated companies can prolong the employee journey and reduce turnover. Reducing employee turnover saves employers both time and money in recruiting and onboarding new inexperienced staff, while directly impacting the profitability and productivity of the company. 

4. Satisfied employees become ambassadors/advocates 

Happy employees become great marketers for your company. By using employee satisfaction surveys, it is possible to measure the eNPS of the employees in the company. If the eNPS is high, chances are that the workers are doing a fair bit of marketing for your company, for free!  

This is great in more than one way. Satisfied employees are more likely to share company content on their personal social media pages during out-of-office hours and talk favorably about their workplace, which will increase the chances of attracting both new customers and new, top-tier talent that can help propel your company forward. 

5. High employee satisfaction reduces short- and long-term sick leave 

Absence due to illness or injuries are problems that cannot be avoided entirely and that is something that every employer must accept. It is however symptoms of other problems that influence employee absenteeism, which can be mitigated if addressed in the right way. Lack of engagement, work-related stress and mental health issues are preventable if the employer is willing to listen to their workers and cares about their employee wellbeing. By conducting employee satisfaction surveys, it is possible to take data-backed decisions that will help reduce stress and other problems for employees that will simultaneously make them happier. And happier staff are a lot less likely to take time off work. 

Related reading: 5 Benefits of Employee Engagement  

A proactive approach to employee satisfaction 

Regularly collecting data in digital employee satisfaction pulse surveys in a continuous effort to improve working conditions is one of the best ways to keep response rates higher than in annual satisfaction surveys. By always having updated information and access to a variety of opinions on specific topics, HR and managers are always on top of the situation within the organization. 

Choose the right tool for employee satisfaction surveys 

Many employee satisfaction tools are available on the HR tech market. So how to know which survey provider is the best to be able to improve employee satisfaction? 

A good start is to select a survey provider that understands what motivates and engages employees. Without understanding this, it’s not possible to move forward and act toward the betterment of organizational culture. The best employee satisfaction survey tools are based on the unique driving forces of everyone at an organization so that HR, managers, and employees can understand the dynamics of the organizational culture and work together to improve it. 

Choose a scientifically validated tool for employee satisfaction surveys 

Instead of making decisions based on gut feelings, another benefit of using software for employee satisfaction surveys is that it is based on science and has a solid foundation to help process the data collected so that the right actions can be taken. 

Choose a flexible platform that can be integrated with already existing HR tools 

Select a platform that is easy to integrate with the tools you already have in use in your organization. These platforms should act as a complement to your already existing processes and help you improve them. It would be counter-intuitive to opt for a tool that cannot be seamlessly integrated into your organization because that would just interrupt processes and involve more administration. 

Key takeaways

Managing employee satisfaction by conducting regular employee pulse surveys can help with: 

• Satisfied employees are more likely to bring better service to customers and increase customer satisfaction 

• Unwanted absenteeism is affected positively by managing employee satisfaction 

• Happy employees turn into great marketers for your company 

• Employee satisfaction surveys reduce staff turnover 

Employee satisfaction surveys, when used right, can provide benefits in multiple areas of your organization. Get in touch with our team of experts to learn more about employee satisfaction and employee engagement surveys, and how the Eletive platform can help you build a workplace where people thrive.