Does it ever feel like it's raining solicitations to get certified in yet another survey or assessment? Every survey methodology claims to be better designed and more accurate than the last to measure culture and employee feelings about the organization.
While surveys are useful, they can also be misused, misinterpreted and create more problems. Far too many organizations rely solely on surveys to measure employee morale, feelings of inclusion and gaps in equity. I often wonder if some leaders are afraid to actually engage in conversations with employees, particularly if they are from different backgrounds.
For example, I was recently referred to a CEO of a mid-size foodservice company. Although her organization included diversity, equity and inclusion in their mission statement they couldn't retain Black and LatinX employees. There were also charges of gender inequity.
The CEO decided to purchase a survey and use in-house resources to administer it to all the employees. Participation was much lower than expected, with little helpful feedback and recommendations. According to the survey results, everyone who did fill it out said they were happy, there were no problems and no one offered any recommendations. Yet the problems persisted. At no time during this process was there any interaction with employees which might have yielded better input about the state of the culture.
Getting to the issues
At the urging of another member of the executive team, the CEO hired us to help. In order to correct issues of retention, charges of inequality and lack of participation, we needed to go to the source, and spend time talking to employees.
We interviewed present and former employees and customers, facilitated demographic group discussions, observed the way people interacted and worked together, and used a short-customized survey.
Participation and interest were higher than expected and we had to add in more discussion groups and interviews.
This would never had occurred with just a survey. We found out that because the initial survey was conducted in-house, people didn't trust that their responses would be confidential, and were worried about retaliation if they said anything negative. Therefore, they either declined to participate or their answers were not truthful.
We also discovered that there were other groups that felt invisible (people over 40, as well as people in the accounting department) Overall, employees liked the organization but a significant number didn't feel valued because they were not asked for input, or no one listened when they did present an idea or solution.
Relationships inside the organization and externally with customers are important to this organization's success but there was a sense that the culture was not supportive.
The quantitative and qualitative data we received was essential to show what obstacles need to be removed in order to create an inclusive culture that supports all employees. A survey alone would not have provided the necessary information.
Engaging employees in the process, providing opportunities for them to make suggestions and say what they need in order to do their best work helps begin the process of making people feel valued and invested in the organization's success.
This is not the end, but the CEO and executive team now have what they need to begin to build the culture they envision.
In the next newsletter, we'll talk more in depth about next steps in the process to build and sustain the culture you envision.
If inclusion + diversity + equity is important to you, and you want to know more, contact us now
510.697.8226
We create great workplace cultures where employees love to do their best work and customers love to do business.
We can help you begin the inclusion process, build a foundation for moving forward, and develop and implement a great culture strategy that will save you time. money and resources.
