“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” Wayne Dyer, international author and speaker in the field of self-development.
How we look at and experience the world is not factual, it’s a subjective experience and that includes our working lives. The last year or so has been different for everyone, even when we look back on it, our perception of the experience will change depending how we feel at any point in time. In fact, we all change with every new experience and it’s down to one thing – emotion.
I’m sure there are thousands of employee engagement surveys being filled in as I type. Transitioning again from another lockdown into new, but thankfully familiar routines of working life.
An employee engagement survey is meant to represent the levels of enthusiasm and connection employees share with their organisation: a measure of motivation and commitment.
Using an employee engagement survey, to translate the subjective experience of employees simply doesn’t make sense from a psychological perspective. Take for example, a typical engagement survey questions such as “I am proud to work for [Company]”. It is entirely focussed on establishing internal perception of brand.
And that’s my point. An employee engagement survey isn’t actually about employees, it’s about the organisation.
Which brings me to survey fatigue. Either overwhelmed by the number of requests for feedback, or simply bored with being asked the same questions time and time again with little change in effect. The result is the same, low response rates, abandonment mid survey or worse, random tick boxing.
I can genuinely say that in 25 years of corporate life, not once have I completed an engagement survey, assessed the results and taken part in tangible actions that changed my working life. That’s a harsh statement you might think. It’s one I stand by.
Today I see differently. I see from the eyes of someone who has suffered from depression due to work related stress. I see from the perspective of the person not the organisation.
Imagine therefore, my caution when we started looking at survey tool options for Mind & Mission. My scepticism about any kind of employee survey is twofold: the questions and the process of actioning the results.
My surprise when we looked at Cognosis was tangible. The questions determine each and every person’s perception of themselves in a work context. The reason this is so important and different to engagement surveys is because it captures the subjective nature of our individual experiences and deepens self-awareness before any further action is even taken, in other words its autotelic. Just by the act of completing it, conversations start to change.
Cognosis also shows where strengths lie, for example if you have gone through reorganisation, it will show you whether your people have felt resilient or not. Remember this is their perception of their subjective experience, regardless of what leadership believe. If they don’t feel it, you haven’t done a good enough job. No amount of “Did your manager have a conversation about your wellbeing?” will change this.
It can show you across an organisation where some areas are fairing better than others so you can learn from what they are doing and understand why it works.
It can allow you to understand whether your overall people strategy is working, or not.
All of this before you have even taken any action.
We are talking about setting up your internal stall, challenging you to really think about whether your employee engagement survey process is doing anything fundamental other than providing a percentage point or two swing in one direction or the other.
I am of course bias in this respect, Cognosis is our evaluation tool and why would I say any different? Why not test it for yourself with no obligation and see what it can tell you over and above any other “survey”?
Contact Kirsty or Louise to find out about how Cognosis can provide you with the insight to support mental fitness.
